Enhancing the Architecture of Protection for the Forcibly Displaced in Africa
The African continent is a critical battleground for the maintenance and development of global standards for the displaced. On the one hand, African regional and sub-regional organisations have developed new mechanisms for protecting the displaced such as, for example, the new Protocols agreed under the auspices of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the draft AU Convention on the Protection of IDPs. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights also continues to offer opportunities for strategic litigation and clarification of regional standards. However, in practice, the rights of refugees are often eroded in the context of concerns about the security, economic and social implications of hosting large refugee populations. In positioning itself as an expert, monitor and promoter of the rights of the forcibly displaced on the continent, IRRI takes three major approaches:
- Research: IRRI explores emerging challenges to refugee protection on the continent through policy research and analysis. The complex linkages between European and African asylum law is a current focus.
- Monitoring and leveraging legal developments: The structures of the African Union and African sub-regional organisations are creating new legal and institutional frameworks which have the potential to redefine the protection of the displaced on the continent. IRRI makes these developments accessible to NGOs working with refugees and internally displaced.
- Networking and emergency response: IRRI is working to strengthen partnerships with, and support for, a network of local NGOs committed to working on forced displacement across the continent. IRRI's Directory of African Civil Society Organisations working on refugee issues is an initial step in drawing attention to, and coordinating the work of these organisations.
17 September:
Less than two weeks from the date of the announced closure of Tanzania's last refugee camp for Burundians, the Centre for the Study of Forced Migration and the International Refugee Rights Initiative are launching a report, "'I Don't Know Where to Go': Burundian Refugees in Tanzania Under Pressure to Leave". The paper, based on a two-week mission conducted in Tanzania in August 2009 outlines serious concerns regarding the protection of refugees in the country.
The report outlines serious concerns regarding the protection of refugees in the country: once the camp is closed, approximately 30,000 refugees will be effectively homeless. Pressure to repatriate combined with a clear reticence on the part of refugees to return, calls into question the voluntary nature of the exercise. Meanwhile the outcome of a special scheme to offer naturalisation to a specific group of Burundian refugees – those who fled in 1972 – remains unclear.
The report was published in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Forced Migration at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
During June 23-25, NGOs submitted a statement in response to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Note on International Protection to the Standing Committee during its 45th Meeting.
Drafted by IRRI with with high levels of input from many NGOs working around the world, the statement intends to highlight current displacement events and international protection issues in need of attention from the Standing Committee, states and the international community. The statement is a reflection of a wide range of views held by NGOs working on refugee and displacement issues around the world.
Read the statement here.
19 September
The Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society
Following the entry into force in June 2008 of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in Africa’s Great Lakes region (the Great Lakes Pact), the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) released The Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society. The Guide aims to help organisations use the Great Lakes Pact to promote the rights of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region.
Read the Guide in English here.
En francais.
You may download and print our Great Lakes informational brochure here.
Recent publications of the International Refugee Rights Initiative related to Refugee Law & Policy:
"Congolese in Danger of Being Deported from Botswana," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 5, November 2009.
"World Refugee Survey 2009: Limited Progress on Refugee Rights in Africa," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 4, June 2009
"World Refugee Day Celebrations in Africa—Civil Society Initiatives," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 4, June 2009
"Repatriation or Else: Closing the Mtabila Refugee Camp in Tanzania," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 4, June 2009
"South Africa Attempts to Help Zimbabwe Migrants through New Permit System," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 3, May 2009.
"Toil and Trouble: Accusations of Witchcraft as a Protection Issue,"Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2009
"The Situation for Somali Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Kenya Worsens," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2009
"New Emergency Transit Centre in Romania Helps Stranded Darfurian Refugees," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2009
NGO statement to the Standing Committee of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme during its 44th Meeting, 3-5 March 2009
"Can the ICGLR IDP Protocol Help Reduce the Impact of Development-Induced Displacement in Uganda?" Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2009
"Negotiating the Way Home: A Difficult Path for Returning Burundians ," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2009
"Kakuma Refugee Camp Residents Launch Newsletter and Blog," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2009
"What About Us? The Situation of Displaced Persons in the Great Lakes Region – NY event," Refugee Rights News, Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2009
"The Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society," September 19, 2008
"It's Like You Don't Exist': Foreigners still searching for solutions two months after the xenophobic violence in South Africa," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 5, July 2008.
"Somalia: A Humanitarian Crisis Disregarded," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 5, July 2008.
"South Africans, Foreigners and the Dynamics of Identity in South Africa," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 4, June 2008.
"Great Lakes Pact Enters Into Force," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 3, May 2008.
"Seeking Durable Solutions for Burundian Refugees in Tanzania," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 3, May 2008.
"Refugee Protests Derailed in Ghana," Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 2
April 2008.
"Repatriating the Kibati Group: Some Return, but Solutions Remain Elusive" Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2008.
"Thousands of Kenyans Displaced as Election Outrage Unearths Festering Ethnic Tensions" Refugee Rights News, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2008.