National Protection Of Internally Displaced Persons In Africa

This volume examines the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on IDPs in Africa. The novelty of this book resonates from the fact that it explores national perspectives on internal displacement, with the aim of providing a well-grounded engagement on the subject of internal displacement, for which very little exists. The chapter authors are drawn from various disciplines and institutional backgrounds, and provide context-based analysis and examine the situation in countries with significant population displacement. The work is a timely engagement, as the issue of internal displacement has emerged as a pertinent concern in Africa. Each of the chapters in this book draw on significant context-based knowledge and on issues for which there is a need for pertinent attention across the African countries. This book will be a significant reference point for researchers, professors, practitioners, judges, policy makers, international organizations, regional bodies, lawyers and scholars in the field of migration, forced migration, and regional institutions.

Veronica Fynn's "Legal Discrepancies: Internal Displacement of Women and Children in Africa" is not only timely (produced soon after Africa adopts its historical Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced People in Africa, 2009). "Legal Discrepancies: Legal Discrepancies: Internal Displacement of Women and Children in Africa" offers the first comprehensive, holistic, and multi-disciplinary examination on the efficacy of international, regional and national laws and policies in protecting and assisting IDPs. Fynn's research provides a thought provoking framework for academics, lawyers, public health practitioners, aid workers, national governments, regional institutions and international organizations to rethink the legal space within which internally displaced peoples lingers.

This book focuses on emerging issues related to internal displacement in Africa. The six principal issues discussed are climate change, technology, xenophobia, harmful practices, generalized violence and development projects. Increasingly, the need to understand the root causes of the dimensions of internal displacement and the dimensions in which this displacement manifests have become a pertinent rhetoric in the discussion on internal displacement. Therefore, this monograph examines emerging issues for which there is very little in the internal displacement discussion, with the aim of providing knowledge within African regional contexts to advance law and policy formation. The novelty of this book lies in the fact that it moves beyond the conventional discussion on internal displacement into grey areas on the subject in Africa, leveraging the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (the Kampala Convention). This book will be a significant reference point for researchers, professors, practitioners, judges, policy makers, international organizations, regional bodies, lawyers and scholars in the fields of migration, forced migration, and regional institutions.

"This book examines the national legal frameworks in place for internally displaced people in Nigeria and considers how they can be extended to provide further legal protection. Despite a growing global awareness of the importance of developing solutions to the problem of internal displacement, how that translates to national level response is often under-researched. This book focuses on Nigeria, where conflict and violence continue to drive high levels of displacement. The book begins by examining the definitions and causes of internal displacement in the national context, before considering the state of national law, and the applicability of the Kampala Convention for furthering protection and assistance for internally displaced persons. This book will be of interest to researchers of African studies and internal displacement, as well as to policy makers, civil society organizations, humanitarian actors and other regional and international stakeholders"--

Since the end of the Cold War, increasing numbers of people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, and systematic violations of human rights. Whereas refugees crossing national borders benefit from an established system of international protection and assistance, those who are displaced internally suffer from an absence of legal or institutional bases for their protection and assistance from the international community. This book analyzes the causes and consequences of displacement, including its devastating impact both within and beyond the borders of affected countries. It sets forth strategies for preventing displacement, a special legal framework tailored to the needs of the displaced, more effective institutional arrangements at the national, regional, and international levels, and increased capacities to address the protection, human rights, and reintegration and development needs of the displaced.

Reports on a seminar held in Harare, 16-18 Feb 1994.

While the plight of persons displaced within the borders of states has emerged as a global concern, not much attention has been given to this specific category of persons in international legal scholarship. Unlike refugees, internally displaced persons remain within the states in which they are displaced. Current statistics indicate that there are more people displaced within state borders than persons displaced outside states. Romola Adeola examines the protection of the internally displaced person under international law, considering existing legal regimes at various levels of governance and institutional mechanisms for internally displaced persons.

As of the end of 2015, there were 40.8 civilians who had been internally displaced by conflicts and effects of natural disasters in various parts of the world. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently the largest group of persons receiving assistance from some of the main international humanitarian organisations. With the largest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the African continent has been the worst affected region. While previously IDPs have largely been neglected under international law, the first-ever continental binding treaty on internal displacement, the African Union Convention on the Protection of and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (the Kampala Convention), entered into force on 6 December 2012. As of January 2016, 25 states have ratified the instrument while 40 states have become signatories. This book significantly contributes to the study, policy making and practice on managing internal displacement by presenting the first major systematic examination of the evolution, elements and implementation of the Kampala Convention. It explores the responsibility of the state for the protection of IDPs particularly those who are most vulnerable during armed conflicts, internal strife, natural disasters, human rights violations and other circumstances. The status of ratification of the Convention is reviewed as well as the steps currently being undertaken by governments to implement the Convention. It also analyses the contribution by human rights mechanisms, inter-governmental bodies and UN peace-keeping missions in the implementation of the Convention. The book casts the Kampala Convention in broader institutional and normative developments in Africa and beyond. It demonstrates how concepts such as ‘responsibility to protect’ and ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ have begun to make inroads; influencing some of the more progressive instruments adopted by the African Union. It also sheds light on the relationship between the Convention and some regional instruments. In assessing the effectiveness of the Kampala Convention Allehone Abebe argues that the link between the Convention and initiatives on development, human rights and governance in Africa should be fully fostered.