GENEVA, 22 October 2010 (IDMC) - On the eve of the first anniversary of the adoption of the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa by the African Union (AU), the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) calls on African countries to sign and ratify the Convention at the earliest possible time, including those that are not currently affected by displacement.
The AU IDP Convention, also known as the Kampala Convention, is the first regional instrument in the world to impose legal obligations on states in relation to the protection and assistance of IDPs. Its adoption in Kampala on 23 October 2009, after five years of drafting, negotiations and consultations, was widely recognised as an historic achievement.
Since its adoption, the Convention has been signed by 29 countries and ratified by two. A number of AU member states are working towards ratification. The Convention will come into force once it has been ratified by 15 of the 53 AU member states.
"The adoption of the Convention was a fundamental step," underlined the Head of IDMC, Kate Halff. "It is now important that AU member states show their commitment to IDP protection by signing and ratifying it."
Displacement affects the daily lives of millions of people in Africa. Of the 26 million people who have been displaced worldwide by conflict or violence, nearly 12 million people, or more than 40 per cent, live on the continent. Hundreds of thousands more have been displaced by natural or man-made disasters.
The Convention applies to displacement caused by a wide range of causes - from conflict and human rights violations to natural or man-made disasters and development projects - and provides standards for the protection of people from displacement, the protection of IDPs while they are displaced and durable solutions for people who have been forced into displacement.
The Convention also spells out the obligations of non-state armed groups in relation to the protection and assistance of IDPs.
The Convention recognises the important role of civil society organisations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs. A guide for civil society organisations on the Kampala Convention (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/au-guide) has been published by the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the AU, with the support of IDMC.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide. For more information contact Kate Halff, Head of IDMC, on +41 (0)22 799 0703 or at kate.halff@nrc.ch.
For further information on the Kampala Convention, go to http://www.internaldisplacement.org/resources/AU