AFRICA/UGANDA - Africa approves first Continental Convention worldwide for protection of refugees and evacuees; “We launch an appeal to the UN, that a similar instrument be extended to the entire world,” says President of Zambia

Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – Africa is the first continent in the world to have adopted a convention for the protection of refugees, the repatriated, and evacuees. The Convention was signed by the extraordinary summit of African leaders and heads of state, which ended yesterday, October 23, in Kampala, capital of Uganda.
The Convention obliges the members of the African Union to provide special assistance for displaced people and the prevention of forced displacement. 17 States (Uganda, Somalia, Western Sahara, Burundi, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Namibia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Djibouti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe) have already signed the document that must be signed by at least 15 of the 53 states of the African Union, in order to become active.
In the preamble of the Convention, the signers say they are “aware of the seriousness of the situation of the internal refugees, source of constant instability and tension for African States.” Article 3 says that the States will “prohibit and prevent every arbitrary transfer of population and assure the respect of the principles of humanity and dignity of refugees.” The signers are committed to working against those responsible for forced displacement of peoples, who should be judged by national and international laws, while the members states of the Union must “declare the forced displacement of crimes punishable by law, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.” The signers say they are committed to respecting and protecting humanitarian workers assisting refugees, as well.
Africa is the continent with the largest number of evacuees, nearly 12 million, which is in addition to its over 5 million refugees. According to figures from the UNHCR, evacuees and refugees in Africa are mainly concentrated in 8 countries: Chad, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan.
“Adopting this Convention, we launch an appeal to the international community as well, especially the UN, that they may begin adopting a similar instrument to apply to the entire world, to guarantee rights for refugees,” said Rupiah Banda, President of Zambia. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 24/10/2009)