OAU Refugee Convention: 3-day conference

Some 150 experts in refugee and humanitarian law, invited by UNHCR and the OAU, will meet in Conakry, Guinea for a three-day conference starting Monday, March 27 to discuss ways of strengthening the Organization of African Unity Refugee Convention of 1969.

Today, Africa is the scene of some of the biggest displacement crises in the world, but the climate in which the OAU Refugee Convention is being implemented has significantly changed. Refugee movements are no longer linked to people fleeing colonial oppression and apartheid, as it was the case in the 1960s. They are now much more complex and linked to internal disputes, gross violations of human rights and lack of governance and democratic institutions.

The past years have seen an erosion of refugee protection and a weakening of the basic humanitarian principles such as the right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement (not sending back refugees to places where they could face persecution).

During the Conakry meeting, experts will look at key issues such as the level of implementation of the 1969 Convention by OAU member states, the search for lasting solutions, particularly in post-conflict situations, and declining funding for refugee programmes in Africa.

The meeting will examine in detail the root causes of new refugee flows and try to come up with concrete proposals to strengthen the implementation of the OAU Refugee Convention. It will also address the issues internal displacement and statelessness on the African continent.

Søren Jessen-Petersen, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner and Mahamat Habib Doutoum, Assistant Secretary-General of the OAU will lead the delegations of UNHCR and OAU, respectively. Representatives of OAU member states as well as representatives of academic institutions, UN agencies, NGOs and donor countries will also be present. The meeting is seen as an important step forward for the protection of refugees and displaced persons in Africa.

The OAU Refugee Convention has been ratified by 45 African countries and is one of the key instruments for the protection of refugee rights in Africa.