Resolution on the Situation of Refugees and Displaced Persons in Africa
We the participants at the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 32nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the 6th Human Rights Book Fair held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Banjul, from October 14th –16th, 2002,
Having examined collectively the problems related to the protection of refugees in Africa,
Noting the resurgence of conflicts that are becoming more and more bloody and causing the displacement of nearly 20 million persons in Africa,
Noting with concern the progressive disengagement of the UNHCR from refugee protection with the closure of several of its offices in Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers stranded,
Noting with bitterness the persistent insecurity in almost all the refugee camps in Africa, as well as the violence and sexual abuse against refugee women and children in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Kenya,
Recalling the need to pay special attention to the protection of vulnerable groups such as refugee or displaced women and children in Africa,
Noting the absence or weak status of hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers,
Noting with satisfaction:
- The increasing interest taken by the Commission in the protection of refugees and displaced persons and the inclusion of this theme in its agenda,
- The efforts made by the UNHCR and the States concerned to delocalise the refugee camps in Guinea and Sierra Leone in order to move them away from the borders,
- The policy of voluntary repatriation of refugees in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Rwanda
Recommend:
To the African Commission
- The establishment of an African mechanism for the protection of refugees and displaced persons through the appointment of a special rapporteur or the setting up of a group of experts in charge of the forced movements of people in Africa,
- The organisation in the shortest possible time of the International Conference on the Protection of Refugees announced during its 31st Session held in Pretoria.
To the Member States
- The elaboration of national laws governing the stay of refugees and their harmonisation with the Geneva Convention 1951 and the OAU Convention 1969 as well as Article 12 of the African Charter,
- The systematic census of displaced persons within their territories in order to facilitate their access to humanitarian aid,
- The implementation of International Humanitarian Law which prohibits the forced displacement of people and is applicable in situations of armed conflict.
Done in Banjul, The Gambia 16 October, 2002
