ENTRY INTO FORCE OF AFRICAN UNION CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN AFRICA (KAMPALA CONVENTION)

The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), which was adopted by African Heads of State and Government at the Special Summit of the Union held in Kampala on the 22 October 2009, will enter into force on 6 December 2012, thirty (30) days after the deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratification on 6 November 2012 by the Kingdom of Swaziland in conformity with Article 17 of the Convention.
So far, the Convention has been signed by 36 Member States, with instruments of ratification deposited by 15 Member States. Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia are Parties to the Convention.
The Convention, considering the serious situation of internal displacement as a source of instability and tension for African states, adopts measures aimed at preventing and abating the phenomenon of internal displacement by eradicating the root causes, especially persistent and recurrent conflicts as well as addressing displacement caused by natural disasters, which have a devastating impact on human life, peace, stability, security, and human development.
With the objective of providing binding regional legal and institutional framework specifically for the prevention of internal displacement and the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons in Africa, the Convention is set to provide for the respective obligations and responsibilities of States Parties, armed groups, non-state and other relevant actors, including international organizations and the African Union, with respect to the prevention of internal displacement and protection of, and assistance, to internally displaced persons.
A groundbreaking achievement for Member States to endorse a comprehensive and a first-ever legally-binding regional instrument for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons, the Convention is an illustration of the commitment of African States to deal with all causes of internal displacement.
The African Union Commission commends the tireless effort of humanitarian partners such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) and other organizations engaged in the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons.
The Commission also appeals to Member States that have ratified the instrument to domesticate it into their national legislations and to Member States that have not yet ratified the Convention to do so as soon as possible in order provide concrete benefits to the more than 9.7 million people who have been internally displaced by conflict on the continent.