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Harsh Mahaseth

Aryaman Keshav

September 13th, 2024

Despite the Kampala Convention Africa is the global centre for Internally Displaced People

1 comment | 11 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Harsh Mahaseth

Aryaman Keshav

September 13th, 2024

Despite the Kampala Convention Africa is the global centre for Internally Displaced People

1 comment | 11 shares

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Africa is home to more internally displaced people than anywhere else in the world. The first step in addressing this situation is to apply the Kampala Convention, writes Harsh Mahaseth.

On 15 April 2023 two factions in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces, began a struggle to seize power which escalated into a full blown civil war. This conflict has already displaced over 8.2 million people and shows no signs of abating. Africa is currently the global epicentre for Internally Displaced People (IDP). In 2018, the continent accounted for almost 70 per cent of the world’s IDP population.

IDPs are people who have been forced to flee their homes due to armed conflict, generalised violence, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, but who have not crossed an international border. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) predicts that the global population of IDP will reach 63 million in 2024.

The Kampala Convention

To address the issue, the African Union (AU) adopted the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa also known as the Kampala Convention.

The Convention was designed to complement the UN’s Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. However, it went a step further by successfully converting what was previously “soft law” into “hard law”. In the UN Guiding Principles, the definition of an IDP is a descriptive one, not a legal one. The Kampala Convention builds on the descriptive definition, gives it the force of the law and hence differentiates itself from the other international instruments.

It is the first binding international instrument specifically addressing internal displacement. As such, it has become a significant reference point in the international community.

The Kampala Convention is not without its flaws. Principle 6(2)(c) of the UN Guiding Principles states that arbitrary displacement of people should be prohibited for “cases of large-scale development projects, which are not justified by compelling and overriding public interests.” The Kampala Convention on the other hand states that “state parties, as much as possible, shall prevent displacement caused by projects.” While it is understandable that the AU seeks to balance displacement with development, this approach offers only minimal protection against arbitrary displacement for the people of Africa if caused by development projects.

Restoring the right not to be displaced may prove more challenging under the Kampala Convention. Rather than simply proving their rights were violated, the aggrieved person must demonstrate that the state failed in its duty to protect the IDP. Furthermore, while the UN Guiding Principles state that IDP shall be protected from recruitment into any armed forces or groups as a result of their displacement, under the Kampala Convention the protection is only offered in relation to recruitment by non-state groups.

IDPs in Africa

It has been 15 years since the AU adopted the Kampala Convention. In 2023, 9.1 million people were displaced in Sudan, marking the highest number of displaced individuals recorded in a single country since 2008. Sudan’s IDP number was only second to Ukraine’s in 2022. The number of IDPs in Sub-Saharan Africa has been continuously growing since 2014. Then, it was 11.4 million. In 2023 it reached 34.8 million.

In the last four years, displacement due to conflict has increased significantly because of conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo. The violence is now spreading to Western Africa, further increasing the number of IDPs across the continent.

There is a strong correlation between the number of IDPs and the ratification status of the Kampala Convention by the respective state. The two countries at the top of the list of the number of IDPs in 2024, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are not signatories of the Kampala Convention. The following two states in the list, Somalia and Ethiopia, only recently became members in 2020. In the absence of ratification of the convention, IDPs have no recourse as the states have no obligation to offer them the protections contained in the convention. Currently, 21 states are not a part of the Kampala Convention.

States that have ratified the Kampala Convention still need to integrate its provisions into their domestic laws. Only 14 states in Africa have done so. That leaves 33 countries that have signed the convention but not put in place laws to implement it.

Way forward

The underlying causes of internal displacement are often complex and difficult to fully address. However, significant improvements can be made in the treatment and support provided to individuals once they have been displaced and there are examples of that being done successfully.

Uganda for instance, adopted the National Policy for IDPs in 2004 to deal with the aftermath of the conflict between the government and Lord’s Resistance Army. The policy is regarded as a comprehensive framework that addresses almost all aspects related to internal displacement.

In many countries, IDPs are frequently restricted to camps or temporary settlements, where their access to these fundamental rights is profoundly constrained. In a progressive step towards dealing with this issue, Uganda integrates IDPs back into their general population by offering them freedom to move around the state and providing them access to education and employment. In 2012, Uganda aided the relocation of nearly one million IDPs in Northern Uganda.

The Kampala Convention has set a precedent by turning soft law into binding obligations, focused on state and non-state actors’ responsibilities. Yet gaps remain, such as insufficient protection against arbitrary displacement and inadequate safeguards against forced recruitment. The persistent rise in displacement, particularly in countries that have not ratified the Convention, underscores the need for broader adoption and implementation.

To mitigate the crisis, African states must harmonise national laws with the Convention and enhance regional cooperation. Countries like Uganda demonstrate the benefits of integrating IDPs into society by providing mobility, education, and employment opportunities, thereby reducing long-term dependency on aid and improving safety within camps.

Inter-state collaboration among African countries can significantly alleviate the dangers faced by IDPs, offering them much-needed respite from the challenges of displacement. Regional cooperation assisted by the AU can pave the way for IDPs to attain a semblance of normalcy in their lives, enabling them to live as regular people.


Photo credit EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid used with permission CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

About the author

Harsh Mahaseth

Harsh Mahaseth

Harsh Mahaseth is an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, India, and a Visiting Faculty at Mahindra University, India.

Aryaman Keshav

Aryaman Keshav

Aryaman Keshav is a Law Student at Tamil Nadu National Law University, India.

Posted In: Conflict | Displacement and Return | Humanitarianism | International Affairs | Migration

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