Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa

Chairperson of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, at the AU Special Summit, 22-23 Oct 2009

On 23 October 2009, at a Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, the African Union adopted the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (also known as the Kampala Convention). The Convention is the first regional instrument in the world to impose legal obligations on states in relation to the protection and assistance of IDPs, and its adoption has been widely recognised as an historic achievement.

The Convention addresses different causes of internal displacement, including displacement caused by armed conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters and displacement causes by "projects carried out by public or private actors". The Convention also addresses the different phases of displacement, and places obligations on states to protect people from arbitrary displacement, to provide protection and assistance to IDPs during displacement, and to seek durable solutions for IDPs.

In the cases of displacement caused by armed conflicts between states and non-state armed groups (or between different non-state armed groups), the Convention spells out the obligations of non-state armed groups in relation to the protection and assistance of IDPs.

The Convention also highlights the duties and responsibilities of international humanitarian organisations and of civil society organisations, and imposes obligations on states parties to grant access to displaced persons in need of protection and assistance.

The Convention will come into force once it has been ratified by 15 AU member states.

Key Documents:

• Text of the AU IDP Convention, in العربية, English, Français, Português and Español
• List of countries that have signed, ratified/acceded
• Kampala Declaration
• Explanatory Note on the Kampala Convention
• Recommendations by government experts on forced displacement (November 2008)

• AU Press Release - 23 October 2009
• IDMC/NRC press release - 23 October 2009
• Press release by Walter Kälin - 26 October 2009
• UNHCR welcomes first ratification of AU IDP Convention - 19 February 2010

• Statement by Jean Ping (en français), chairperson of the AU Commission
• Statement by the UN Secretary-General
• Statement by António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
• Statement by Walter Kälin, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the human rights of IDPs
• Statement by Jakob Kellenberger, President of the ICRC
• Statement by Andrew Solomon, Deputy-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

• Jinmy Adisa (Director, Citizens and Diaspora Organisations (CIDO) Directorate, AU Commission), "Role of Civil Society in Awareness Raising and Advocacy for Ratification"
• Prisca Kamungi, "IC/GLR Norms and the Experience of NGOs in Kenya"
• Erin Mooney, "Developing National Law, Policy and Strategies around the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs"
• Erin Mooney, "AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs: The Role of Civil Society in Implementation"

• "Life in Limbo", BBC World

• "Africa's displaced people: out of the shadows", Africa Renewal, April 2010
• "AU pushes the envelope on 'climate migrants'", IRIN, 29 October 2009
• "Protecting displaced Africans: Selective rescue - A new treaty promises much, but will not help those who need help most urgently", The Economist, 29 October 2009

• The Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society