Dear all,
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) would like to
highlight the publication of a guide for civil society organisations on
the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa, also known as the Kampala
Convention (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/au-guide).
The Guide is published by the AU's Economic, Social and Cultural Council
(ECOSOCC) with the support of IDMC. The Guide provides examples of what
CSOs can do to support the Convention’s implementation, through raising
awareness, advocating for its ratification and contributing directly to
its implementation by providing protection and assistance to IDPs. The
Guide is available in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
IDMC has also launched a new webpage on the Kampala Convention
(http://www.internal-displacement.org/kampala-convention). It provides
an overview of the legal instrument and displacement in Africa, as well
as country examples and links to various resources.
The adoption of the Convention, in October 2009, has been widely
recognised as an historic achievement. It is the first regional
instrument in the world to impose legal obligations on states in
relation to the protection and assistance of IDPs. It applies to
displacement caused by a wide range of causes – from conflict and human
rights violations to natural or man-made disasters and development
projects – and provides standards for the protection of people from
displacement, the protection of IDPs while they are displaced and
durable solutions for people who have been forced into displacement.
The Convention also spells out the obligations of non-state armed groups
in relation to IDPs and recognises the important role of civil society
organisations in providing protection and assistance to displaced people.
Since its adoption, the Convention has been signed by 29 countries and
ratified by two. A number of AU member states are working towards
ratification. The Convention will come into force once it has been
ratified by 15 of the 53 AU member states.
Geneva-based IDMC, a project of the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the
leading source of information and analysis on internal displacement
caused by conflict and violence worldwide. It aims to support better
international and national responses to situations of internal
displacement and respect for the rights IDPs. It also aims to promote
durable solutions for IDPs, through return, local integration or
settlement elsewhere in the country.
Guide for civil society organisations:
http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/au-guide
Web page on the Kampala Convention:
http://www.internal-displacement.org/kampala-convention
Please send all replies to: [log in to unmask]
--
Katinka Ridderbos
Analyst for South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe /
Project manager AU Kampala Convention
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Norwegian Refugee Council
7-9 Chemin de Balexert
1219 Châtelaine, Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 799 0717 (direct line)
www.internal-displacement.org
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