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Refugee Status Determination in Africa

Refugee Status Determination in Africa ALICE EDWARDS Thirty-five years after the adoption of the Africa-specific treaty on refugees, the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the issue of refugees remains high on the agenda of many African countries. With States increasingly carrying out individual status determinations, either under their own auspices or through the offices of the UNHCR, insufficient guidance has been given to decision-makers on how to interpret this instrument by either the UNHCR or the African Union, in addition to which there is limited published case law available. How does the OAU Convention definition deal with issues of the interface between migration and asylum? Does the practice of African States in regularly giving sanctuary to persons escaping environmental catastrophes give rise to a right to asylum under the treaty? What about persons fleeing terrorist attacks? Is the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees still relevant to displaced persons in Africa? This article takes a renewed look at each of the elements of the legal definition of a “refugee” under the OAU Convention in the hope of providing some guidance to decision-makers, lawyers and asylum-seekers alike. This article finds however http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of International and Comparative Law Edinburgh University Press

Refugee Status Determination in Africa

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press
ISSN
0954-8890
eISSN
1755-1609
DOI
10.3366/ajicl.2006.14.2.204
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ALICE EDWARDS Thirty-five years after the adoption of the Africa-specific treaty on refugees, the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the issue of refugees remains high on the agenda of many African countries. With States increasingly carrying out individual status determinations, either under their own auspices or through the offices of the UNHCR, insufficient guidance has been given to decision-makers on how to interpret this instrument by either the UNHCR or the African Union, in addition to which there is limited published case law available. How does the OAU Convention definition deal with issues of the interface between migration and asylum? Does the practice of African States in regularly giving sanctuary to persons escaping environmental catastrophes give rise to a right to asylum under the treaty? What about persons fleeing terrorist attacks? Is the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees still relevant to displaced persons in Africa? This article takes a renewed look at each of the elements of the legal definition of a “refugee” under the OAU Convention in the hope of providing some guidance to decision-makers, lawyers and asylum-seekers alike. This article finds however

Journal

African Journal of International and Comparative Law – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Sep 1, 2006

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