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In 2016, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) carried out a study to take stock of current progress in implementing the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention). As the first ever legally binding international instrument of its kind, the Kampala Convention represents a significant step forward in reaffirming the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the face of a growing displacement problem in Africa. The stocktaking exercise grew because of the recognition of the value of the Kampala Convention and the urgent need to make it as effective as possible. The ICRC was involved from the outset in the drafting of the Kampala Convention and, since its adoption, has been working on promoting its ratification and implementation. The stocktaking exercise, therefore, is part of the ICRC's continuous support to the Kampala Convention. It is also an additional step within the framework of the ICRC's long-term operational engagement in addressing the needs of the displaced and their host communities affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence in Africa.
At the origin of the stocktaking exercise was also the observation that several States have undertakenￂ -ￂ or are undertakingￂ -ￂ important action to domesticate and operationalize the Kampala Convention, but they have tended to do so in isolation. The ICRC felt there was a need to compile the diverse experiences of States in order to bolster efforts to fully implement the Convention, by allowing States to learn from each other about how the Convention can work best.
The study examined the practice of twenty-five African countries in which the ICRC is operatingￂ -ￂ these include not only States party to the Kampala Convention, but also other States not yet party who have taken action on internal displacement in the form of normative, policy or concrete measures. The focus has been on those obligations that are based in international humanitarian law or touch on humanitarian issues that the ICRC encounters in operations across Africa.
The findings were published in a report that identifies lessons learned, best practices and key challenges in States' efforts to meet their obligations towards IDPs, as provided in the Kampala Convention. The report offers recommendations...