Development Induced Displacement in the African Context

What Says the African Union Convention?

Authors

  • Safiya Ahmad Nuhu Department of Public and International Law, Bayero University, Kano

Keywords:

internal displacement, internally displaced persons, development induced displacement, African Union Convention, involuntary resettlement

Abstract

Prior to the adoption of the AU Convention for IDPs in Africa, no binding treaty existed for the protection of internally displaced persons. This gap in legal protection has for a long time posed serious human rights and humanitarian problems as the number of IDPs kept escalating while that of refuges substantially regressed. Despite the notion that conflict is the main cause of displacement, the reality is that every year, more people are displaced by natural disasters and development projects than by conflict and violence. The adoption of the AU Kampala Convention was a welcome and much applauded development in the history of internal displacement. However one notable shortfall of the Convention was the cursory nature in which it addressed development induced displacement (DID). This article traces the global problem of DID, the problem of DID in Africa, examines how the AU Convention addresses it, and the extent of protection and assistance accorded to IDPs displaced by Development Projects under the Convention.

Author Biography

  • Safiya Ahmad Nuhu, Department of Public and International Law, Bayero University, Kano

    Safiya Ahmad Nuhu is an assistant lecturer with the Department of Public and International Law, at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria. She is currently doing her Masters in Law (LL.M) with research interest centered on the viability of the African Union Convention for the protection and assistance of IDPs. She would like to express his appreciation for contributions made by the anonymous reviewers of this article. Their insightful comments and input help refine the final submission.

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Published

2012-01-01

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2012): Journal of Internal Displacement

Section

Full Papers