Refugee Status Determination in Africa

Abstract

Thirty-fi ve years after the adoption of the Africa-specifi c treaty on refugees, the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specifi c 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 offi ces of the UNHCR, insuffi cient 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 defi nition 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 fl eeing 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 defi nition of a “refugee” under the OAU Convention in the hope of providing some guidance to decision-makers, lawyers and asylum-seekers alike. This article fi nds however that many questions remain unanswered, and although a myriad of different interpretations are possible, the greatest strength of the OAU Convention appears to rest less in its specifi c terms than the humanitarian spirit in which it is applied.