The Normative Influence of the UN Guiding Principles on the Kampala Convention in the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa

Francis M Deng,Romola Adeola

doi:10.1017/s0021855321000048

Francis M Deng, Romola Adeola

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021855321000048

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Abstract

AbstractOver the last several decades, states have demonstrated significant political commitment towards advancing protection and assistance for internally displaced persons. A notable form in which this commitment has been reflected is in the emergence of normative standards, with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGP) as the guiding text. The fact that the UNGP framework has found expression in the landscape on internal displacement is evidenced at various levels of governance. Within the African context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) draws on pertinent normative frameworks, with the UNGP as the leading framework. While this point is often made in general terms, this article focuses on the extent to which the norm on internal displacement has diffused and expanded within the African context.

Highlights

Soft laws are not categorically recognized as sources of international law,[1] yet they are increasingly gaining momentum as the culmination of collective action on pertinent global issues for which sustainable solutions are required.[2]
A notable form in which this commitment has been reflected is in the emergence of normative standards, with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGP) as the guiding text
Within the African context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) draws on pertinent normative frameworks, with the UNGP as the leading framework. While this point is often made in general terms, this article focuses on the extent to which the norm on internal displacement has diffused and expanded within the African context

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Soft laws are not categorically recognized as sources of international law,[1] yet they are increasingly gaining momentum as the culmination of collective action on pertinent global issues for which sustainable solutions are required.[2]. Over the last two decades, the impact of the UNGP has been evident at various levels of governance. Both in law and policy formations,[4] the UNGP have etched a place on the internal displacement landscape. It is widely accepted that the UNGP are the basis on which actions on internal displacement need to be predicated. Some scholars have pointed to the fact that this soft law is crystalizing into customary international law given the level of support it enjoys in both opinio juris [acceptance of a practice as sufficient to create legal obligations] and state practice.[5].

See Peru

CONCLUSION