WUNRN
IMPORTANT FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED
WOMEN & CHILDREN IN AFRICA
Africa
is home to almost 1/3 of the world's IDPs, with 10.4 million people displaced
by conflict and violence
Further to this, in
2012 a further 8.5 million people were displaced by sudden onset natural
disasters such as floods and storms
THE KAMPALA CONVENTION FOR
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN AFRICA -
ONE YEAR ON: PROGRESS & PROSPECTS
Direct Link to Full 32-Page 2013 Report:
On 6 December 2012, the African Union’s Convention on the
assistance
and protection of internally displaced people (IDPs),
the
so-called Kampala Convention, became legally binding.
The
world’s first continental convention aimed at protecting and
assisting
IDPs, the Kampala Convention represents an innovative
and
comprehensive framework to address both the needs
of
those displaced, as well as the needs of the communities that
take them in and offer refuge.
One
year later, IDMC’s report, ‘The
on: Progress and prospects,’
seizes the opportunity of this critical
first
anniversary to see how far African countries have come in
assisting
and protecting their internally displaced populations,
while identifying the challenges that lay ahead.
The
report focusses specifically on four key issues: national
responsibility,
forced evictions, displacement due to disasters
like
floods and storms, and the important role of civil society
organisations and IDPs themselves in addressing internal displacement.
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----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2012 12:15 PM
Subject: Kampala Convention for Internally Displaced in Africa -
Women & Children
WUNRN
KAMPALA CONVENTION - African Union
Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in
Africa
___________________________________________________________
December 6, 2012 - The Kampala Convention
is an historic milestone. The first of its kind in the world, the Kampala
Convention, which came into force on 6th December 2012, is a continental
instrument that binds governments to provide legal protection for the rights
and well-being of those forced to flee inside their home countries due to
conflict, violence, natural disasters, or development projects.
40 per cent of the all the people worldwide who have been displaced within their own country as a result of conflict or violence live in Africa.
There are almost four times as many internally displaced people (IDPs) as there are refugees in Africa. Unlike refugees, IDPs do not have a special status under international law.
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INTERNALLY DISPLACED WOMEN &
CHILDREN
The
often-cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are
women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement
visits upon women and communities. Leaving homes, property and community behind
renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether they
flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional
dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the context
of violent conflict. Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been
criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and
procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a
camp that was intended to provide refuge a dangerous and deadly place for women
and girls.
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