73rd Ordinary Session of the ACHPR: Intersession Report by Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa
Published: 20/May/2023
Source: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Extracts:
INTRODUCTION
This Report, under Rule 64 of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), gives an account of the human rights promotion and protection activities carried out during the intersession period with effect from the 73rd Ordinary Session of the Commission held physically from 20th October to 9th November 2022.
The report covers activities carried out in my capacity as Vice-Chairperson of the Commission and Commissioner, member of the Commission.
I will then present the activities carried out under the mandate entrusted to me as Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa. This Mechanism was entrusted to me by Resolution ACHPR/Res.203 (L) 11 of the African Commission whose mandate was renewed by Resolutions ACHPR/Res.246 (LIV) 2013, ACHPR/Res.318(LVII) 2015, ACHPR/Res.379(LXI) 2017, ACHPR/Res.450 (LXVI) 2020 and ACHPR/Res.525 (LXXIII) 2022.
The report also covers the status of ratification of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons, an analysis of the human rights situation in the countries under my responsibility, that is, the situation of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants in Africa.
The conclusion takes the form of recommendations to the various stakeholders.
[…]
ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT AS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS AND MIGRANTS IN AFRICA
[…]
IV. Dialogue on the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa (29-30 November 2022, virtual)
21.This dialogue, organised jointly with UNHCR, aimed to mobilise states and civil society to support the adoption of the Draft Protocol, which is expected to be considered by the AU’s Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (STC).
22.During the dialogue, the genesis and brief history of the draft Protocol was recalled as well as the different stages of development of the text within the Specialised Technical Committee on Migration.
23.The dialogue was conducted in two phases: the first day was devoted to the States in order to obtain their support for the adoption of the draft Protocol. The second day consisted of a briefing of civil society organisations to encourage them to advocate with their respective states to support the adoption of the draft Protocol.
V.8th Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs AU (STC) (5-11 December 2022, Addis Ababa)
24.I attended this session with the two experts involved in the drafting of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa for consideration by the AU Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (STC).
25.As a reminder, since 2013, the elaboration of this protocol has been entrusted to our mandate in collaboration with the AU Department of Political and Humanitarian Affairs, UNHCR and the Open Society Initiative and was adopted by the ACHPR in 2015 at its 18th extraordinary session in Nairobi, Kenya.
26.The Draft was subsequently discussed by Member State experts at four meetings of the African Union’s STC on Migration, Refugees and IDPs.
27.During this session the draft Protocol was discussed on a few articles which were not unanimously agreed upon by some States. As a result of this lack of consensus, the draft was referred to the Ministerial Conference that followed the Experts’ meeting, which concluded that the text still needed to be further developed and requested that it be reworked in order to be resubmitted to the CTS for consideration at a special session in the year 2023.
28.I have therefore resumed advocacy with UNHCR and other partners with States to ensure that this draft Protocol is finally adopted.
[…]
ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF COUNTRIES AS COUNTRY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR : LIBYA, MAURITANIA, NIGER, SENEGAL & TUNISIA
Libya
52.The situation in Libya remains worrying with continued violence by armed groups, the persistent political stalemate, restrictions on civic space and the further deterioration of the human rights situation. Women continue to suffer from sexual and gender-based violence, with no possibility of filing a complaint as they face prosecution for having sex outside marriage, which is considered a criminal offence in Libya, as well as retaliation from perpetrators.
53.Discrimination against ethnic minorities has also been reported, particularly against certain Toubous and Touaregs Tribes in southern Libya who, due to discriminatory nationality laws and regulations, do not have identity cards and face discrimination when trying to access essential services, including education and health. A number of these people are stateless, as the authorities refuse to recognise their Libyan nationality.
54.The Government of national unity issued Decree No. 902/2022 in October, which granted children born to a Libyan mother and a non-Libyan father access to public education and health care. However, the text did not guarantee the right to nationality to these children in the same way as those born to a Libyan father and a non-Libyan mother.
55.The situation of migrants has not improved and remains a concern.
56.The political situation is still deadlocked and the date for the elections has still not been set.
57.We call on the African Union to intensify its assistance to Libya for the return of lasting peace and stability.
[…]
Niger
63.Faced with the immense challenge of civil status, the country has begun mobile court hearings, awareness-raising campaigns, and the computerisation of the civil status system with a view to registering the country’s entire population by 2030. We congratulate Niger on this initiative to address statelessness.
64.Numerous reports indicate that descent-based slavery is still prevalent in Niger, although it has been prohibited since 2002 under the Penal Code. The phenomenon is said to persist among certain populations in Niger, particularly the Arabs, Fulani, Toubous and Tuaregs, who continue to have their slaves, their labour, their children and their property at their disposal. Despite court decisions and awareness-raising campaigns, the descendants of slaves who are no longer under the direct control of their “master” are still considered “slaves” by society and are subject to stigmatisation and discrimination of all kinds. We encourage Niger to pursue its actions towards the complete eradication of slavery, in particular through a programme of rehabilitation and inclusion of victims of slavery.
65.Forced and early marriage remains a source of concern in Niger. On 10 March 2023, Nazira, a young girl of about 16 years of age from the village of Daré, in the Zinder Region (800 km east of Niamey), was found hanging by her neck from a tree, preferring to commit suicide rather than accept a forced marriage she did not want. We urge the authorities to strengthen their action to put an end to the phenomenon of forced and early marriage by implementing protection programmes for young girls.
66.The security situation is still worrying with the exacerbation of terrorist attacks persisting in several regions, including those of the 10 soldiers from the Operation ALMAHAOU detachment killed in a terrorist attack on the Mali border on 10 February 2023, following an ambush in the vicinity of the INTAGAMEY locality on the Niger-Malian border. This greatly impacts the enjoyment of social and economic rights of the population, particularly the right to education and the worsening of food insecurity in many areas. We deplore the loss of life and encourage the efforts of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in the fight against terrorism.
[…]
Statelessness
94.We congratulate Niger and Congo Brazzaville for their initiatives to reduce statelessness; Niger has begun organising mobile court hearings to register all persons without civil status since November 2022. In Congo Brazzaville, forty-eight (48) unregistered children, candidates for the elementary primary school certificate (CEPE) in the Bacongo school district, officially received birth certificates on 26 January. [ https://www.adiac-congo.com/content/lutte-contre-lapatridie-la-mairie-d… ] This action is part of the Operation “Zero children aged 0 to 12 without a birth certificate in Bacongo”, launched on 26 September 2022 by the town hall of the second district of Brazzaville.
95.In 2014-2015, with the Abidjan Declaration, West African States set themselves the goal of eradicating statelessness in the region by 2024. The Abidjan Declaration was followed by the Banjul Plan of Action as well as the mid-term evaluation meeting of the I Belong campaign with UNHCR in October 2019, on processes to eradicate statelessness. However, to date only Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali have updated their laws to end statelessness. We encourage other countries to take similar.[ https://www.sudquotidien.sn/afrique-de-louest-regularisation-de-tous-le…
RECOMMENDATIONS
96.States must commit to implementing effective solutions for long-term refugees such as local integration and implement concrete projects to curb the migration crisis such as the effective implementation of free movement through the full ratification of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community on the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and the Right of Establishment, as soon as possible. They should also take measures to address climate change-induced displacement.
97.We also want to urge States to commit to ending statelessness because no one should be deprived of their human dignity simply because they lack the documentation to prove their legal existence.
98.To this end, I would like to reiterate the recommendations made in my previous reports, the majority of which are still valid, with the addition of some new recommendations, notably:
a) To the States Parties to the African Charter:
- Ensure that refugees can enjoy economic and social rights and certain freedoms under national laws;
- Respect the principles of the Geneva Conventions and the OAU which advocate the principle of non-refoulement;
- Facilitate the adoption of the Protocol on Specific Aspects of Nationality in Africa and the Eradication of Statelessness at the next session of the Technical Specialised Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs of the African Union
- Strengthen the assistance given to States receiving large numbers of asylum seekers or refugees.
- End the detention of migrants on the basis of their migration status.
To all Member States
- Ratify the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community on the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and the Right of Establishment,
- Those who have not yet done so, to ratify the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa;
- Implement the objectives enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees;
- Become more involved in the prevention of forced displacement of people inside and outside their countries, regardless of the origin of the displacement (armed conflict, climate change, major development projects, natural disasters, etc.); and protect them when prevention has failed;
- For those who have not yet done so, to accelerate the process of ratification of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa; and for those who have ratified it,
- Operationalise the provisions of the Kampala Convention through policies and programmes for IDPs and report on them in their periodic reports in accordance with Article 14 paragraph 4 of the Convention;
- Engage in the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration;
- Work towards an effective response to the challenges posed by the impact of climate change on forced displacement and migration in Africa.
- Take steps to ensure that xenophobic crimes are actually punished.
b) To the African Union, we recommend to:
- Take steps to facilitate and finalise the process of adopting the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa.
- Implement the African Humanitarian Agency by providing it with a substantial fund so that it can effectively deal with the various humanitarian situations in Africa
- Adopt a common African position on the issue of missing migrants.Be part of the perspective of global and regional governance of migration, particularly through the implementation of the Migration Policy Framework for Africa and its Action Plan,
c) To the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other UN agencies and international organisations, we recommend to:
- Work upstream with States to find solutions for the situation of refugees and asylum seekers as well as internally displaced persons, and in particular long-term refugees;
- Continue to support the Mechanism in the implementation of its mandate;
- Strengthen collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on issues of common interest,
- Continue to support us in advocating for the eradication of statelessness in Africa.
d) To civil society actors and other partners, we recommend the following:
- Continue to advocate for the ratification of the Kampala Convention;
- Continue and intensify advocacy for the adoption of the Draft Protocol on Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness;
- Continue their work on the ground to keep us informed about the situation of refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs and migrants;
- Provide support and assistance to the Special Rapporteur in the proper discharge of her mandate.
e)To the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, we recommend:
- Continue efforts in the promotion and protection of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and migrants and engage in the campaign to eradicate statelessness launched by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the decade 2014-2024;
99. In conclusion, we would like to express our deep appreciation to all our partners, especially the African Union Commission, ICRC, UNHCR and IOM for their continued support to our Mechanism.
Thank you very much
Read original: https://achpr.au.int/en/intersession-activity-reports/special-rapporteur-refugees-asylum-seekers-displaced-persons-and-0