Harare, Zimbabwe 5 April 2017- A ministerial conference of State Parties to the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), has adopted the first action plan for the implementation of the Kampala Convention.

The Kampala Convention, adopted in the Ugandan capital in 2009, came into force in December 2012 and has been signed by 40 member states of the AU, with 25 ratifications to date.

The Harare plan of action (PoA) sets priorities and activities which shall be adopted by the African Union (AU), States Parties, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and partners. In order to facilitate implementation of the Kampala Convention, the PoA is

structured around five objectives of the Kampala convention:

Establish a framework for solidarity, cooperation and promotion of durable solutions between states parties
Establish a policy framework for the prevention, protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) at national level
Promote and strengthen regional and national measures to prevent and eliminate the root causes of internal displacement and provide for durable solutions
Promote the obligations and responsibilities of State Parties
Identify specific obligations, roles and responsibilities of armed groups, non state actors and other relevant actors including civil society organisations

The meeting of the States Parties is being held at a time when the host country has itself recently launched a 200 million dollar global appeal for aid, as a result of violent flood caused by cyclone Dineo, which claimed many lives and left thousands of people homeless. The cyclone also caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage to infrastructure such as bridges, schools and clinics.

Zimbabwe’s Vice President Mr. Emmerson Mngangagwa contextualized the gravity of the IDPs challenge continentally by highlighting that in 2015 alone “conflict, violence, and the rapid onset of disasters caused 3.5 million new displacements on the continent”. He called on member states to find systematic data gathering methods. “This will go a long way in ensuring that we have accurate statistics of IDPs for more effective planning”, he added.

African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs H.E Minata Samate Cesouma urged the states parties to ensure that “future strategies to be implemented under the convention take account of recent developments at the continental level, in particular the African Common Position on Humanitarian Effectiveness which recognizes the primary role and responsibility of states in the protection and assistance of their populations.”

The meeting provided the first opportunity since the coming into force of the convention, to engage on how to implement the convention but more so, in the evolvement of the protection regime on IDPs in Africa and globally.

Other successful outcomes included the adoption of a set of recommendations and decisions on a number of issues, including those concerning the terms of reference and rules of procedure for the conference; mechanisms for monitoring compliance and reporting on implementation of the convention as well as supporting mechanisms and structure.

A bureau for the conference of states parties was elected as follows: Zimbabwe- Chair; Nigeria- First Vice Chairperson; Gabon – Second Vice Chairperson; Uganda- Third Vice Chairperson, with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic as Rapporteur.

Media inquiries

Wynne Musabayana | Head of Communication | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 | Fax: (251) 11 551 78 44 | E-mail: MusabayanaW@africa-union.org | Web: www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia