Resolution on Migrations

We, the participants at the NGO Forum meeting in the 41st Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

Considering that the African countries are experiencing major and massive displacements, whatever the form of migrations observed: workers, refugees, or internally displaced persons. In effect, the African migrations are quite massive, quantitatively speaking, both in terms of ratio in relation to the population of the Continent and in gross statistics in comparison to the global scale. Out of about 200 million migrants estimated in 2006 at the international level, about a third of these are from Africa. Besides, Africa on its own represents one third of the refugees and half of the internally displaced persons on the Planet;

Underscoring the fact that in Africa almost every one migrant out of two (47%) is a woman; the women and children also constitute 70% of refugees and internally displaced persons on the Continent;

Considering the magnitude of the violations of the rights of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights related to the various phenomena of migration, notably the violations of the right to life, of the right to the free movement of persons, of the obligation to protect civilian populations, discrimination etc…;

Recalling the nomination by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2003 of a Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons;

Recalling the holding of a meeting of Experts organized under the aegis of the AU on Migration and Development from 3rd to 5th April 2006 in Algiers. Recalling also the decision by the Executive Council of the AU of January 2007 calling for the convening of a special Summit in 2008 on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons;

Recommend to the State Parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights:

1. to effectively recognize the primacy of the human rights of all the migrants and refugees in any policy on migration, namely that the policies on migration should be based on the respect for universal human rights standards and Conventions on the rights of migrants – be they « regular» or « irregular »- and of refugees;

2. to ratify and harmonize with domestic law the principal international and regional instruments relating to migrants and refugees, namely the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the United Nations Convention on the protection of migrant workers and members of their family, and the Convention governing the aspects relating to the problems of refugees in Africa;

3. to ratify and implement the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women as well as the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and its optional Protocol allowing individual appeals, for the purpose of improving the condition of migrant women;

4. more importantly concerning the right to asylum, to strictly respect the principle of the international customary law of non refoulement, to relax the legal requirements for entry into a territory so as to take into account the needs for asylum, to relax the responsibilization of transporters, to revoke the notion of « safe third countries », to increase the institutional means of management and the individualized processing of requests for asylum, to respect the right of appeal on a decision to refuse asylum, as well as increasing the humanitarian facilities for the hosting of refugee populations;

5. to recognize sexually related war crimes, traditional abuse and domestic violence against women as motives justifying the granting of asylum.

Recommend to the AU Authorities:

1. to present a Protocol to the African Charter on refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons during the special Summit of AU on ‘‘migration and human rights’’ scheduled for 2008;

2. to involve the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the representatives of Civil Society in the drafting of the said Protocol;

Recommend to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights:

1. To guarantee to the Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights the resources necessary for the successful accomplishment of his mandate, notably in terms of receiving information, carrying out studies and investigations, engaging in dialogue with the States and sensitizing them about the implementation of the relevant UN and AU Conventions;

2. to ensure that the subject of migrations and human rights is a permanent item for consideration during the examination of the Periodic Reports presented by the State Parties to the Commission.

Done in Accra, May 14th, 2007