Refugee convention under the spotlight

Some 150 specialists in refugee and humanitarian law began a three-day meeting in Conakry, Guinea, on Monday on strengthening the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Refugee Convention. The meeting, organized by the OAU and the UNHCR, will review key issues such as the level of implementation of the convention signed in 1969 and now ratified by 45 countries. Participants will review causes of new refugee flows and then make proposals to strengthen the implementation of the convention. The meeting will also discuss internal displacement of populations and the question of stateless persons in Africa. When the convention was signed, the largest cause of refugees in Africa was a result of people fleeing colonial oppression and apartheid. Now, however, refugee flows are caused by internal disputes, human rights violations and by a lack of good government and democratic institutions.