African Union Convention and the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: An Assessment of the Kampala Convention on the Rights of IDPs in Nigeri

Abstract

Nigeria's crisis of internally displaced persons has significantly affected the lives of people, even though the government and nongovernmental organizations offer one form of assistance in support of IDPs in order to end their sufferings but they continue to experience untold hardship without any lasting solution. The major thrust of this study is to assess the implementation of the Africa
Union Convention on the rights of IDPs in Nigeria. The study adopted social inclusion theory as a theoretical framework. The theory vigorously argued that in a socially inclusive society, everyone is valued and their basic needs are supplied to them. This in turn leads to a sense of belonging among the people. The study used a mixed research design which entails both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data collected were analyzed through the use of simple percentages and content analysis. Findings showed that the nature of the implementation of the Convention in Nigeria is not fully in line with the provisions of the Convention. It operates under the basis of curbing harsh disasters and conflict situations, not as a legal instrument as specified by the Convention. The study further revealed that Nigeria is partially implementing the Convention in her way as a sovereign state in the African sub-region, even though she was one of the fifteen (15) African countries that ratified the convention after its existence in 2009. The study concluded that
there is a need to adequately address the socio-economic and political issues that give rise to the various conflicts in the country as well as other issues including the absence of good governance, poverty, unemployment, and other sources of agitations in the country. Finally, the study recommended that the government should strengthen its commitment to ensure that the rights of
internally displaced persons are protected. This could be achieved by setting standards for addressing issues of segregation, rape, abuse, and other forms of violence against displaced persons so that perpetrators will be brought to justice.