By the STAFF of the Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD)
To collaborate with RFLD, write to us at admin@rflgd.org
Various regional normative frameworks have been adopted to ensure the protection and assistance of forcibly displaced people on the continent, including the Kampala Convention. In addition, a number of standards and policies are in place for the protection and promotion of women’s rights. The AU has adopted landmark frameworks, including the Maputo Protocol and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.
International and regional development policies are also aware of the importance of women’s rights. The Sustainable Development Goals have a stand-alone focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and Africa’s Agenda 2063 envisions a future where women are able to realize their potential as drivers of change. Efforts to protect and promote women’s rights should also be an opportunity to create an environment conducive to the exercise of their free will. Women play a major role in contributing to the lifestyle and development of their societies. In the contexts of forced displacement that are the reality for millions of displaced people in Africa, and the increasing cases of return and reintegration efforts, the violation of women’s socio-economic rights, including housing, land and property rights which are all essential to their ability to adapt, continues to be neglected.
Housing, land and property rights focus primarily on the need to have a home, free from fear of forced eviction; a place that offers shelter, security, stability and the opportunity to earn a living. Since these rights are closely linked to access to livelihoods, safety, security and an adequate standard of living, failure to respect them is a serious obstacle to displaced women’s prospects of return, local integration or settlement elsewhere.
The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) is rooted in the reinforcement of states’ responsibility to prevent, manage and respond to forced displacement. The legal framework currently ratified by 31 member states has made progress in recognizing the particular needs of vulnerable groups, including displaced women. The Convention addresses the safety and security needs of marginalized and discriminated groups by urging governments to take the necessary measures for special protection and assistance. Governments have the central task of eliminating harmful and discriminatory practices by repealing laws that discriminate against women, and by adopting laws that protect women’s rights. Practice in different countries across the continent identifies many gaps in the implementation of the provisions enshrined in the numerous legal and policy frameworks. Discrimination and mistreatment of the disadvantaged in Africa are particularly acute, especially for the millions of displaced women and girls. In addition, difficulties in accessing justice for violations of housing, land and property rights are widespread among women in Africa, and become even more acute in contexts of displacement.
Key challenges facing the housing, land and property rights of internally displaced women
Internally displaced people, especially women, face a number of challenges:
- Lack of shelter, security and inability to secure a livelihood before, during and after displacement; during return, local integration or settlement elsewhere. – They live in fear of forced eviction and in inadequate living conditions. – Persistent problems such as discrimination and marginalization during displacement. In addition, host communities sometimes make it difficult for displaced women to access basic services such as land, water sources, property, etc. – Insecurity and instability resulting from property ownership and unilateral termination of lease contracts for land, houses and buildings, leading to a permanent risk of eviction. – Difficulty in rehabilitating family property and rebuilding family homes, especially for single women, due to lack of resources, equipment or ability to pay for the necessary labor. – Many women do not enjoy their land rights, particularly when family plots are sold. When a plot is sold, it is the husband who initiates the transaction, and the sales contract is drawn up in his name. In the event of the husband’s death, the wife is excluded and has no access to the sale documents. Most of the time, women have no access to land for farming. In the event of displacement, women are invariably seen as a valued labor force to work the fields of the host community, rather than as owners of the land. This results from the fact that matrimonial responsibility in civil marriages even before displacement is always conceived as being for the husband alone. Land registration is done solely in the husband’s name, and some women are even obliged to register their own property in their husband’s name. Finally, women face poor access to justice in both customary and traditional courts.
Normative frameworks governing protection and assistance for internally displaced persons
Displacement is covered by the provisions relating to the movement/mobility of persons of the ACHPR. The various normative frameworks define displacement and exhaustively set out the various causes of displacement, including political unrest, natural disasters, major government development projects, etc. Africa, as the host of numerous movements/mobilities, has established normative frameworks regulating the protection and assistance of displaced persons, such as the Kampala Convention. This convention was adopted in 2009 and put into force in 2012, and will be celebrated in 2019 for its 10th anniversary. The 23 articles of the Convention set out the obligations of member states to prevent internal displacement, the preparedness and responsibilities of states to respond to internal displacement, the responsibilities of states for durable solutions (including local integration or resettlement, return and relocation).
To date, the Kampala Convention has only been ratified by 31 member states. Some member states have domesticated the convention. Some member states have set up initiatives to implement the Convention’s provisions. The AU has taken a number of initiatives to advance the Convention, including the adoption of the Model Law, which provides guidance to member states on the transposition of the Convention’s provisions into national laws. The AU also organized the Harare Conference on the Kampala Convention, at which member states were invited to take progressive action to make the Kampala Convention work for their populations. In addition to the Kampala Convention, the AU has adopted other legal frameworks protecting displaced women’s rights to land, housing and property. Frameworks such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Maputo Protocol provide for the protection of these rights.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Advocate that African Union member states employ a more comprehensive strategy to protect Africa’s displaced women to support their potential to rebuild their lives and lead change in post-conflict economies.
- Advocate for member states to ratify, domesticate and implement the Kampala Convention to complement the protection of women’s rights.
- Explore and examine the key factors impeding the full realization of women’s rights, and debate the way forward in terms of concrete next steps.
- Stimulate consensus on the need to monitor gender indicators and collect timely and accurate data on women’s displacement and the effect on their rights and access to justice;
- Advocate harmonization between member states, regional and continental institutions, humanitarian partners, human rights and development agencies and the international community in protecting the rights of displaced women across the continent.
