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Sara Arapiles

Postdoc

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Unfolding Africa’s Impact on the Development of International Refugee Law

Author

  • Sara Arapiles

Summary, in English

This article traces the contributions of African states to the development of international refugee law and explores the role African human rights supervisory bodies have played in the interpretation and application of this field of law. While Africa's contributions to international refugee law are often overlooked, this article sets out to identify Africa's involvement in the drafting process of the UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It also explores the legal framework for refugees in Africa, in particular the OAU Refugee Convention and the Bangkok Principles on Status and Treatment of Refugees, and the extent to which these two instruments have enriched international refugee law. The article argues that some of their provisions may provide evidence of customary rules of international law. Lastly, it examines some of the authoritative pronouncements made by African human rights supervisory bodies, in so far as they adopt a progressive approach to interpreting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers.

Publishing year

2021

Language

English

Pages

9-33

Publication/Series

Journal of African Law

Volume

65

Issue

S1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Topic

  • Law

Keywords

  • Refugee Definition
  • 1951 Refugee Convention
  • 1969 OAU Convention
  • Bangkok Principles
  • African human rights system
  • African states
  • Mänskliga rättigheter

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1464-3731