The OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa was adopted on 10 September 1969 in Addis Ababa, entering force in June 1974. It is the regional refugee instrument for Africa and works in complement to the 1951 UN Convention.
The Expanded Definition
Article 1.2 of the Convention significantly expands the refugee definition to include every person who, 'owing to external , occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence'.
This is significantly broader than the 1951 definition and predates the similar approach by 15 years. The expanded definition matters because many post-colonial African displacement situations — wars, civil conflict, generalized violence — did not fit cleanly into the 1951 Convention's individualized-persecution .
The African refugee definition was a major doctrinal contribution. It recognized that contemporary refugee situations often involved mass displacement from generalized violence rather than individual targeted persecution — a recognition that had not adequately addressed.
Other Convention Provisions
The OAU Convention also commits states to:
- : not returning refugees to territory where they face persecution or generalized danger.
- : facilitating return only when conditions permit.
- Burden-sharing principles: equitable distribution of refugee-hosting responsibilities.
- Granting of : legal protection in receiving states.
- Travel documents: providing travel documentation to refugees.
- Prohibition of subversive activities: preventing refugees from engaging in activities against their country of origin.
Membership
46 of 55 AU states are party to the Convention. The near-universal membership reflects the OAU Convention's centrality to African approaches to displacement.
The Convention's Practical Effect
The Convention has been credited with enabling Africa's relatively generous large-scale refugee acceptance throughout the post-colonial period. Examples:
- Tanzania's hosting of refugees from Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, and Mozambique.
- Kenya's hosting of refugees from Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia.
- Uganda's progressive refugee response: hosting over 1.5 million refugees with relatively generous policies including work rights and freedom of movement.
- Chad's hosting of refugees from Sudan, Central African Republic, Nigeria.
- Ethiopia's historical hosting of refugees from multiple countries.
African refugee hosting has often been more generous in scale than some wealthier states' refugee hosting — a generosity partly enabled by the OAU Convention's expanded definition and burden-sharing commitments.
Why It Matters
The OAU Convention matters because:
- It addressed gaps in the 1951 Convention for contemporary displacement situations.
- It pioneered the expanded refugee definition that later influenced the Cartagena Declaration.
- It legitimated African refugee hosting at scale.
- It articulated burden-sharing principles that influenced subsequent international refugee instruments.
- It complements the universal refugee framework with regional specificity.
Limits and Challenges
The Convention faces ongoing challenges:
- Implementation gaps: many parties have not fully implemented Convention obligations.
- Funding shortfalls: refugee hosting often outpaces international support.
- Political tensions: refugee hosting can generate domestic political backlash.
- Coordination with : regional and international refugee architecture has overlapping authorities.
- Modern displacement complexity: contemporary mixed migration situations may not fit cleanly even into the expanded OAU definition.
Relationship to Other Frameworks
The OAU Convention sits within a broader African displacement legal framework:
- OAU Convention (1969): refugees.
- (2009): internally displaced persons.
- 1951 UN Convention and 1967 Protocol: universal refugee framework.
- National refugee laws: implementing both regional and universal frameworks.
- AU Migration Policy Framework: addressing broader migration questions.
The combination provides one of the most developed regional displacement legal architectures globally.
Common Misconceptions
The OAU Convention is sometimes treated as replacing the 1951 Convention for African states. It complements rather than replaces — most African states are party to both.
Another misconception is that the expanded definition is unique to Africa. The Cartagena Declaration (1984) adopted a similar approach for Latin America, and the African and Latin American approaches together have influenced contemporary discussions of refugee definition reform globally.
Real-World Examples
The decades of African refugee hosting at scale demonstrate the Convention's practical effect. The 2024 Sudan displacement crisis has tested the framework at unprecedented scale, with neighboring states hosting millions of Sudanese refugees. Uganda's progressive refugee response remains one of the most-cited examples of OAU Convention implementation in practice.
Example
Uganda's recognition of South Sudanese refugees as a group under the OAU Convention's expanded definition has enabled hosting of 1.6+ million South Sudanese without individual eligibility determination.