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MINDFUL that Member States of the African Union have adopted democratic
practices and adhere to the principles of non-discrimination, equality and equal
protection of the law under the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights, as well as under other regional and international human rights law
instruments;
RECOGNISING the inherent rights of internally displaced persons as provided for
and protected in international human rights and humanitarian law and as set out in
the 1998 United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which are
recognized as an important international framework for the protection of internally
displaced persons;
AFFIRMING our primary responsibility and commitment to respect, protect and
fulfill the rights to which internally displaced persons are entitled, without
discrimination of any kind;
NOTING the specific roles of international Organizations and agencies within the
framework of the United Nations inter-agency collaborative approach to internally
displaced persons, especially the protection expertise of the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the invitation extended to
it by the Executive Council of the African Union in Decision EX/CL.413 (XIII) of July
2008 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to continue and reinforce its role in the protection
of and assistance to internally displaced persons, within the United Nations
coordination mechanism; and noting also the mandate of the International
Committee of the Red Cross to protect and assist persons affected by armed
conflict and other situations of violence, as well as the work of civil society
organizations, in conformity with the laws of the country in which they exercise
such roles and mandates;
RECALLING the lack of a binding African and international legal and institutional
framework specifically, for the prevention of internal displacement and the
protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons;
REAFFIRMING the historical commitment of the AU Member States to the
protection of and assistance to refugees and displaced persons and, in particular,
the implementation of Executive Council Decisions EX.CL/Dec.129 (V) and
EX.CL/127 (V) of July 2004 in Addis Ababa, to the effect that that the specific
needs of internally displaced persons (lOPs) such as protection and assistance
should be addressed through a separate legal instrument, and to collaborate with
relevant cooperating partners and other stakeholders to ensure that internally
displaced persons are provided with an appropriate legal framework to ensure their
adequate protection and assistance as well as with durable solutions, respectively;
CONVINCED that the present Convention for the Protection and Assistance of
Internally Displaced Persons presents such a legal framework;