REFUGEE CONVENTION
CONVENTION GOVERNING THE SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF
REFUGEE PROBLEMS IN AFRICA
PREAMBLE
We, the Heads of State and Government assembled in the city of Addis Ababa, from 6-10
September 1969,
1. Noting with concern the constantly increasing numbers of refugees in Africa and
desirous of finding ways and means of alleviating their misery and suffering as well as
providing them with a better life and future,
2. Recognizing the need for and essentially humanitarian approach towards solving the
problems of refugees,
3. Aware, however, that refugee problems are a source of friction among many Member
States, and desirous of eliminating the source of such discord,
4. Anxious to make a distinction between a refugee who seeks a peaceful and normal life
and a person fleeing his country for the sole purpose of fomenting subversion from outside,
5. Determined that the activities of such subversive elements should be discouraged, in
accordance with the Declaration on the Problem of Subversion and Resolution on the
Problem of Refugees adopted at Accra in 1965,
6. Bearing in mind that the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights have affirmed the principle that human beings shall enjoy fundamental
rights and freedoms without discrimination,
7. Recalling Resolution 2312 (XXII) of 14 December 1967 of the United Nations General
Assembly, relating to the Declaration on Territorial Asylum,