Instrument Type Date Scope / Notes Key Provisions AU State Parties IGAD Protocol on Free Movement Regional protocol 2012 East African free movement. Visa-free arrangements among member states. IGAD members. SADC Protocol on Movement Regional protocol 2005 Southern African movement. States reaffirm SADC commitment to members. international refugee conventions. Sources: UN treaty databases; AU Commission; UNHCR; scholarly analyses. 2.2.2 African Union and Subregional Instruments Regionally, the landmark 1969 OAU Convention on Refugees (now under the AU) explicitly broadens the refugee definition to include those fleeing "events seriously disturbing public order".18 This covers persons escaping civil war, occupation, or large-scale violence (common in Africa) thus granting de facto asylum to conflict-displaced people not captured by 1951 Convention criteria. The 1969 OAU Convention remains binding on all AU members and has no geographic limitation, giving Africa a continent-specific refugee framework that complements global law. The 2009 AU Kampala Convention on IDPs is the first binding continental treaty on internal displacement.19 It incorporates the Guiding Principles and specifically addresses African contexts (e.g., armed conflict, natural disasters, development projects). Key provisions include State duties to prevent arbitrary displacement, and to protect IDPs' rights. Notably, Kampala mandates that States establish "simplified procedures" for resolving IDP land/property disputes, and to "restore the lands of communities with special dependency and attachment" upon return.20 It also requires effective remedies (compensation or reparations) for harms suffered due to displacement.21 In practice, Kampala's focus on remedy rather than automatic restitution reflects Africa's complex land tenure systems.22 In February 2024, the AU Assembly agreed on a Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Right to a Nationality (an "AU Statelessness Protocol") aimed at 18 OAU Convention (n 2), art 1(2). 19 Kampala Convention (n 3). See Brookings Institution, "What Does the Kampala Convention on Internal Displacement in Africa Mean for Housing, Land and Property Restitution?" (2013), https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-does-the-kampala-convention-on-internal-displacement-in-africamean-for-housing-land-and-property-restitution/. 20 Kampala Convention (n 3), arts 11–12; Brookings Institution (n 19). 21 Kampala Convention (n 3), art 12(2); Brookings Institution (n 19). 22 Brookings Institution (n 19) (discussing the tension between restitution and compensation approaches under Kampala given complex African land tenure arrangements).