CM/Res.1117 (XLVI)
RESOLUTION ON THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES IN AFRICA
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Forty-sixth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 20 to 25 July 1987,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the General Secretariat with regard to the refugee situation in Africa, and the report on the activities of the OAU Commission of Fifteen on Refugees,
Deeply concerned with recent refugee influxes and the resulting deterioration of the material situation of refugees and displaced persons, particularly in the southern part of the continent,
Outraged by the recurrent destructive military attacks and other acts of destabilization carried out by the apartheid regime of South Africa against countries of asylum in Southern Africa,
Recognizing that a number of very complex factors among them natural calamities, violation of human rights, armed conflicts and racist South Africa’s destabilization activities give rise to refugee problems in some Member States,
Noting with satisfaction the outgoing efforts on the part of some Member States to address the root causes of the refugee problem and most notably the coming into force in October 1986 of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights and the measures being taken in order to bring about the establishment of the African Human Rights Commission, which will greatly contribute to the eradication of one of the causes of the African Refugee problem,
Noting with concern the slow pace of the ICARA II implementation exercise due to lack of funding,
Recalling Resolution CM/Res.1084 (XLV) on the necessity for the OAU Commission of Fifteen on Refugees to undertake fact finding missions to various
Member States for the purpose of assessing refugee situations and the desirability for Member States to facilitate the carrying out of such missions,
Mindful of the importance of these missions to be undertaken sometime in October/November, 1987,
Noting with appreciation the commendable efforts on the part of the international community, particularly those of UNHCR and of the Voluntary Agencies in favor of refugees in Africa,
Determined to mobilize auditional African resources for the funding of essential refugee activities in favor of Africa’s refugees:
TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the General Secretariat relating to refugees in Africa, and ADOPTS the Report on the activities of the OAU Commission of Fifteen on Refugees;
REQUESTS the Secretary-General of the United Nations, acting in concert with OAU Secretary-General and the UNHCR, to continue with his efforts to secure the universal condemnation and prohibition of military attacks against refugees, refugee homes and settlements; These attacks, apart from the human and material losses they cause, constitute a grave violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity recipient states;
URGES Member States whose nationals have become refugees to seriously examine the root causes of this problem and work for its elimination;
COMMENDS the Member States which have taken measures with a view to facilitating the voluntary return of refugees to their respective countries of origin;
REITERATES the fundamental right of the individual refugee to return to his country of origin in pace and dignity, and to this end calls upon Member States to fully observe this right by creating conditions
conductive to the attainment of voluntary repatriation of refugees by assuring and by ensuring full reintegration in the socio-economic fabric of their national society;
URGES Member States, the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to intensify their collaborative effort in promoting and implementing other appropriate durable solutions to the existing refugee and displaced persons situations on the continent;
COMMENDS the Secretary-General for the steps he has so far taken to convene an International Conference on the Situation of Refugees and Displaced Persons in Southern Africa and REQUESTS him to enlist the active support of the international community, in particular the UNHCR, the UN and the SADCC Secretariat for the early realization of this objective;
CALLS ON the African Group at the United Nations, New York to (once again) draw the attention of the UN Secretary-General to the slow pace in the implementation of CARE II Projects, and to INVITE him, acting in collaboration with the OAU, UNDP and UNHCR, to take the necessary measures to mobilize adequate funds for the effective implementation of such projects in order to assist in alleviating the burden placed on the social and economic infrastructures of the countries of asylum;
NOTE WITH APPRECIATION the recent offers made by Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to admit on emergency basis those South African refugees who cannot safely remain in the countries of the first asylum, and CALLS ON those Member States which have relatively small refugee populations to urgently consider accepting more refugees, particularly those from South Africa and Namibia;
INVITES all Member States, acting in close co-operation with the OAU, UNHCR and Voluntary Agencies, to identify possible local sources of funding and to engage in fund-raising activities within each Member States, especially on the occasion of African Refugee Day;
CALLS ON those Member States which have not yet ratified the UN and OAU Conventions on Refugees and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights to do so as soon as possible;
APPEALS to those Member States concerned to make the necessary arrangements to facilitate the visits of the Commission of Fifteen on Refugees;
URGES the Secretariat to communicate well in advance to all those Member States to be visited by the Commission dates of the missions and composition of the delegations, and to make available to all those States documents relating to their respective refugee situations.