Refugee Definition in Africa and Latin America: The Lessons of Pragmatism

Abstract

The author points out that the internationally accepted definition of refugee, found in the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, has proven inadequate in dealing with the problems posed by the millions of externally displaced persons in the third world. He notes that broader definitions of refugee have been advanced at regional levels, as illustrated by the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (OAU Convention) and the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees (Cartagena Declaration). This article outlines the evolution of the broader refugee definitions in the OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration. It presents historical synopses of asylum and refuge in Africa and Latin America, and recounts the circumstances and conditions which led to the revision, in these third world regions, of the refugee definitions set by the international community in the early fifties. It establishes that both the OAU Convention and the Cartagena Declaration have created regional norms for the use and acceptance of their broader approach. The OAU Convention, as a binding legal instrument, created regional law and the Cartagena Declaration, as a non-binding instrument, created customary legal rules for defining refugees. The author concludes that Africa and Central America, in dealing with the reality of regional conflict, adapted a refugee definition to conform with the tenets of humanitarianism, as well as the dictates of pragmatism. Finally, the author invites reflection on the evolution of these broader and pragmatic regional refugee definitions. The 1990s will be a period of continuous and substantial refugee flows, bringing refugees from poverty-stricken countries to the doorsteps of most developed western countries. For this reason, the author feels it is important for all States to utilize the lessons from these regional experiences in establishing a pragmatic and workable refugee definition for their respective countries

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