The Place and Role of the OAU Bureau for Refugees in the African Refugee Crisis

Abstract

The Bureau for the Placement, Education and Training of Refugees (BPETR), established by the OAU in 1968, is intended, amongst other things, to seek educational and economic opportunities for refugees in host countries, act as an information conduit for member States and the international community, help refugees cope better with their present situation and eventual voluntary repatriation, and to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), voluntary agencies, and member States in pursuit of the objectives established in the OAU Convention. Initially designed to be wholly independent, the Bureau's operations were to be coordinated and facilitated through the OAU, UNHCR, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and other UN agencies and NGOs. The present paper is based on a background survey of materials on the OAU in general and the Bureau in particular, together with a site visit to Addis Ababa in 1993. It aims to establish the precise functions of the Bureau, assess its strengths and weaknesses, and consider its potential in the protection of refugees in Africa. It reviews the structure, organization and personnel of the Bureau, its operations in three main areas: education and training, research and placement, and protection, and the question of funding. The author concludes that the Bureau's problems derive from two main sources: the fashion in which it has conceptualized its role, which is also a function of the influence of the OAU over its programming; and the question of finances. Among several recommendations, he suggests a thorough re-examination of the Bureau's mandate, with particular reference to political and financial autonomy

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