Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
47
protection in these countries, they often encounter restrictions on their right to work or
ability to move freely within the country.
General adherence to the 1951 Convention
All states in East Africa except Eritrea and South Sudan have signed and ratified the 1951
Convention. Of OIC member states in the region, Djibouti, Mozambique, Sudan, and Uganda
have passed national legislation creating asylum systems, while Somalia has not.172 Uganda,
Ethiopia, and Kenya, the three major refugee-hosting countries in East Africa, all draw on the
1969 OAU Convention’s expanded definition of a refugee. 173 However, all three place certain
restrictions on the rights set out by the 1951 Convention, specifically the freedom of
movement.
Many regional initiatives, but little commitment or meaningful change
There have been several international and regional initiatives designed to serve as fora to
discuss issues related to migration and humanitarian protection. One that appears promising
is the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) Regional Consultative Process
on Migration (RCP) and Regional Migration Policy Framework. The RCP brings together the
six member states of IGAD (Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan) in regional
dialogue on migration issues, usually producing recommendations on protecting migrants and
refugee rights. Additionally, the Regional Migration Policy Framework established in 2013 by
IGAD provides strong policy guidelines on protecting migrants’ rights and refugees and
encouraging free movement within the region.174 However, the implementation of such
recommendations remains a challenge, and other regional initiatives have struggled due to
various barriers, including a lack of resources and political will.175
A lack of durable solutions
Though several East African countries host large numbers of refugees, most follow a “care and
maintenance” approach to protection, providing refugees with a basic level of subsistence and
security until they are able to return home. This process is often facilitated by return
agreements between UNHCR and the countries of asylum and origin to ensure that returns are
orderly and voluntary, such as the Tripartite Agreement Governing the Voluntary Repatriation
of Somali Refugees Living in Kenya, signed in 2013.176 At the moment however, the outlook for
tackling the root causes of displacement (e.g. violence, insecurity, and a lack of livelihood
opportunities) in places like South Sudan or Somalia—and thus facilitating any large-scale
172 The quality of some of these national asylum systems has been questioned, however. For example, the Sudanese
government has recognized many Eritreans, Syrians, Somalis, and Ethiopians as refugees, but there have been reports of
asylum seekers being detained for illegal entry. U.S. Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for
2015: Sudan,” accessed June 1, 2016,
173 In Kenya the two conventions technically provide different statuses, though UNHCR still typically performs refugee
status determination and in practice the two are conflated with little, if any, distinction. Tamara Wood, “Expanding
Protection in Africa? Case Studies of the Implementation of the 1969 African Refuge Convention’s Expanded Refugee
Definition,” International Journal of Refugee Law 26, no. 4 (2016): 572.
174 Horwood and Hooper, Protection on the Move, 16
175 The Regional Mixed Migration Committee for the Horn of Africa and Yemen held meetings on the topic in 2011 and 2013,
but there has been minimal cooperation outside of these meetings. Furthermore, of six mixed migration task forces created
by UNHCR and IOM, only two, those for Kenya and Yemen, have met with any regularity in recent years. Horwood and
Hooper, Protection on the Move, 16.
176 The text of this agreement can be found here: UNHCR, “Tripartite Agreement between the Government of the Republic of
Kenya, the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Governing the Voluntary Repatriation of Somali Refugees Living in Kenya, 2013,” accessed August 29, 2016,