![]() While recent years have seen the progressive return of peace and stability to those parts of the continent that were troubled then (and as a result many of the refugees and IDPs have been able to return home), at the same time new conflicts have emerged: in DRC, South Sudan, Egypt and Tunisia, and more recently in Mali and the Central African Republic, and in Somalia a never-ending war that has morphed into an atrocious politico-religious conflict. In much of Africa what followed were internal conflicts Angola, Mozambique, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda are only a few examples. As then President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said: “We saw refugees coming out of colonial countries and our idea was, treat these people well.” It was not expected that after independence there would still be refugees – nor internally displaced persons (IDPs), who do not even feature in the OAU Convention. The primary concern then was the large number of Africans fleeing conflict arising from the struggles against colonialism. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established in 1963 and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (the OAU Refugee Convention) was enacted in 1969 and came into force in 1974. ![]() Shortly after independence, many states in Africa were faced with the challenge of nation building along with the need to protect, assist and find durable solutions for refugees displaced by the wars of liberation and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
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