State Sovereignty and the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons under the Kampala Convention: Lessons from Cameroon’s Anglophone Conflict

Abstract

This paper highlights the interplay between State sovereignty, State obligations and the sustainable protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) under the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa,with special focus on Cameroon’s ongoing anglophone conflict. It highlights how Cameroon’s use of sovereignty both as a shield and a tool has undermined its obligations to protect IDPs, especially in conflict settings. This is done by assessing the fairness with which the state of Cameroon juggles its right of sovereignty in the face of its obligations under the Convention. The paper finds that, because of different reasons, the right of sovereignty is used either consciously or unconsciously, legally or illegally, by the state of Cameroon, adversely affecting the protection and assistance of IDPs. Consequently, the state has been unable to transparently and fully incorporate its obligations under the Convention into domestic law. The paper proposes possible solutions aimed at improving the protection of IDPs as required under the Convention.