Description
Refugee protection is guided by the 1951 Geneva Convention as well as regional adaptations, including the 1969 OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Though the convention recognises the authority of individual nation states to confer refugee status on asylum seekers, the establishment of regional economic communities which grant community citizenship to all nationals of member states has the potential to expand opportunities for territorial asylum. This paper argues that much as asylum is not the primary focus of regional integration, such regional frameworks could facilitate the realisation of the three core durable solutions – repatriation, local integration and resettlement.
