Supporting Refugee Protection Capacity in West Africa

Holding Workshops on Refugee Law

Human Rights First’s 1995 report on the state of refugee protection in Africa, African Exodus, identified the need to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs in West Africa to advocate for the rights of refugees. With this goal in mind, the Refugee Program identified a group of human rights and humanitarian organizations from eleven countries across the region with an interest in refugee issues. Representatives of these organizations were invited to participate in a series of workshops on refugee and human rights law aimed at strengthening knowledge of refugee law, fostering new advocacy skills and facilitating exchange between activists.

The Refugee Program held the first workshop in Cote d’Ivoire in November 1997, exploring the specific rights granted to refugees under international human rights and refugee law. In November 1999, a second workshop in Aburi, Ghana sought to identify ways of giving practical effect to the right to protection of refugees and the internally displaced, using both legal and extra-legal mechanisms.

Dakar, Senegal was the locale for the third workshop which focused on strategies for ensuring enjoyment of the social and economic rights of refugees and nationals in July 2000. It also dealt with the use of the Internet as an advocacy tool and the development of practical networking strategies. At the close of the workshop the participants formally declared the foundation and formation of the West African Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Network (WARIPNET). Members of the network resolved to work together actively to promote and ensure refugee rights and agreed on a schedule for the drawing up of a plan of action.

Supporting WARIPNET initiatives

Since WARIPNET was formally created in July 2000, Human Rights First has been committed to providing the support that the network requires to become a functioning advocacy institution. When WARIPNET met for the first time as a network, representatives of Human Rights First were present to advise the network on key issues relating to the formulation of its statute and structure and preparing plan of action that the network.

Such collaborations have included facilitating WARIPNET’s attendance at relevant meetings of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Human Rights First has assisted WARIPNET with the preparation of statements to be presented to those meetings. For example, the Refugee Program worked with WARIPNET to make a presentation to a meeting on ensuring refugee protection in situations of mass influx held as part of the UNHCR’s Global Consultations Process. Read more about this on the WARIPNET website.

Another concrete collaboration was the creation of the WARIPNET website. Refugee Program staff worked with WARIPNET member organizations to shape the content of the website. Then, Human Rights First’s Web Department transformed that content into a live website, designing its appearance, navigation and creating the necessary technical structure. The website was launched in April 2002, at WARIPNET’s second forum in Pretoria, South Africa. WARIPNET has now taken over the day to day administration of the site, while Human Rights First staff remains available to provide technical assistance and legal advice where necessary.

In addition to launching the WARIPNET website, the second WARIPNET forum also provided an arena for the development of new joint advocacy programs in the region. WARIPNET and the Refugee Program are planning to work together to address some of the most serious threats to refugee protection in the region in the future.