Advancing Protection under Article I(2) of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention

Article I(2) of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention is the Convention’s ‘most celebrated feature’. It is one of Africa’s chief contributions to international law-making in the post-colonial era and the ‘most influential conceptual standard of refugee status apart from the [1951] Convention definition itself’. While the Article I(2) refugee definition was ‘specifically designed to meet the requirements of African reality’, it has also been praised as a ‘lesson for all States in resolving their respective refugee problems’. This is due largely to its progressive and expansive character. To date, Article I(2) has been applied predominantly to protect people fleeing situations involving conflict, violence and political unrest. More recently, some States have applied it in other contexts, such as those involving drought and famine. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to Article I(2) and a reference point for dialogue and collaboration amongst States and other stakeholders to advance its implementation in practice.