COVID-19 AND ITS IMPACT ON PERSONS LIVING IN POVERTY: THE CASE OF REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN AFRICA
Keywords:
Global health crisis; refugees; internally displaced persons; human rights and freedoms; liberticidal mechanismsAbstract
In response to the current global health crisis, state-sponsored repressive measures are more damaging to people who, in normal times, are already facing survival difficulties, such as poor people. This article places particular concern on the protection of the rights of refugees and internally displaced populations in some African host countries during this period of Covid-19. This analysis shows that the role played by governments and some humanitarian agencies in ensuring their survival which has become difficult due to the existence of the liberticidal mechanisms, helps to minimise the harmful impact that the implementation of the measures places on the exercise of rights and freedoms by these vulnerable people, and addresses the challenges that compromise the effectiveness and the efficacy of their guarantee.
References
1. Africa had, at the date of 25th March 2020, 18155157 IDPs; 5954772 refugees and 2411089 forcibly displaced persons. Read for details, William W. Covid -19 and Africa’s di splacement crisis. Africa Center for Strategic studies [Internet] 2020 Mar [cited 2020 Dec. 09]. Available from: http://africacenter.org/spotlight/covid-19-and-africas-displacement-crisis.
2. The International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (art 6;9 (1); 12 &13); the International Covenant for Economic social and cultural rights (art2(1) & (2); art 12, etc. art 5 of the International Convention on the elimination of racial discrimination; the Convention on the elimination of all discrimination aga inst woman (CEDAW); art 3 of the Convention against torture; Arts. 2;4;11; 15; 16& 17 of the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights (ACPHR),etc. constitute amongst other universal and regional instruments, the general framework on which provisions protecting the rights of refugees; IDPs and migrants lie
3. The 1951 Convention to the status on refugees in its Arts. 3;23;21;22;26 &33(1) specifically establishes the nature of states obligations to safeguard human dignity of refugees in exceptional periods. The 1967 Protocol made the 1951 Convention a universal instrument for all refugees in the world, by removing the geographical and temporal provisions set out in the original text according to which only European victims of events that occurred before 01/01/ 1951 could benefit from refugees’ status.
4. The 1969 Convention of the Organisation of African Union governing specific aspects of refugees Problems in Africa and the 2009 Kampala Convention on the assistance and protection to IDPs, set the framework for the protection of these categories of persons: Arts 2(3); 4;5 (1); (5); (6), as well as Art 9 (1a); 9 (2a; b & c) of the 2009 Convention respectively refer to rights and freedoms that require increased protection in times of crisis.
5. UNHCR. Impact of Covid -19 on the protection of displaced and stateless populations. West and Central Africa. [Internet] 2020 May 5 [cited 2020 Dec 09]; 2p; Available from http://data2.unhcr.org/fr/documents/download/75706.
6. Art 12(2) of the ICESCR.
7. UNHCR. Impact of Covid-19. See above at note 5.
8. UNHCR. Policy Brief. Covid-19 and people on the move.[Internet] 2020 Jun[cited 2020 Nov 27]; 25p. Available from: https://data2unhcr.org/fr/documents/download/76793.
9. The Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya has a population density of about 1000 times that of the host Turkana community; in Somalia, there are half a million IPDs, living in crowded settlements throughout Mogadishu. See Policy Brief at note 8 above. COVID-19 and its Impact on Persons Living in Poverty Kamgang Simeu Christelle Corinne
10. West and Central African regions recorded a 40% increase in covid -19 contaminated cases from March to July 2020; for details on this issue, see UNHCR. Covid -19 emergency response. West and Central Africa. [Internet] 2020 Jul 1 st [cited 2020 Nov 09]: Available from: http://data2.unhcr.org/fr/documents/download/76435.
11. UNHCR. Policy Brief. Above at note 8.
12. This is the case of Cameroon. Read Ministry of Public Health. Health Sector Strategy 2016 -2017. Report. Yaoundé; MINSANTE; pp 68-69.
13. These practices are in total contradiction with the provisions of art 9(a) of the Kampala Convention which provides that: “States parties shall protect the rights of IDPs regardless of the cause of displacement by refraining from or preventing the following acts (…) discriminations against such persons in the enjoyment of any rights or freedoms on the grounds that they are IDPs (…)”.
14. In Cameroon, direct payment of care accounted for 95% of private health spending in 2018, and the total household contribution was 66% of the total health spending in 2014. Source : Wathi. La situation sanitaire au Came roun : Stratégie sectorielle de santé 2016 -2017. [Internet] 2018 Sept [cited 2020 Dec 1st] : Available from : https://www.wathi.org/election-cmr-2018/contexte- election-Cameroun-2018/la-situation-sanitaire-au-Cameroun.
15. Jacquemot P. Les systèmes de santé en Afrique et l’inégalité face aux soins. De Boeck Superieur « Afrique contemporaine », 2013; 3 (243) : 97. This author reveals that in Mauritania, 72% of the subsidies paid to hospitals benefit 40% of the richest inhabitants; in Ghana 1/3 of public health spending benefits the richest quintile while 12% goes to the poorest quintile. This uneven distribution of spending is also found between those devoted to cities and rural areas.
16. Art 3& 23 of the 1951 Convention and art 9(1) of the African Union 2009 Convention.
17. Agence Française de Presse. L’Ouganda lève prudemment certaines restrictions contre le covid -
18. Voix d’Afrique. [Internet] 2020 May [cited 2020 Dec 07]; Available from : https://www.voafrique.com/&/l-ouganda-1%C3%A8ve-prudemment-certaines-restrictions-contre- le-covid-19/5046231.html. households that ran out of food, was higher than in host communities (64 versus 9%). Uganda hosts the largest refugee population in Africa, with some 1.5 million people coming mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For more details on the devastating effects of COVID19 on refugees in Uganda in particular and Africa in general, read ONU Infos. La pandémie de Covid -19 aggrave le dénuement des réfugiés établis en Ouganda, selon le HCR. [Internet]2021 June 17 [cited 2021 Sept 06] ; available from https://news.un.org/fr/ story/2021/06/1098292.
19. According to paragraph 2 of the UN Convention on refugees, states shall accord to refugees treatment “as favourable as possible” and in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances with respect to education (…)”.
20. Art 11 & 12 (2).
21. The inability to derogate from the Charter rights was reaffirmed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in that case. “In contrast to other international law instruments, the African Charter does not contain a derogation clause. Therefore, limitation on the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter cannot be justified by emergencies or special circumstances (…)”
22. Art 32 & 33(1) of the 1951 Convention. Art 2(3) of the 1969 African Convention.
23. Art 3 and art 4 of the 1951 and 1969 Conventions respectively.
24. Cameroon; Central African Republic; Burkina-Faso; Sierra-Leone.
25. Mali; Senegal; Chad.
26. Niger and Nigeria. For more detail on this issue, read UNHCR. Impact of covid -19 on protection of displaced and stateless populations. West and Central Africa. See above at note 5.
27. Read art 9 (1a) of the Kampala Convention of 2009. Arts 3 & 23 of the 1951 Convention establish the principle of non-discrimination for the first provision, and equal treatment for the second one.
28. According to art 3 (1) (j), “(…). States Parties shall ensure assistance to internally displaced persons by meeting their basic needs as well as allowing and facilitating rapid and unimpeded access to humanitarian organisations personnel. Concerning the modalities organising the institutional partnership, see § 2(b) of the same provision.
29. Art VIII (1) provides that “States Parties shall cooperate with the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees”.
30. Closure of local markets; postponement of food distribution; restrictions on free movement in and out refugees and displaced persons’ sites; isolation requirements, etc. were measures, amongst others restricting the mobility of these vulnerable persons. Source: Inter -Agency Standing Committee (IASC). Scaling -up covid -19 outbreak read iness and response operation in humanitarian situations. Version 1.1. Report. New York: IFRC, IOM, UNHCR, WHO [Internet] 2020 Mar [cited 2020 Dec 02]; 8 p. Available from: https://interagencystandingcommittee. org/system/files/2020- 04/IASC/InterimGuidanceonCovid19foroutbreakReadinessandResponseOperationsCampsandCa mp-like_Settings.pdf.
31. In general, more than half of Africans have to leave their houses to access water, and only ¼ has access to sewage infrastructures. Also, 54% of Africans live in areas served by a piped -water system; while 26% live in areas with sewage systems. This represents a challenge for achieving the sustainable goal for development n°6 targets to “provide access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all”. In most countries hosting refugees and IDPs, such as Cameroon or Nigeria, 40% of the population have always gone without clean water; 21% did not access it several times, while only 10% of the population did not access it once or twice, in a year for the first country, whi le 10% has always gone without clean water; 14% has gone without it several times and 17% once or twice, for the second country. Source: Howard B, Kangwook H. African governments failing in provision of water and sanitation, majority of citizens say. Afrobarometer Dispatch [Internet] 2020 Mar [cited 2020 Dec 09]; n° 349:19. Available from: afrobarometer.org/sites/default/sites/publication/Dispatches/ab_r7_ dispatchesn 349_ pap14_water_and_sanitation_in Africa.pdf.
32. Ibid. pp 14 -19. In Mali for example, o nly 32% of the population find it easy to obtain water, sanitation or electricity, while 67% find it difficult or very difficult. In Sudan, which is a country hosting a very huge number of refugees and IPDs, 42% find the access to those accommodations easy, and 58% find it difficult; in Uganda receiving several waves of refugees, 32% find it easy, and 68%, very difficult. Concerning governments’ performances in providing water and sanitation services, 32% of the Cameroonian population find that governments’ performance is fairly well, while 64% find it very bad. In Nigeria, 40% find it fairly well, whereas 59% find it bad.
33. UNHCR. Impact of Covid -19 on the protection of displaced and stateless populations. West and Central Africa. Above at note 5.
34. As concerns livelihoods activities, the UNHCR provided refugees and IDPs with seed, tools and animal husbandry, in the aim of protecting food security. Also, as regards income -generating activities, the UN organisations often subsidized the manufacture of protective masks by these marginalised populations. Read for this purpose UNHCR. Covid -19 emergency response. [Internet] 2020 Aug [cited 2020 Nov 3]. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/ reliefweb.int/files/resources/Africa%20Sitrep%20_Nov11_20200813.pdf.
35. UNHCR, Policy Brief, see reference above, at note 8.
