b. Regional and International Legal Framework
State Parties have the responsibilities to respect, protect and fulfil their obligations
under regional and international law, so as to prevent and avoid natural
catastrophes. This entails that States should seek the cooperation of international
organizations or humanitarian agencies, civil society organizations and other
relevant actors to work together during displacements.1
The main two instruments governing IDPs are the African Union Convention for the
Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (“Kampala
Convention”) of 2009 and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement of
1998. These two instruments provide for the obligations and responsibilities of State
Parties with respect to the prevention of internal displacement and protection of and
assistance to IDPs. Some of the relevant provisions of these two instruments are as
follows:
Articles 4,5,6, and 9 of the Kampala Convention
Principle 5, 9, 16(3), 18, 19(2) of the UN Guiding Principles.
6. Findings
a. Key Achievements
I. Emergence Rescue and Evacuation
ZHRC gathered that floods impacts differed from household to household. The
different households where affected in the following ways:
(a) Some households had their homes and crops at tussling level completely
destroyed by floods;
(b) Some households were living in temporary structures (tents) ;
(c) Some households were living in the open with blankets only ;
(d) A few households whose homes had heavy wall cracks and were in potential
danger of collapsing during future floods.
(e) Households whose homes were not in any danger from the floods.
1
Article 4: African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons
in Africa (Kampala Declaration).
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