Abstract:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights under article 13(1) states that everyone has
the right to freedom of movement within the borders of each State. This right is
interpreted by the human rights committee as an indispensable condition for the free
development of a person. The international community tried to protect the refugees’ right
to freedom of movement by adopting the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967
Protocol. Despite such international efforts made towards the protection of refugees, the
issue has continued to progress. The dynamic nature of refugee crisis makes it necessary
to change strategies, adopt new mechanisms and follow new directions towards
achieving the intended goals. Hence, the international community adopted the 2016 New
York Declaration on refugees and migrants. However, states, including Ethiopia, restrict
the right to freedom of movement by establishing camps and authorize the concerned
authority to designate areas where refugees should live. Refugees who are restricted to
camps clearly do not enjoy freedom of movement as envisaged in international law. Yet
the policy of encampment continues to be viewed as the right approach to managing
large numbers of refugees in many countries across the world. Sacrificing freedom of
movement, it is argued, is a necessary compromise in order to care better for the needs of
refugees and their hosts. By keeping refugees in camps, security concerns are addressed,
refugees are easier to manage, and the temporary nature of their exile is accommodated.
In order to challenge such assumptions, this thesis argues that freedom of movement is a
basic human right that is, in turn, vital for the enjoyment of numerous other rights. Thus,
denying refugees the ability to move freely, violates their human rights and the law that
authorizes the Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affaires to arrange areas where
refugees may live contravenes international law and therefor unacceptable.
