The Protection of Refugees’ Right to Freedom of Movement In Ethiopia: Challenges and Prospects

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.