IDC Africa members from Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa were in attendance at the UNHCR NGO Consultations. During the Africa Bureau Regional session, IDC members Kituo Cha Sheria (Kenya) and the Refugee Law Project (Uganda) both presented on work to protect refugees and asylum seekers in their countries.
The issue of immigration detention was tabled during the Africa regional session, with the UNHCR Deputy Director of the Division of Programme Support and Management agreeing with the importance of highlighting immigration detention as an issue of concern across UNHCR’s work, and the Director of the Africa Bureau adding that in many countries addressing the conditions of immigration detention in the first instance was also a major concern.
IDC Regional Coordinator Lucy Bowring met with UNHCR Africa Bureau staff along with IDC members Lawyers for Human Rights (South Africa) and new IDC member Duma Boko & Co (Botswana), who attended the consultations for the first time, to discuss ongoing partnership and work together across the region.
Discussions around a 2013 regional workshop are underway, with more details to follow in coming months.