ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to understand whether the AU's efforts so far demonstrate a better commitment to the protection of asylum seekers than that obtained under the Organization of African Unity (OAU) regime. The inclusion of specific rights for asylum seekers and refugees in the African Charter and subsequent legal instruments have gone a long way to ensure the incorporation of these groups into the human rights framework and discourse within the region, something which opens up new avenues for addressing violations of protected rights. The AU has not gone far enough in strengthening the OAU initiatives and developing new ones to address the ever-changing humanitarian environment in Africa. The greatest challenge to protecting asylum and refugees in Africa is often stated to be the lack of political, on the part of African leaders, to see through the initiatives undertaken by them and to adhere to the regional legal frameworks.
