KAMPALA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Africa is now in a much better position than over four decades ago to manage its own affairs like resolving the refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs) crisis that it is facing, a top Ugandan government official said here on Tuesday.

Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere, the minister of relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, told Xinhua in an interview that the formulation of an African Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is a major initiative to show the continent's commitment to solving its own problems.

Over 600 delegates from the 53 African countries and major international organizations are meeting in Uganda at a special AU Summit, the first of its kind focusing on forced displacement on the continent.

The meeting, which started on Monday, will culminate into a summit on Oct. 22-23 when African leaders are expected to adopt the Convention.

"The Convention that is going to come out is going to be of huge importance as it affects the behavior of states in addressing this problem," Kabwegyere said.

According to the Draft Convention, which was adopted by the Executive Council of AU that consists of ministers from the member countries, states have decided to develop by 2011 national strategies for the full implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

Experts say bad governance is mainly responsible to the big number of refugees and IDPs in Africa, the largest in the world, numbering over 17 million people.

In the Draft Convention, the states also commit to establishing high-level national mechanisms to address the problem of forced displacement with particular focus on the root causes.

Kabwegyere said a major campaign will be launched to ensure that countries do abide by what they have signed.