This article examines the protection of refugees’ rights in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia, assessing the extent to which host governments, in collaboration with UNHCR and international partners, fulfil their humanitarian and legal obligations. While significant progress has been recorded in the provision of education, healthcare, water, sanitation, and legal assistance particularly in Zambia and parts of the DRC serious structural and political challenges persist. In Angola, documentation gaps, restrictions on movement, and reported expulsions undermine refugee protection despite humanitarian support in settlements such as Lóvua. In the DRC, although legal frameworks and remedial measures demonstrate formal commitment to human rights and refugee protection, persistent governance failures, electoral controversies, impunity for human rights violations, and ongoing armed conflict continue to generate displacement and weaken institutional protection mechanisms. Zambia presents a comparatively progressive legal regime, granting refugees access to courts, property ownership, employment, and pathways to citizenship, thereby promoting socio-economic integration. Drawing on social contract theory and democratic principles, the article interrogates whether “rule by the many” inherently prioritizes nationals over noncitizens, thereby limiting the universality of human rights in practice.

Keywords: Refugee Protection; Democracy; State Sovereignty; Human Rights