Africa and the Responsibility to Protect

Article 4(h) of the African Union Constitutive Act

Dan Kuwali, Frans Viljoen, Dan Kuwali, Frans Viljoen

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317917748
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: International Law
• Index: Law

Situations of serious or massive violations of human rights are no longer purely of domestic concern, and sovereignty can no longer be an absolute shield for repressive governments in such circumstances. Based on this realization, the international community has recognized a responsibility to protect individuals in states where their governments are unable or unwilling to provide protection against the most serious violations. However, so far, only one intergovernmental organization, the African Union (AU), has explicitly made the right to intervene in a Member State part of its foundational text in Article 4(h) of its Constitutive Act. Although there have been cases of Article 4(h)-type interventions in Africa, the AU Assembly has not yet invoked Article 4(h) explicitly.

This book brings together experts in the field to explore the potential application of Article 4(h), and the complexities that may explain its non-invocation so far. Although Article 4(h) is noble in purpose, its implementation faces several legal and policy challenges given that the use of force penetrates the principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention – the very cornerstones upon which the AU is founded. This book considers these issues, as well as the need to reconcile Article 4(h), in so far as it allows the AU to exercise military intervention to protect populations at risk of mass atrocities, with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

Drawing from the insights of law, political science, diplomacy and military strategy, the book offers a unique combination of multi-disciplinary expertise that harnesses the views of a diverse group of authors, focused on the legal, policy, and practical insights on the implementation of Article 4(h) and the responsibility to protect in Africa in order to provide concrete recommendations on how to end mass atrocities on the continent

Index

Abacha, Sani 257, 259

Abass, A. 26, 31, 36, 61, 72, 111, 112, 198, 282, 284, 285, 286, 328, 334

‘Abdu’l-Bahá 88

Abiew, F.K. 112, 121

Aboagye, F. 15, 17

accountability 20, 230; African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) 207, 210, 214, 217, 218, 220, 221, 224; civil society 352; criminal prosecution 349; Human Rights Council 241–46; Pan-African Parliament 350–51; responsibility while protecting (RwP) 312, 313, 316, 321, 322, 323, 324

Adebajo, A. 120, 251, 252

Adeleke, A. 252

Adetula, V. 60

Aferwerki, Isaias 18–19

African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) 16, 84, 87, 88, 89, 98, 99, 203; African Union not party to 104, 105, 107

African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights 16, 89, 94, 99, 104, 108, 343; Darfur 193, 201, 202; Libya case 104–5, 203; Peace and Security Council (PSC) and 193–5, 200–202, 204–5, 296, 346, 350; Pretoria Principles 350; UN special procedures and 244

African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) 80, 94, 104, 108, 135, 343; Libya case 105, 193, 202–4; Peace and Security Council (PSC) and 193–5, 202, 204, 205, 346; Pretoria Principles 350, 351; supranationalism 136–7

African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) 74–5, 78, 79, 80, 81, 108; jurisdictional competence 105; supranationalism 136–7

African Governance Architecture (AGA) 137, 226, 227, 228–30, 238–39; African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) see separate entry

African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) 109–10, 139, 14...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Original Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Foreword
• Introduction
• I. Conceptual Issues
• II. Institutional Perspectives
• III. Preventive Mechanisms
• IV. Operationalisation
• V. Conclusion
• Annex Pretoria Principles on ending mass atrocities pursuant to Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union
• Bibliography
• Index