2025-01-26

  • International Law
  • Human Rights Law
  • Constitutional Law

The Right To Self-determination And Territorial Integrity Conflict: A Conundrum For Secession In Post-colonial African States

Article by O.O. Ikubanni & M.O.A Alabi

Abstract

In the aftermath of colonialism, the quest for secession has been one of the major challenges facing Africa. While secession claims have been resolved in several sovereign states, they linger in several others. The paper explores the application of the two concepts of the right to self-determination and territorial integrity to secession claims in Africa. The paper finds that the right to self-determination exists under the African Charter but it does not prevail over the territorial integrity principle unless the seceding people can establish concrete evidence of grave human rights violations. The paper concludes that the internal arrangement between the seceding group and the sovereign state from which they intend to secede is the most viable route for secession.

Related Articles

The Dilemma In International Migration: An Era of International Immigration And GeoPolitics

Ernest Jovan Talwana

At the end of both World War I and II, there was an influx of refugees caused by death, destruction and displacement of many groups of people. Most of these groups constituted minorities living in the collapsed Ottoman, Habsburg empires after WWI and the communities affected by Nazi occupation of Central Europe which had culminated into WWII. Both wars created refugee crises which required resettlement of displaced peoples. Refugee crises have never ended because human kind has a propensity to dispute and hence conflict. This has seen a persistent number of people displaced across the world. From the influx of Guatemalan refugees to the United States during the late 20th Century, to the Afghan war, Iraqi war and, currently, the Syrian and Libyan refugee crises affecting Europe courtesy of the endless conflicts that have ravaged those nations. Such conflicts create social and economic difficulties which push people to migrate. When all these issues happen simultaneously, it is bound to create a situation that is exploited by certain parties in order to advance their own agendas, at the expense of immigrants.

Domesticating The Kampala Convention As A Pivotal Step In Protecting Persons Displaced By Conflict And Violence In Northern Nigeria

Esther Hatsiwa Emmanuel

The paper interrogates the internal displacement in northern Nigeria, through an appraisal of the extant laws particularly the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa (Kampala Convention) and other International, regional and domestic instruments. There is no specific National legal framework for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in Nigeria. The state is yet to domesticate the Kampala Convention, even though there is a bill pending before the National Assembly that seeks to do the same. The paper recognizes that efforts have been invested by national authorities in developing a National IDP Policy, which was finalized in 2012 but was never adopted. Nigeria should therefore operationalize the Kampala Convention because it provides a comprehensive framework that will bring improvement to the lives of IDP’s in Northern Nigeria.

Long Walk To Justiciability: Article 8a And Uganda’s National Objectives And Directive Principles Of State Policy

Kansiime M. Taremwa and Lisandra Kabagenyi

The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda was lauded by many commentators as one of the best in the region. Much of these sentiments of admiration gained traction because of the comprehensive nature of the Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 of the Constitution. However, the main body of Chapter 4 did not include a number of economic, social and cultural rights and they were instead included as part of the manifesto of aspirations code named, the “National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.” Judicial enforcement of ESCRs became difficult because of the fact that these National Objectives were not considered justiciable. In 2005, the Constitution was amended, introducing a new Article 8A in its main body that seemed to suggest that NODSPs were not merely aspirations. Notwithstanding some victories, the experience that the courts have had with Article 8A has left a lot to be desired.

The African Woman In International Law

Lorna Afoyomungu Olum

This article interrogates the problematic nature of classical international law, showing the ways in which it historically privileged, and advanced, European values and interests over those of subaltern groups. While acknowledging the contributions of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and Feminist approaches, as important challenges to traditional international law, the article argues that these critical movements themselves contain a blind spot - insofar as they do not adequately surface the needs and concerns of the African woman as a subject of international law. To this end, the article suggests a need for further reflection upon, and responses to, the multiple ways in which the African woman is excluded - normatively and institutionally - in the contemporary international legal framework.