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71. The Proposed Hybrid Court for South Sudan

Author:
Owiso Owiso
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan provides quite ambitiously and laudably for the creation of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan under the auspices of the African Union. The article is an extract from the author’s 2016 LL.M. dissertation submitted to the University of Pretoria. It critically examines the salient features of the proposed court with the aim of testing the court’s ability to effectively address historical grievances and injustices in South Sudan. In so doing, the article draws lessons from similar mechanisms in Africa and beyond. It also interrogates the role of the African Union and South Sudan in operationalising this court. It reveals strengths as well as weaknesses in the proposed design of the court as well as in the ability of the African Union and South Sudan to fulfil their obligations. Despite these weaknesses, the article argues that by harnessing the strengths identified and learning from lessons from across the continent, the African Union (AU) and South Sudan can overcome the anticipated challenges and operationalise a hybrid court which will effectively deliver sustainable justice to the victims of international crimes committed during the South Sudan civil war.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, Transitional Justice, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

72. The International Criminal Court and the African Union

Author:
Westen K. Shilaho
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
There is a diplomatic impasse between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the African Union (AU) regarding accountability for mass atrocities committed in Africa. The AU accuses the ICC of bias against African rulers, in effect, ‘Africans’, while the ICC insists that as a permanent legal institution, it affords justice to all victims of egregious crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. And so Africans, victims of these crimes, deserve justice too. Since the indictment of the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, twice for crimes against humanity and then for genocide, the ICC has elicited antipathy from some African rulers and their supporters who perceive it as an adjunct of imperialism encroaching on Africa’s sovereignty. However, sovereignty entails responsibility to protect (R2P). The AU Constitutive Act of 2000 affirms this under the non-indifference principle. It is therefore counter-intuitive to accede to international norms and concurrently invoke ‘absolute sovereignty’ as some African rulers attempt to do. Africa’s conflicts are characterised by mass atrocities owing to weak states that are unable and often unwilling to protect citizens and dispense justice. In some cases these states are themselves perpetrators of heinous crimes, which necessitates intervention by the international community. Historically, realpolitik, self-preservation and geopolitics have marred international criminal justice, and Africa’s relationship with the West is steeped in humiliation making some African rulers suspicious of Western-dominated institutions. The perception that the ICC dispenses lopsided justice stems from this history. This paper argues that the choice between justice and peace is a false one since the two mutually reinforce each other, while impunity, if not checked, portends instability in Africa.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

73. The Joint Force of the G5 Sahel

Author:
Natasja Rupesinghe
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Conflict Trends
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The Joint Force of the Group of Five of the Sahel (Force Conjointe du G5 Sahel or FC-G5S) is the latest initiative by African member states to reduce the threat of terrorism in the Sahel, a region that is often framed as an arc of instability. The FC-G5S – which includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad – was authorised by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) on 13 April 2017 for a 12-month period, and was later – on 20 June 2017 – welcomed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).1 It was reauthorised by the AU PSC for a 12-month period on 12 April 2018.2 This article focuses on the security pillar of the G5 Sahel, by examining the FC-G5S mandate to combat terrorism in the Sahel. After a brief background, the article provides an overview of the main jihadist protagonists in the Sahel, demonstrating that some of these groups emerge and thrive, due to distinctly local, societal problems, and should not only be viewed through the prism of terrorism. The article then examines the FC-G5S counterterrorism (CT) strategy and the conceptualisation and configuration of the force itself, and argues that currently there is a danger of advancing a security-first stabilisation strategy through relying on military-led CT operations to contain and deter the threat of terrorist groups. This approach depoliticises these groups, and risks reducing emphasis on the local, sociopolitical and economic factors that have enabled violent extremism to take root in the first place.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and Sahel

74. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
On 21 March, 2018, 44 African heads of state and government dignitaries signed a historic African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) at the 10th Ordinary Session of African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda. The AfCFTA is the largest free trade area since the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995. The Session was under the theme: “Creating One African Market,” and falls under AU’s Agenda 2063 Initiative. The AfCFTA is also one of the biggest free-trade areas with regards to the number of countries, thus, encompassing 1.2 billion people with over $4 trillion in combined consumer and business spending should the remaining 11 AU member countries join the Agreement (Signe, 2018). The AfCFTA would additionally become effective 30 days subsequent to ratification by the legislative houses of at least 22 African countries; countries that signed the Agreement have 120 days for its ratification. This paper seeks to outline the significance of the Agreement, its aims, challenges and the continuous work needed to sustain it going forward with potential impact it may have on third country agreements with AU member countries.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Economy, Tariffs, Free Trade, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

75. The Single African Passport - Curb the Enthusiasm, Challenges Abound

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
To progressively bring independent African states together in order to foster unity, continental integration2 is a long cherished ideal of the forbearers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU). The pursuit of this ideal, however, looks farfetched. It’s been over half a century and yet the continent has a very restrictive regime in terms of movement of persons within, so is continental trade. The AU, however, has announced to introduce a single African passport in order to facilitate easy movement of persons and trade activities across the continent. The first part of this paper examines some of the merits implementing the single African passport will bring; the second part deals with some of the challenges that may come with it as well as the highlight of a central critique.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Borders, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

76. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan push for cooperation

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
The African Union (AU) held its 30th Summit from 22 – 29 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The central theme of the Summit was a clarion call to strengthen African unity and fight against corruption and the eradication of poverty on the continent. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda was elected the new AU chairperson at the Summit, however, it is a significant development that transpired on the sidelines of the Summit among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan that this policy update seeks to address pursuant to an earlier published policy brief, The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and geopolitical tension between Egypt and Ethiopia with Sudan in the mix.2 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn all signaled their resolve to avoid misunderstandings cognizance of Ethiopia’s construction of its dam, The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during a sideline meeting at the Summit. A statement released by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that, “we (the three country heads) have agreed to work as one on matters among the three countries, particularly on the construction of the GERD” (Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018).
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, International Affairs, Infrastructure, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt

77. African Union, State-Building and the Challenges of State Fragility in Africa

Author:
Agaptus Nwozor
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This article evaluates the transformational role of the African Union (AU) in enhancing state-building and reversing the fragility of African states. Essentially, the AU was repackaged in July 2001 as a strategic platform to meet new aspirations for African unity and development. This article notes that after over half a century of collective African attempt at strengthening its state system, the picture is still one of fragile statehood, thus emphasizing the imperative of evolving new strategies to reverse the forces of state fragility in the continent. The article contends that in the face of concerns for African development within the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs), a healthy and functional state system is an irreducible minimum requirement. In order to repair the seemingly battered image of statehood in Africa, the AU must contend with, and overcome, the interplay of internal and external forces that conduce to and trigger fragility.
Topic:
Fragile States, State Building, African Union, and Statehood
Political Geography:
Africa

78. Losses and Potential Gains of a Would-Be “Maghrebi Union”

Author:
Anouar Boukhars
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
“The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) is dead,” thundered King Mohammed VI at the twenty-eighth Annual Heads of State Summit of the African Union (AU). Its flame has faded, he added, because faith in a common interest has vanished. Unless the Maghreb follows the good example of neighbor- ing African sub-regions, the king warned, the AMU will soon cease to exist. Stalwart integrationists fear that Morocco has abandoned the Maghrebi dream altogether. The depressing truth, however, is that the King’s lament on the demise of the AMU is simply a reflection of the mood of resignation increasingly palpable in the Maghreb. Everyone knows that the AMU is an empty shell, ensnared in decades of neighborly parochial animosities, petty jealousies, and perverse rivalries. The two countries consequential enough to anchor the Maghreb remain at each other throats. Morocco and Algeria see eye-to-eye on almost nothing, and their bickering and recrimination have only gotten worse.1 Sadly, the demons of their discord seem to grad- ually possess their respective publics who intermittently hurl insults at each other in social media forums and during sports and entertainment events.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Sports, Social Media, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, Algeria, and Morocco

79. Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court

Author:
Michelle Nel and Vukile Ezrom Sibiya
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
After a century in the making, the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into existence in 2002 with an overwhelming number of states ratifying the Rome Statute. With 34 signatories, Africa is the largest contributor in the Assembly of State Parties, yet Africa has become its severest critic. As threats of withdrawal become a reality with the imminent withdrawal of Burundi, this article considers the question of whether Africa has an alternative solution. With an African Union (AU) Constitutive Act purporting a commitment to combating impunity and promoting democracy, rule of law and good governance, one would expect the AU to be ready to pick up the reins. To end impunity and hold perpetrators accountable, finding an alternative for the lacuna left in the absence of the ICC has never been more pressing. The recent adoption of a strategy by African countries for a mass withdrawal has pushed the matter to the fore. This article discusses the feasibility of amnesty, domestic and local trials, or an African regional court as viable alternatives to ICC jurisdiction and prosecution. The creation of an African regional court in the guise of the African Court of Justice and Human Right (ACJHR) seems the preferred solution, enabled by the Malabo Protocol extending its jurisdiction to international and transnational crimes. Slow ratification does not bode well for the proposed ACJHR and its extended jurisdiction. Time is of the essence and whatever solution is found will necessitate decisive action by the AU.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, Transitional Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa

80. African Union Approaches to Peacebuilding

Author:
Siphamandla Zondi
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This article argues that the African Union (AU) approach to peacebuilding, out of Africa’s historical experience and lessons from the United Nations (UN), is comprehensive and holistic, but requires the existence of a legitimate government, a functional society and domestic parties for dialogue to begin. Without these conditions, the approach leads to extended peace enforcement rather than peacebuilding. Yet, whatever the conditions that prevail, peacebuilding in Africa has experienced limited success due to the failure to fundamentally transform the inherited post-colonial state, society and politics. The neo-colonial conditions helped to stall the achievement of lasting peace. The African experience with peacebuilding demonstrates a need for a more fundamental peace than is internationally the norm – a peace paradigm that hinges on the continued decolonisation of the African state and society in order to give rise to what may be called a decolonial peace.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Peace, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa