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2861. Relevance of the law of international organisations in resolving international disputes: A review of the AU/ICC impasse

Author:
Mba Chidi Nmaju
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The paper examines the legal nature of the dispute between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the African Union (AU), and observes that the core issue revolves around the arrest warrant issued by the Court for Al-Bashir. Therefore, it locates this to be within a legal rather than political impasse. The paper argues that the general rules of the law of international organisations may provide the key to resolving the impasse. And that accordingly, the general principles of the regime of international law point to the interpretation of the provisions of the constitutions of the two international organisations to identify the extent to which they were empowered to make the decisions that resulted in the dispute. The provisions of the Rome Statute on immunity are identified as providing the key to the resolution. Therefore the interpretation of the Statute on the immunity of certain state officials is important. The paper argues that accordingly the ICC should change its approach to the arrest of certain officials in order to prevent facilitating the violation of the customary principles of diplomatic immunity in international law – which should have also been codified in treaties. Such an interpretation of the Rome Statute would indicate that states should exercise caution in arresting a sitting Head of State such as Sudanese President Al-Bashir until such a time that he leaves office or that Sudan waives his immunity.
Topic:
International Law, International Organization, International Criminal Court (ICC), African Union, and Omar al-Bashir
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

2862. Congo: No Peace Without Women

Author:
Denis Mukwege
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
On September 2012, a Congolese doctor stood before the world's leaders at the United Nations General Assembly and denounced the mass rapes of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the impunity enjoyed by those responsible. Dr. Mukwege said he was ashamed of the international community's failure to stop these atrocities. A month later, he was attacked in his residence in Bakavu, DRC, and was forced into exile. Dr. Mukwege, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and in 2013, returned to the Congo earlier this year in January to resume his work at the Panzi Hospital. There, he treats victims of sexual violence in a country ripped apart by sixteen years of conflict. According to the UN, "Sexual violence in the Congo is the worst in the world." Around 500,000 women have been raped in the country since 1996. Dr. Mukwege shared his insights with the Journal about the Congolese crisis and the role of women in conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Women, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and Congo

2863. Just Peace: Achieving Peace, Justice, and Development in Post-Conflict Africa

Author:
Corinna Jentzsch
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The analysis begins with a review of trends in financing peace operations, including the proliferation of actors; existing financing mechanisms used by the UN, the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza- tion (NATO), and the World Bank; and the devolution of these operations to African regional organizations. Efforts of the past two decades to respond effectively to challenges to peace and security in Africa have produced vari- ous new programs and institutions, funds, and budgets and led to revisions of previous programs and financing mechanisms. This proliferation of institutions and funds has also created challenges, however, which the analysis reviews next, placing particular emphasis on three: the inadequacy of UN reforms to overcome financing constraints; the insufficiency and unpredictability of voluntary contributions; and the limited capacity of African regional organizations. All are rooted in the demand for more integrated approaches to peace operations on the one hand and the lack of coordination, duplication of structures, and waste of resources on the other.
Topic:
NATO, United Nations, Developing World, Finance, Europe Union, Peace, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Europe

2864. Just Peace: Achieving Peace, Justice, and Development in Post-Conflict Africa

Author:
Dan Kuwali
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The political realities of post-conflict situations present hard choices in the peacebuilding and reconstruction processes. Most post-conflict societies face the dilemma of how to deal with past atrocities, especially genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Where the perpetrators are the winners of the war or elections, victors’ justice has usually been rendered against the vanquished. Yet, even where this is not the case, national judicial systems in most post-conflict societies cannot immediately handle wide- scale prosecutions for atrocities in accordance with international standards of due process, and, in cases where a political compromise has taken place, the question is usually whether to forego justice for the sake of peace. The answer is often to offer amnesty to the perpetrators of atrocities, effectively giving them impunity. This discussion will explore a victim-oriented approach toward resolving the peace and justice dilemma while promoting reconciliation and development in post-conflict settings. The starting point is the assertion that mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity can brook no impunity, although each conflict is sui generis, and legal concerns must be balanced with political reality in determining the appropriate reaction to past atrocities. Following the analysis is an outline of the steps that should be taken to eradicate the root causes of conflicts leading to mass atrocities in Africa.
Topic:
Genocide, War Crimes, Peace, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa

2865. Who says elections in Ghana are ‘free and fair’?

Author:
Sharon Parku
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Since 2000, elections in Ghana have been lauded by observers both internally and externally as being “free and fair.” The losing political party, however, has consistently contested the election results. After the 2004 presidential election, three key opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) members challenged the results announced by the Electoral Commission (EC), suing the EC to publish detailed data from the election. Similarly, at the end of the closely contested 2008 presidential election and the subsequent run-off, leading NDC members accused the EC of trying to manipulate results, and their frustrated supporters invaded the EC head office in Accra. When the NDC was eventually declared the winner, the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) accused the NDC of rigging the election. Again in the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, the opposition NPP accused the winner – John Dramani Mahama and the NDC – of rigging the election, boycotted the inauguration of the president, and asked the Supreme Court to overturn the official results declared by the EC.
Topic:
Corruption, Elections, Democracy, Election watch, and Rigged Elections
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

2866. Women and Democracy in Zimbabwe

Author:
Tony Reeler
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Women are mostly marginalised in African political processes, but they have one key area of equality with their menfolk, and that is in voting: The ballot does not discriminate, even if the results of the balloting frequently do not meet the expectations of the voter. Though not the democracy, elections are an important component of democracy, and even though studies indicate that African citizens have been losing faith in the value of elections, elections offer the only peaceful path for attaining and consolidating democracy (Moehler, 2005; Moehler and Lindberg, 2007; Logan and Cho, 2009; Logan, 2008a). But in the largely patriarchal societies that make up most African countries, do women have the same voice and level of participation as their menfolk?
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Democracy, and Feminism
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

2867. Malian Democracy Recovering - Military Rule Still Admired

Author:
Boniface Dulani
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Democracy, in the famous words of the British politician Winston Churchill, “is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” After experiencing a twin crisis of separatist rebellion and a military coup in 2012, there were serious concerns about the future prospects of democracy in Mali. Would the short, but brutal, experience of authoritarian rule and a separatist struggle make the return to democracy possible in the short to medium term? Would the country rediscover its position as one of Africa’s promising democracies?
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Democracy, Coup, and Military Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

2868. Demand for Democracy is Rising in Africa, but most Political Leaders Fail to Deliver

Author:
Michael Bratton and Richard Houessou
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Africans express growing attachment to democracy according to citizen attitude surveys conducted by the Afrobarometer in 34 countries1. Seven out of ten Africans prefer democracy to other political regimes, and the proportion of deeply committed democrats (that is, those who also reject authoritarian alternatives) has risen steadily over the past decade. These insights run counter to an emerging view that the impetus for democratization on the African continent has stalled. Influential analysts have suggested recently that “political reform left Africa ‘too democratic’ given the level of income… [and] that the continent has begun to regress to its expected level… by becoming less democratic.” Others have pointed to a global trend of “democratic retreat” that is driven in Africa by China’s economic expansion and the Western security response to spreading Islamic jihad.
Topic:
Civil Society, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa

2869. Popular Perceptions of the Causes and Consequences of the Conflict in Mali

Author:
Massa Coulibaly
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In the December 2012 Afrobarometer survey, Malians highlighted the primary causes of the serious sociopolitical crisis that their country was going through, as lack of patriotism on the part of the leaders and weakness of the State. At that time, most Malians had lost trust in the political class and in politicians. One year later (December 2013), however, a follow-up Afrobarometer survey revealed that foreign terrorists and corruption are rather the two primary causes of the Northern conflict and occupation. The change in perceptions on this question in the space of a year is explained by the change in the nature and scale of the crisis. The crisis went from the occupation of two-thirds of the territory to war via the intensified radicalism in the occupants’ management of the occupied areas and their many acts of banning and punishment. Next, the change in perceptions is also explained by the peaceful organization of presidential and legislative elections with record participation rates of Malian citizens since the advent of democracy in 1992, more than 50% in the presidential ones and a little less than 50% in the legislative ones. These elections deemed free and honest explain in turn that the need to resort to violence for a good cause is perceived by close to one out of five Malians versus close to one out of three Malians one year prior. One of the major challenges of the governance in Mali is still maintaining and deepening confidence between Malians and their ruling class. To do so, measuring the populations’ perceptions helps to track the will of the people and ensure that policies serve this will and not the reverse.
Topic:
Nationalism, Governance, Elections, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

2870. Mali’s Public Mood Reflects Newfound Hope

Author:
Michael Bratton and Peter Penar
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In an Afrobarometer survey in December 2012, three quarters of adult Malians were worried that the country was moving in “the wrong direction.” At that time, at the depths of a profound national crisis, most Malians thought the future looked bleak. A year later, however, a follow-up survey reveals newfound hope in the future. By December 2013, two thirds of all Malians now consider that that the country is headed in the “right direction.” What explains this remarkable turnaround in the public mood? The upswing in the country’s collective frame of mind within the space of a single year is traced to several positive developments. These include an improved security situation, the restoration of a freely elected government, and rising confidence in economic recovery.
Topic:
Security, Development, Public Opinion, Internal Displacement, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali