Call for Papers: Conference on International Law in Africa

Written by

5 & 6 October 2012

Complexo Pedagogico, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane,

Maputo, Mozambique

THE QUEST FOR hUMAN SECURITY, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE CONFERENCE

In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 2013:

  • the African Foundation of International Law (AFIL)
  • the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA), University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Faculdade de Direito, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique

are pleased to announce a two-day conference on international law in Africa and invite proposals for papers.

This conference aims to provide a forum for reflection on the pan-African organisation in the specific context of human security, peace and development in Africa, and how the OAU/AU has responded to challenges in these areas.

THEMES OF THE CONFERENCE

Presentations at the conference will fall under one of the following four general themes, and may include the following topics:

Day 1  Friday 5 October 2012

 Threats to Human Security by State and Non-State Actors

  •  Judicial responses to Mass Violations of Human Rights: the Role of Regional and International Judicial Bodies (ICC, African Commission and Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights)
  • Judicial Response to Massive Violations of Human Rights: the Role of Domestic Courts and Universal Jurisdiction

 Development and Human Rights

Theory and Practice of the Right to Development in Africa

  • Doha Development Agenda: What is in it for Africa?
  • Regional Integration and the African Economic Community, NEPAD and its Peer-Review Mechanism: What Contribution to African Development?

 Peace and Good Governance

  • The Responsibility to Protect: the Role of the African Union and the United Nations
  • Consolidating Rule of Law and Good Governance through African Instruments
  • Strengthening State Institutions as a Response to Internal Conflicts

 

Day 2  Saturday 6 October 2012

 Towards 50 Years of African Unity (Morning)

  • Panafricanism and International Law
  • From OAU to AU

 Institutional matters (Late morning)

  • Meeting of the African Foundation for International Law (AFIL), with a view to reactivating the African Association of International Law (AAIL)

 

MOOT COMPETITION (Afternoon)

On the afternoon of 6 October 2012, conference participants are invited to attend the final round of the 21st African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, in the main auditorium of the Joachim Chissano Conference Centre in Maputo. The Moot Competition, which is the leading human rights education initiative at university level in Africa, brings together students and academics from over 60 African universities each year to argue and debate contemporary human rights issues. The final round opposes the best teams and is presided over by leading international jurists including judges from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the Chief Justice of Mozambique; as well as other experts from academia and civil society.

PROCESS: POTENTIAL PRESENTERS

  •  Those interested in presenting a paper must submit an abstract containing their name, the proposed title and a brief summary of the argument / contribution of the paper (no more than 500 words).
  • Abstracts should be sent to adjovi {at} afil-fadi(.)org before 1 May 2012.
  • Authors of abstracts selected for presentation will be informed by 1 June 2012.
  • A full paper (5,000 to 10,000 words) must be submitted before 1 August 2012 to be translated for the conference file. Inclusion in the conference programme is conditional on the submission of the actual paper before 1 August 2012.
  • Each presenter will have 15 – 20 minutes to present their paper. Discussion is encouraged. Papers will be made available to all participants beforehand.
  • Presenters may be required to rework their papers after the conference, if necessary, and resubmit final versions for inclusion in a commemorative publication.

For further information, please contact Roland Adjovi at adjovi {at} afil-fadi(.)org or see www.chr.up.ac.za

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    Comments

    jpaust says

    January 25, 2012

    This may be of interest to some of the participants in the upcomding conference:
    Subject: FW: International Law and the Arab Spring

    New on ssrn: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1991432

    Various individual and group participants in the Arab Spring have noticeably embraced and reaffirmed predominant patterns of human expectation and claims occurring worldwide regarding individual dignity and worth, self-determination of peoples, related human rights with respect to relatively free and genuine participation in governmental processes and the standard of legitimacy of governments, democracy as a universal core value, and the right of rebellion or revolution and the concomitant right of a given people to seek self-determination assistance. As documented, each of these forms of human expectation and claim has a present legal and policy mooring in basic international legal instruments, including the United Nations Charter and a number of authoritative human rights instruments. This article also contains a section near the end on the propriety of U.S. and NATO use of force in Libya to protect civilians and to support regime change or self-determination assistance.

    International Law, Dignity, Democracy, and the Arab Spring
    – Jordan J. Paust
    Introduction
    I. General International Legal Policies at Stake
    A. Human Dignity
    B. Self-Determination and Relevant Human Rights
    C. Democracy as a Core Value
    D. Unlawful Political Oppression
    E. The Right of Rebellion or Revolution
    II. Regime Change in Libya and Self-Determination Assistance to the People of Libya
    Conclusion

    Professor Jordan J. Paust
    Mike & Teresa Baker Law Center Professor
    Law Center, University of Houston
    100 Law Center
    Houston, TX 77204-6060

    What one can lift may at times seem small,
    but together we can lift humanity

    Let your soul shine for others

    jpaust says

    January 25, 2012

    participants may also be interested in the fact that the UK had over 500 treaties with a non-state actor nation and non-state actor peoples and tribes in Africa; and that international law has never been merely state-to-state and has involved a number of non-state actors in formal participatory roles (such as nations, peoples, tribes, belligerents, insurgents, etc.), see, e.g., free download at - http://ssrn.com/abstract=1701992
    I look forward to others finding more examples on non-state actor participation in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries.