Reform needed in the laws of demonstrations in Africa
Posted: 2 April, 2012 Filed under: Christof Heyns | Tags: Africa, Arab-spring, demonstrations, human rights, Human Rights Council, law, law enforcement, United Nations, use of force 1 Comment
Author: Prof Christof Heyns
Professor of Human Rights Law; Co-director, Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria; United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Many lives have recently been lost in Africa, as in other parts of the world, when demonstrations have turned fatally violent. This has been clearly seen inthe countries of the so-called Arab Spring, but numerous Sub-Saharan countries – Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Malawi and South Africa come to mind – have also experienced violent and indeed deadly marches.
These demonstrations reveal the need to bring the legal and policy regimes that govern such expressions of popular opinion into line with human rights standards.
The role of regionalism in the restructuring of the United Nations
Posted: 2 April, 2012 Filed under: Anél Ferreira-Snyman | Tags: Pan-Africanism, Regionalism, Security Council, United Nations, Universalist 3 Comments
Author: Prof Anél Ferreira-Snyman
Professor, Department of Jurisprudence at the University of South Africa
One of the most pressing current international issues is the restructuring of the United Nations (UN). The changing international realities since its inception in 1945 have had a significant impact on the functioning and structure of the UN and reform of the international institution is therefore increasingly proposed and debated.
Included in these changing realities is the (renewed) process of regional integration in various parts of the world. States transfer certain aspects of their national sovereignty to regional organisations, as they realise that there are certain issues of common concern that they cannot address independently.
Welcome to the AfricLaw Blog
Posted: 2 April, 2012 Filed under: About AfricLaw | Tags: Africa, Centre for Human Rights, debate, Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA), law, legal academics Leave a comment
AfricLaw, launched in April 2012, is a blog which provides a platform for discussion for those interested in the rule and role of law in Africa. All areas of law applicable to Africa are covered, both international (global and continental) and national. Legal academics and students, researchers, international and national civil servants, legislators and politicians, legal practitioners and judges, as well as those who are not lawyers but have an interest in law are among those who are welcome to participate in the discussions. AfricLaw provides a space for the discussion of issues of substance, forming of opinions and information sharing among people living on the continent, those from Africa who are in the diaspora, and anyone else who is interested in participating. AfricLaw will also serve as a vehicle for comments from Africa on legal developments in the rest of the world.
The aim of AfricLaw is to contribute towards strengthening African capacity in the field of law, through informed and engaged discussion. As a blog, the strength of the platform will be the immediacy of interaction across a wide geographical area without the need to travel; the aim will not be to take the place but rather to strengthen the role played by initiatives such as academic journals, books, professional organisations etc.
AfricLaw 