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THE RIGHT OF INTERVENTION BY THE AFRICAN UNION: A NEW PARADIGM IN REGIONAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION?

THE RIGHT OF INTERVENTION BY THE AFRICAN UNION: A NEW PARADIGM IN REGIONAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION? 1. Introduction The Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) - which has replaced the Organization of African Unity (OAU) - provides as one of the basic principles of the new Pan-African intergovernmental Organization under Article 4(h): "The right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, génocide and crimes against humanity". This constitutes a fundamental departure from the conservative stance of the OAU whose Charter - adopted soon after the independence of most African States in 1963 - established as one of its guiding principles "Non-interference in the internai affairs of States".' It also represents an innovative légal proposition since it establishes for the first time in the history of régional arrangements or organizations the right to intervene in a Member State on grounds of violation of human rights or humanitarian law. A protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act Of the AU adopted on 3 February 2003 adds a new sub-paragraph to Article 4(h) which extends the scope of the right of intervention to situations where there is "a serious threat to legitimate order" in a Member State "to restore http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Yearbook of International Law Online Brill

THE RIGHT OF INTERVENTION BY THE AFRICAN UNION: A NEW PARADIGM IN REGIONAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION?

African Yearbook of International Law Online , Volume 11 (1): 13 – Jan 1, 2003
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
eISSN
2211-6176
DOI
10.1163/221161703X00016
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

1. Introduction The Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) - which has replaced the Organization of African Unity (OAU) - provides as one of the basic principles of the new Pan-African intergovernmental Organization under Article 4(h): "The right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, génocide and crimes against humanity". This constitutes a fundamental departure from the conservative stance of the OAU whose Charter - adopted soon after the independence of most African States in 1963 - established as one of its guiding principles "Non-interference in the internai affairs of States".' It also represents an innovative légal proposition since it establishes for the first time in the history of régional arrangements or organizations the right to intervene in a Member State on grounds of violation of human rights or humanitarian law. A protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act Of the AU adopted on 3 February 2003 adds a new sub-paragraph to Article 4(h) which extends the scope of the right of intervention to situations where there is "a serious threat to legitimate order" in a Member State "to restore

Journal

African Yearbook of International Law Online – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2003

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