African regional peace and security under the AU'S constitutional framework : conflict or compatibility with the UN and international law?

• Main Author: Muiruri, James Nganga Kariuki
• Published: University of Sheffield 2008
• Subjects: 340
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.500428

The Constitutive Act that contains the right to intervene by the African Union (AU) in member states, being the first and only international treaty to contain this novel right, has the potential to redraw the landscape of international law, with significant ramifications for the UN, member states and regional organisations as well as for the way in which we understand and interpret mechanisms for conflict security. This is because until now, the general understanding has been that regional organisations' right to intervene has been secondary and ultimately under the express authorisation from the United Nations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address the different questions raised by the AU's institutional framework of regional security and explore how its constituent norms sit alongside the more established rules of international law. In doing so, the thesis aims to offer a better understanding of the evolving mechanism of African regional security and the developing relationship between the UN and the AU. This study builds on recent UN reform proposals and uses the Darfur conflict (2003) in the Sudan as its case study. Finally, it concludes by assessing the longer term prospects that the concerted efforts of the AU and the UN hold in the promotion of regional and international peace and security.