Après Zuma: can the African Union save itself? #28thAUSummit

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu discusses the challenging issues facing African Heads of States at the Africa Union Summit taking place from 22-31 January 2017

From Nativity to Nationality: Understanding and Responding to Africa's Citizenship Crises

French Abstract (Résumé) De ‘‘l'autochtonie'' à la nationalité: comprendre la crise de citoyenneté en Afrique et y répondre Cet article propose un cadre d'analyse de la crise de citoyenneté en Afrique et des solutions adaptées qui pourraient lui être trouvées. L'argument défendu est que bien que la citoyenneté soit en elle-même un droit et une condition d'effectivité des autres droits, la combinaison de certains facteurs culturels, politiques et sociaux limite sa réalisation. S'intéresser à la question de la citoyenneté requiert une approche multidisciplinaire et l'implication d'une pluralité d'acteurs comme les universitaires, la société civile, les communautés locales et l'État. The paper undertakes a contextualised framing of Africa's citizenship crises and the appropriate response that may be developed to deal with it. It argues that although citizenship by itself is a human right and a condition for the realisation and protection of other rights, however, a combination of cultural, political and social factors inhibits its realisation. Tackling the citizenship question would require a multi-actor and multi-disciplinary research, information, advocacy, and enforcement interventions that will involve the academy, civil society, local communities, and the state. Democracy & Development Vol.4(1) 2004: 31-4

Refugees and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

On paper, African refugees benefit from one of the world’s most progressive protection regimes. In reality, however, they face endless human rights hurdles involving forced return, discrimination,arbitrary arrest and detention, restricted freedom of movement and expression, and violations of social and economic rights