Illicit Natural Resource Exploitation by Private Corporate Interests in Africa\u27s Maritime Zones during Armed Conflict

In periods of war, African states experience great difficulty in defending maritime zones from criminality because the legal and institutional infrastructure, which guarantees the safety and security of the zones, is often highly compromised. Major maritime commercial corporate interests are exploiting economic opportunities that arise in these compromised coastal states due to war. Some of the most common exploitations of marine resources are illicit fishing, extraction of minerals, and illegal dumping of toxic substances in the territorial waters of maritime states. Such unlawful exploitation is detrimental to Africa’s economic integrity and well-being. Corporate accountability for these criminal activities would guarantee a measure of economic integrity and secure a state’s economic welfare. Increasing evidence of illicit exploitation in maritime states during periods of conflict necessarily calls for the elaboration of the rights and responsibilities of private maritime corporations in foreign waters under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, and further highlights a great need for international criminal penalties for such exploitation. This article investigates whether the relevant international legal and institutional frameworks can be relied upon to prevent illegal natural resource exploitation of Africa’s maritime zones during periods of armed conflict, and proposes a strategy for criminal sanctions against this conduct

The South African Defence Review (2012) and private military/security companies (PMSCs): heralding a shift from prohibition to regulation?

This article discusses the possibility of South Africa enacting a new law regulating private military/security companies (PMSCs) beyond the Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in Country of Armed Conflict Act of 2006. It argues that such a possibility arises from the policy direction expressed in the Defence Review of 2012, and the recent developments at the international level, which indicate a shift towards accommodation of PMSCs as legitimate players in the security sector. The article surveys the current state of national and international law relating to PMSCs and illustrates how the emerging shift from prohibition to regulation has affirmed the need for legislative intervention in this field. It concludes that since the future is on the side of regulation and not prohibition, legislation that furthers the policy agenda envisioned by the Defence Review 2012 may be the best tool to unlock the inhibitions of the past and create a viable climate for reframing the debate on domestic law governing private militarism in South Africa

The application of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to illegal natural resource exploitation in the Congo conflic

This thesis explores the phenomenon of illegal natural resource exploitation in conflict zones and the application of international criminal law, particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to combat the roblem. Contemporary African conflicts, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo conflict explored as a case study herein, have become increasingly distinguishable by the tight connection between war and various forms of illegal natural resource exploitation, particularly targeting valuable and precious mineral resources. With their incidence being highest in Africa, wars funded by illegally exploited natural resources have gradually become one of the greatest threats to regional peace and human security on the African continent. The Congo conflict clearly demonstrated the problematic nature and impact of illegal natural resource exploitation and the widespread human, economic and political costs associated with this phenomenon. This thesis is based on the initial assumption that the quest by conflict actors to profit from war through illegal natural resource exploitation activities is at the centre of the commission of serious human rights violations as well as the complexity and longevity of African conflicts. Developments in international criminal law, culminating in the adoption of the Rome Statute and the establishment of the International Criminal Court, have given impetus to the argument that any group of conflict actors should be subjected to the individual criminal responsibility regime of this legal framework. A further underlying assumption of this thesis is therefore that international criminal law can constrain the acts and conduct defined in this thesis as illegal natural resource exploitation activities since they constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute framework. However, despite illustrating the illegal resource exploitation activities of various state and non-state actors, this thesis is confined to an application of the Rome Statute based international criminal liability regime against members of armed rebel groups involved in such acts. In exploring these issues, this work examines international criminal law institutions and the relevance of international criminal justice in addressing particular phenomena prevalent during African armed conflicts. It further provides the stage to assess the potential of international criminal law in safeguarding natural resources for the benefit of African societies perennially exposed to the depredations of natural resource financed warfare.Microsoft� Office Word 2007Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-i

Punishment of international crimes in failed states: the Somali piracy imbroglio

The legal impediments encountered in the global anti-piracy campaign off the coast of Somalia have awakened the international community to the realisation that there are still gaps in the international criminal justice system. One such gap relates to the non-existence of a readily available international criminal justice institution to address international crimes not covered by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The other gap is the lack of a legal mechanism to respond to international crimes arising from failed or collapsed states. This paper argues that international criminality from failed and collapsed states cannot be addressed by the mere prosecution of offenders in foreign courts; as long as the security vacuum exists in such states, it would be virtually impossible to combat international crimes originating from states in crisis. The actions taken by important international actors and organisations have been aimed at protecting the economic interests of the major powers of the North. These actions are essentially reactive, fragmented and not sufficiently holistic and are thus unlikely to succeed in providing a multifaceted approach needed in the fight against piracy

Prosecuting Congolese war crimes

In August 2010, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a Mapping Exercise Report (MER) documenting serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) conflicts between 1993 and 2003. The Report relied on various reports of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, reports of the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC), reports of the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the DRC, and also reports by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, M´edecins Sans Fronti`eres, GlobalWitness, and International Peace Information Service (IPIS). In addition to giving an overview of the main features of the DRC conflicts from a human rights perspective, the MER (Report) also gave particular focus on the commission of serious crimes of international concern such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible instances of genocide during the conflicts, particularly in the period between 1997 and 2003

The challenge of constitutional transformation of society through judicial adjudication: Mildred Mapingure v Minister of Home Affairs and Ors SC 22/14.

The adoption of a new Constitution in Zimbabwe in 2013 to replace the Lancaster House Constitution of 1979 potentially represents an important milestone in the country’s legal history, and also, in the evolution of Zimbabwe as a constitutional democracy. Most importantly, the new Constitution sets an interesting platform for the transformation of society through judicial activism, adjudication and constitutional interpretation and also through the realignment of the country’s laws by the government. Such transformation is necessary in the progressive development of Zimbabwe as a constitutional state.1 This is particularly true considering the fact that the previous 1979 Lancaster House Constitution succeeded in signaling the dawn of political independence in Zimbabwe and putting a break to generations of colonialism, racial domination and oppression. The 2013 Constitution is therefore yet another step in the advancement of the ideals of a constitutional and democratic state and its adoption is a cause for optimism, in the least