Your Excellency, Ambassador Sebastião Da Silva ISATA, Chairperson of the African Union Commission on International Law

Distinguished Members of the African Union Commission on International Law,

Your Excellencies Permanent representatives of Member States and distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I would like to extend my appreciation to the AUCIL secretariat for inviting me to offer some remarks to set the scene for the 20^th Ordinary Session of the African Union Commission on International Law.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour and great pleasure to welcome you all to the Headquarters of the Union, to this ever flourishing and splendid city of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and indeed of Africa, for this statutory session of the AUCIL. I wish to offer advice that find a little bit of time from your busy schedule to explore the city during the day and in the evening as well.

I would like to start by congratulating all of you for the work that you have accomplished under the chairmanship of H.E Ambassador Sebastião Da Silva ISATA. I believe under his leadership of the current session; a lot more will be achieved. I convey to you all the best wishes for a successful session ahead.

The current time could not be much harder for international lawyers like yourselves, who firmly believe that international law is viable for all across the world.

Modern international law enshrines the sovereign equality of all states and consequently its rules are and should always be built on the basis of a broader consensus, reflecting the principal legal systems and cultures of the world. But is this really the case, on the ground of the actual functioning of international law? Are we able to observe this in our everyday lives? no doubt the eminent members of AUCIL will try honestly to answer these questions.

In Africa, until the establishment of the African Union in 2002, the ‘African part’ of international law has been mostly engaged with restoring full sovereignty and territorial integrity of African states, which had been mutilated by colonialism without any regard to international law. Even today, African States sometimes became sensitive towards foreign influence due to the nightmare experience of colonialism.

In Africa, in the past 60 years, the OAU and AU have adopted many legal instruments that take into consideration the aspiration of African nations and realization of the integration agenda through the Pan-African ideals of shared values. To mention just one example among many, the OAU Refugee Convention not only provide the inspiration for a different regional instrument, but it also guided the operations of other relevant UN agencies in Africa.

The list of normative developments of African regional legal instruments and their contribution to international law is enormous.

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although the gap between law and practice or between legal and practical protection is often wide, Africa has managed to develop consensus on various issues through the adopted regional instruments. These instruments have made a positive contribution to international law.

This past week, I was lucky to participate in ‘the African Union Continental Reflection Forum on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa’ that was held in Accra, Ghana. The Forum brought together a range of stakeholders from member states, AU Organs, RECs/RMS and civil society organizations from across the continent. The Forum’s objective was to explore policy pathways to overcomes the challenge of Unconstitutional Changes of Government, and review the AU and RECs existing normative frameworks against the resurging trends of Military Coups, Popular uprising and presidential term limit extensions through constitutional amendment.

One of the key messages of the Forum was the need to clarify AU principles such as the principle of complementarity and the principle of subsidiarity between the AU and RECs/RMS in their response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government.  Therefore, this august Commission, as an advisory body to the policy organs of the Union, has a unique opportunity to study the matter in the context of existing legal frameworks and accordingly advise the union.  

Finally, it is my strong belief that the African Union Commission on International Law as an advisory organ of the AU, can play a significant role in developing new norms of international law. Hence, I would like to conclude my remarks by stating international law is still a fundamental component of the international order. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that it remains so.

I wish you fruitful and productive deliberations

I Thank you for your kind attention.