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Women’s Human Rights in Africa: Beyond the Debate Over the Universality or Relativity of Human Rights

by Diana J. Fox Introduction In the fifty years following the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, anthropology as a discipline has embraced a predominantly ethical relativist stance toward the idea of human rights as a legitimate universal concern for all cultures. In the past […]

The Wilsonian Conception of Democracy and Human Rights: A Retrospective and Prospective

by Korwa G. Adar Introduction The principles of democracy and human rights have been persistent, if at times secondary, themes within the rhetoric of American foreign policy toward Africa since the end of World War II. The linking of such Wilsonian precepts with foreign policy practice, however, has been an altogether different story. US policy […]

The Challenges Facing Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in the Next Millennium

by Ebenezer Okpokpo Introduction Since Nigeria became independent in 1960 its foreign policy, like that of most other countries, has witnessed successes and failures. The current debate on President Obasanjo’s list of Ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate for approval provides Nigerian citizens with an opportunity to contribute to the debate on who should be […]

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC): Human Rights and State Transitions – The South Africa Model

by Patricia J. Campbell Abstract Post-authoritarian regimes have struggled with the most appropriate way to deal with the former regimes’ human rights abuses.Several schools of though have emerged as to how this should be accomplished.Into this framework the South Africa model, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), is discussed.The TRC has completed its charge and […]

Achieving Human Rights in Africa: The Challenge for the New Millennium

by Paul J. Magnarella Introduction Fifty-one years after the United Nations adopted the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and almost nineteen years after the Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted its own African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the human rights situation on the African continent is decidedly bleak. Indeed, achieving genuine respect […]

From Genocide to Regional War: The Breakdown of International Order in Central Africa

by Christian R. Manahl Introduction The 1999 crisis in Kosovo has been interpreted as the end of an era of international relations ruled by the UN Charter and the Security Council, and the beginning of a new world order [1]. NATO’s air raids against Yugoslavia in order to halt ethnic cleansing and oppression of the Kosovars […]

Participatory Natural Resource Management in the Communal Lands of Zimbabwe: What Role for Customary Law?

by Jennifer Mohamed-Katerere Abstract A widely held assumption about environmental management is that its success is dependent upon its relationship to the political process. This is expressed in the emerging but as yet inadequately defined concept of “environmental governance.” A recurring issue, in practice and in the literature, is the value and role of traditional […]

Domestic, Regional and International Protection of Nigerian Women Against Discrimination: Constraints and Possibilities

by Mojbol Olfnk Okome Introduction Discrimination against women is defined by Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979 (heretofore referred to as the 1979 Convention or CEDAW) as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose […]

Morroco in Transition: Overcoming the Democratic and Human Rights Legacy of King Hassan II

by Patricia J. Campbell Abstract Morocco’s King Hassan II died on 23 July 1999 and was succeeded by his son Muhammad VI. Much of the media coverage of Hassan II following his death portrayed him as a champion of democracy and human rights in the region. Was this really the case? Was Morocco under Hassan […]