A critical analysis of chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter with a special reference to the African Union

Abstract

The thesis, A Critical Analysis of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter with a Special Reference to the African Union, interrogates how Chapter VIII of the United Nations (UN) Charter and the African Union’s (AU) Constitutive Act are interpreted and implemented to promote collective security between the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the UN Security Council (UNSC). The main research question that forms the focus of the study was, ‘To what extent are Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and the AU Constitutive Act compatible or competitive in the implementation of collective security on the African continent?’

The end of the Second World War (WWII) obligated the international community to reassess its position pertaining international peace and security, as well as finding a balance between universalism and regionalism. As a result, the UN was founded from the lessons learnt from the aftermath of the WWII and the failures of its predecessor, the League of Nations, from preventing the conflict. The UN’s foundation is based on the principles of maintaining international peace and security, as stipulated in Article 1 of its Charter. In ensuring the implementation of this principle, the UN Charter notes the importance of collective measures to prevent or eliminate any threat to international peace. In so doing, the UN Charter realises the importance of regional organisations in ensuring collective responses to issues of peace and security. Despite this acknowledgement, regionalism was accepted conditionally in so far as it was subordinate to universalism.

In the same light, regional organisations, especially the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) faced the same introspection following the end of the Cold War, where its role as a regional organisation had failed to prevent the scourge of conflicts, as well as to ensure socio-economic development on the continent. This change of attitude saw the advent of the AU, whose role as a promoter for peace and security on the continent was enhanced and modified by the adoption of its Constitutive Act and the AU Peace and Security Protocols amending it.

To better understand the relationship between the AU and the UN, the study provides a critical analysis of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, which is the framework that governs the relationship between the two organisations. The study also provides an analysis of both the AU’s Constitutive Act and the PSC Protocol amending it, to understand how their implementation on collective security efforts reflect the normative framework of regional arrangements contained in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. Having considered various theories, the theoretical framework adopted by this study is collective security, given its explanatory strength pertaining the regional and universal efforts in maintaining peace and security. This study adopted the qualitative research methodology, with desktop and semi-structured elite interviews as data collection methods and Libya and Côte d’Ivoire as case studies.

In outlining the key findings of the study, this thesis addressed the similarities and differences, as well as the evolving relationship between the AU and UN, with respect to collective security as outlined by the AU’s Constitutive Act and Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. A further key finding is that both the Constitutive Act and the AUPSC Protocol amending it, have convergences and divergences with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. The study identified the historical gaps and ambiguities within the Chapter VIII, which has consequences on the consistency and fairness of the implementation of collective security efforts, especially of the AU. The conclusion of the study is that the AU plays a complimentary role to the UN as it possesses a subsidiary responsibility to the UNSC. However, this is not due to the design of the AU Constitutive Act but the structural rigidity of the UNSC, the lack of a division of labour between the AUPSC and UNSC, as well as the AU’s financial dependency on external donors which often affects its collective security efforts.

The study provides recommendations to improve the relationship between the AU and the UN, which seek to align the frameworks governing the two organisations’ collective security efforts. Moreover, a formal and well-defined division of labour, where the AU is not just a secondary actor but an equal participant in the implementation of collective security on the continent, would develop a stronger partnership on peace and security issues between the AU and UNSC.