LCP4801 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 1 FOR 2022-
INTERNATIONAL LAW. DISTINCTION GUARANTEED.
90% AND ABOVE. QUALITY WORK WITH FOOTNOTES
AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(a)
In terms of Article 4 paragraph h of the African Union Constitutive Act, list and
briefly explain the grounds for intervention in the affairs of its member states. (10)
In terms of Article 4 paragraph h of the African Union Constitutive Act, the grounds for
intervention in the affairs of its member states are as follows:
(1) Every State has the primary responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of its
citizens in accordance with domestic constitutional law, international human rights law,
international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Under Article 4(h), the
African Union (AU) is accorded the right to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a
decision of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government (‘AU Assembly’) in
respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against
humanity (mass atrocities).1 Article 4(h) proceeds from the basis that there is a duty on
Member States of the AU to protect their own populations from mass atrocities. This
responsibility entails the prevention of mass atrocities through appropriate means such
as the establishment and effective functioning of human rights protection mechanisms
at the domestic level, and the acceptance of international human rights supervision.
(2) Article 4(h) empowers the AU to intervene in a Member State under a limited set of
stipulated ‘grave circumstances’. By consenting to Article 4(h), Member States of the
AU have accepted that sovereignty is not a shield but rather a responsibility, particularly
when populations are at risk of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Article 4(h) complements Article 4(g) of the AU Constitutive Act, which prohibits
1
Constitutive Act of the African Union, 2000.
INTERNATIONAL LAW. DISTINCTION GUARANTEED.
90% AND ABOVE. QUALITY WORK WITH FOOTNOTES
AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(a)
In terms of Article 4 paragraph h of the African Union Constitutive Act, list and
briefly explain the grounds for intervention in the affairs of its member states. (10)
In terms of Article 4 paragraph h of the African Union Constitutive Act, the grounds for
intervention in the affairs of its member states are as follows:
(1) Every State has the primary responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of its
citizens in accordance with domestic constitutional law, international human rights law,
international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Under Article 4(h), the
African Union (AU) is accorded the right to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a
decision of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government (‘AU Assembly’) in
respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against
humanity (mass atrocities).1 Article 4(h) proceeds from the basis that there is a duty on
Member States of the AU to protect their own populations from mass atrocities. This
responsibility entails the prevention of mass atrocities through appropriate means such
as the establishment and effective functioning of human rights protection mechanisms
at the domestic level, and the acceptance of international human rights supervision.
(2) Article 4(h) empowers the AU to intervene in a Member State under a limited set of
stipulated ‘grave circumstances’. By consenting to Article 4(h), Member States of the
AU have accepted that sovereignty is not a shield but rather a responsibility, particularly
when populations are at risk of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Article 4(h) complements Article 4(g) of the AU Constitutive Act, which prohibits
1
Constitutive Act of the African Union, 2000.
