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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Africa and the vicissitudes of the human rights principle of the will of the people as the basis of the authority of government
Author:Acheampong, Kenneth A.ISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:Lesotho Law Journal: A Journal of Law and Development
Volume:11
Issue:1
Pages:87-115
Language:English
Geographic term:Africa
Subjects:democracy
human rights
Abstract:The principle that governments must derive their just powers from the consent of the governed is embodied in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. It has been reiterated, in treaty form, by the international community, and is enshrined in regional instruments of human rights, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The author discusses the international community's attempt to uphold the principle of popular sovereignty, amongst others in the case of apartheid South Africa, and analyses the negation of the principle in the international community in general and Africa in particular. Much as the international community has proclaimed its avowed determination to ensure respect for the norms of human rights, including the principle of popular sovereignty, it has not been consistent in doing so. Cases in point include the 1992 national elections in Algeria, the annulment of the June 1993 presidential elections in Nigeria, and the ousting of Gambia's President Dauda Jawara in July 1994, when the international community turned a blind eye to military intervention. Constitutions incorporating the principle of the will of the people as the basis of the authority of government have, on numerous occasions, been unlawfully suspended or overthrown or abrogated in many African countries. At the same time the fact that coups d'état may be elicited by the irresponsible behaviour of constitutional governments, and the questionable viability of a number of Africa's recent democratic transitions, suggest that as yet there is no across-the-board guarantee of pristine democratic rule in Africa. Notes, ref.
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