1st Edition
Social and Economic Rights in Africa International and Public Law Perspectives
Social and economic rights have hitherto been marginalised in mainstream legal and political discourses and treated as second-class citizens in the human rights family. These rights are now receiving increasing attention in law and politics, arguably because they raise existential questions on human security and dignity. This one-stop volume examines the international and public law perspectives on socio-economic rights in Africa. Working on the premise that these rights are normative and justiciable, the author methodically and expertly examines the legal frameworks for their protection in global, regional, and national instruments, infusing the analysis with African and comparative jurisprudence. The author also examines the nature of obligations on these rights as well as the interpretive methodologies that should be deployed towards their realisation. In blending theory with practice, the book also reflects on some governance challenges that continue to hobble the effective realisation of these rights in Africa. The book is a seminal contribution on an important field, an ideal companion for human rights practitioners, international and constitutional lawyers, judges, government advisors, students, social workers, and everyone who desires ‘freedom from fear and want’.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Hypothesis
Structure
Methodology
Chapter 2
SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS AS NORMATIVE AND JUSTICIABLE STANDARDS
Introduction
The Problematic
The Dialectics
A Synthesis
Conclusion
Chapter 3
AFRICA IN THE UNITED NATIONS’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS FRAMEWORK
Introduction
‘In Larger Freedom’
The Modern Magna Carta
The Human Rights Covenants
Other Specialised Treaties
Conclusion
Chapter 4
SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN REGIONAL AFRICA
Introduction
Decades of Standard Setting
Interrogating Rights
Conclusion
Chapter 5
CONSTITUTIONALISING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Introduction
Constitutionalising Rights
Some Thematic Analysis
Conclusion
Chapter 6
THE CONCEPTS OF OBLIGATIONS AND ‘MINIMUM CORE’
Introduction
States Obligations in International Law
States Obligations in Municipal Law
Typology of Obligations
Progressive Realisation and the ‘Minimum Core’
The ‘Good Faith’ Principle
Conclusion
Chapter 7
INTERPRETING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Introduction
The Judicial Function
Interpretive Methodologies
Limits of Judicial Function
Conclusion
Chapter 8
MAKING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS WORK
Summary
From Vision to Reality
Conclusion: ‘Moonglow’
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Nsongurua Udombana is Professor of Public International Law and, presently, affi liates with Topfaith University, Nigeria. He obtained the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) at the University of Lagos, and Doctor Legum (LLD) at the University of South Africa. A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCArb), Professor Udombana has been a member of the Nigerian Bar since 1989, besides membership of other professional bodies. He previously taught at Central European University (CEU), Budapest; York University, Ontario; and in several African universities, including the University of Lagos and Babcock University, both in Nigeria, and the University of Pretoria, as well as the Open University of Tanzania. A Genest Global scholar of the Osgoode Hall Law School for 2011–2012, Professor Udombana was formerly Director, CEU Centre for Human Rights; Dean of Law, University of Uyo, Nigeria; pioneer Pro-Chancellor, Ritman University, Nigeria; and member of Nigeria’s National Conference in 2014. He writes and publishes on international law themes, with an Afrocentric perspective. He is a widely read scholar.
‘Professor Udombana has authored a profoundly in-depth contribution to the global conversation around socio-economic rights. Charged with intellectual rigour and scholarly passion, Socio-economic Rights in Africa is an essential reading on an oft-neglected aspect of development thought and praxis. I highly recommend it’.
– H.E. Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
‘Professor Udombana is a leading and widely-read scholar on the African human rights system. In this latest addition to his impressive canons, he uses a broad brush to paint the legal landscape on Socio-economic Rights in Africa. The book is a rich resource for the human rights community’.
– Hon. Rémy N. Lumbu, Chairperson, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
