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Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

Examines humanitarian law in action in three African states currently emerging from periods of civil war in a manner that offers guidance to other nations emerging from armed conflict in diverse settings throughout the world.
Sets forth the "rules" of international law, starting with an overview of public international law and then discussing four specialized areas of international law that are most inherently responsive to the armed conflict.
Describes visionary aspects of international humanitarian law, and considers which goals are most worthy and capable of implementation.
Sets forth important arenas within which international norms respond to armed conflict and systemic repression, including international and domestic criminal prosecutions against individuals, humanitarian interventions and peacekeeping operations, human rights education and advocacy, and social healing efforts.

Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

Description

In Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa, Jennifer Moore studies the role and application of humanitarian law by focusing on African countries that are emerging from civil wars. Moore offers an overview of international law, including its essential vocabulary, and describes four particular subfields of international law: international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international refugee law. After setting forth this overview, Moore considers practical mechanisms to implement international humanitarian law, focusing specifically on the experiences of Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Burundi. Through the case studies of these countries, Moore describes transitional justice's fundamental components: criminal, social, and historical. Although the African continent has gone through some of the world's greatest humanitarian emergencies, issues such as violence against women, child soldiers, and genocide are not unique to Africa, and as such, the study of humanitarian law by examining Africa's experience is important to conflict resolution and reconstruction throughout the world.

Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

Introduction
Part I: International Legal Rules for Conflict Resolution
Chapter 1: The Human Fundamentals of International Law
Chapter 2: Humanitarian Law: the Law of Armed Conflict
Chapter 3: Human Rights Law: the Law of Human Dignity
Chapter 4: International Criminal Law: Accountability for Crimes of War and Crimes against Humanity
Chapter 5: International Refugee Law: Protection for Individuals Fleeing Persecution and Armed Conflict
Part II: Humanitarian Law and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa
Chapter 6: Tools for Implementing Humanitarian Law: Courts, Troops, Media, Development and Communities
Chapter 7: Beyond Juba in Uganda: Reconciling Restorative and Retributive Justice
Chapter 8: After Lomé in Sierra Leone: The Special Court and National Reconciliation
Chapter 9: Après Arusha au Burundi: "Désarmer le Coeur pour Désarmer le Corps"
Conclusion

Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

Author Information

Jennifer Moore is Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1996. She served as Associate Protection Officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Conakry, Guinea and Washington, DC prior to entering law teaching. Professor Moore received her JD from Harvard and taught International Law as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

Reviews and Awards

"Professor Moore is the first author who has looked to the African continent to explore international humanitarian law in a comparative context. Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa is a tour de force. Exploring the strikingly different cases of Uganda, Sierra Leone and Burundi, Professor Moore artfully weaves together lessons that each of these cases offer for international humanitarian law. Just as important, her lucid prose makes this book accessible to experts in the field and lay readers alike, offering an important window to three important cases of conflict and post-conflict justice that are too often overlooked." --Joel H. Samuels, Associate Professor of Law and Deputy Director, Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina

"Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa promises to fill a genuinely gaping hole in terms of a basic reference book for scholars and practitioners alike. It achieves this on account of its comprehensive reach, contextualized approach, and topical nature of its case studies. Jennifer Moore, in one fell swoop, packs it all, in one, neat, logical, user-friendly intellectual kit." --Khoti Chilomba Kamanga, Faculty of Law, University of Dar es Salaam

"Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa is an ambitious book, which makes a compelling argument that durable peace with justice is possible - even in the aftermath of brutal armed conflicts. It will be of interest to anyone searching for a conceptual understanding of international law norms relevant to periods of armed and post-conflict. But perhaps, more importantly, Humanitarian Law should be required reading for anyone who wants to read a persuasive argument that a better world is possible." --Karen Musalo, Clinical Professor of Law & Director, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, University of California-Hastings College of the Law

"Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa is an excellent exposé of humanitarian law in action. It is compelling and a must-read for academics, humanitarian workers and others interested in international law as the book makes an important contribution, to conflict, peace and law studies in Africa." --Ibrahim George, Officer in Charge, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Freetown, Sierra Leone

"It [Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa] represents a legal text that is embedded in the realities of warfare and the intensely personalized nature of it. In so doing, it presents an honest appraisal of the failures of humanitarian law in its implementation, as well as its potential. For those who have lost their faith in international law, it offers the possibility of redemption." -Lucy Hovil, International Refugee Rights Initiative, Journal of Refugee Studies

Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa

Jennifer Moore

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