The African Union (AU) has continuously
evolved its normative and institutional framework to combat, respond to and
prevent serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law
in the context of an armed conflict on the continent. The AU is not only moving
away from non-intervention to a doctrine of non-indifference to mass
atrocities, but also to a range of new mechanisms of accountability that can be
seen in the case of the Peace and Security Council (PSC), the African Peace and
Security Architecture (APSA), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights, peace support operations, and emerging regional accountability mechanisms.
However, it has been observed that despite the presence of these mechanisms in
African conflicts, there are still concerns about the efficiency of the
mechanisms in relation to the alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity etc.
This article presents the AU’s approach to countering conflict-related
atrocities, with particular attention to the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake
Chad Basin as a key case study, and also draws comparative lessons from other
African conflicts. It critically examines the AU’s relationship with the PSC,
with regional economic communities, with Member States, with peace operations
and with international criminal justice bodies in the context of preventing
violations, documenting atrocities, protecting civilians and holding those responsible
to account. The article uses a qualitative comparative approach through
documentary analysis of AU legal instruments, policy papers, conflict and human
rights reports, international legal materials, and relevant scholarly
literature to pinpoint areas of difference between normative commitments and
enforcement practices. It states that this is still holding back continental
accountability due to political sovereignty, limited institutional capacity,
fragmented regional responses, insufficient evidence preservation, and reliance
on member-state co-operation. The AU’s principle of non-indifference offers
substantial normative underpinning for collective action, but greater
coordination among peace operations, human-rights monitoring organs, regional
institutions, domestic courts and international justice is needed to create
effective accountability.
Keywords: War crimes, Boko Haram, Lake Chad Basin, Peace operations, Regional Justice.
