In the first decades following decolonisation, African nations were on the forefront of promoting absolute sovereignty and non-intervention. The Constitutive Act of the African Union that was...Show moreIn the first decades following decolonisation, African nations were on the forefront of promoting absolute sovereignty and non-intervention. The Constitutive Act of the African Union that was adopted in 2000, grants the organisation the right to intervene in case of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. This reflects a conceptualisation of sovereignty as responsibility. To understand this shift in conceptualisation of sovereignty, this thesis conducts a discourse analysis of nine official declarations of the Organization of African Unity between 1990 and 1999 through the lens of constructivist theory. It finds that collective identity, in the guise of Pan-Africanism, serves an important role in enabling the shift in conceptualisation of sovereignty through narrative and interaction. This suggests that collective identity, explicitly on the regional level, is an important factor to be considered in the institutionalisation of humanitarian intervention and has implications for the Responsibility to Protect.Show less
The ICTY and ICTR convicted numerous acts of wartime sexual violence perpetrated on males and females. They have been considered pioneers in international criminal law due to the wealth of...Show moreThe ICTY and ICTR convicted numerous acts of wartime sexual violence perpetrated on males and females. They have been considered pioneers in international criminal law due to the wealth of jurisprudence and definitions they created. However, scholars have accused the Tribunals of ‘leaving behind the men’ through primarily focusing on female victims of sexual violence. This thesis addresses this claim and assesses how the prosecution of wartime sexual violence in both Tribunals differed depending on gender. Employing a textual analysis of ICTY and ICTR court records, it compares sexual violence cases against males and females in terms of language, framing and prosecution. The results of the analysis demonstrate that, while progress can be made for victims of both genders, male victims are disenfranchised through mischaracterization of their experiences, gender-based language, and differing prosecution of similar crimes.Show less
