CONCEPTUALIZING THE QATARI-AFRICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS: THE CASE OF SOFT POWER

Ben O’Bright*

ABSTRACT

Using a case study approach, this article examines the shifting dimensions of Qatar’s international relations strategies with select, geo-politically important African states, including primarily the latter’s private sector and civil society, and focusing on the current or potential use of soft power in particular. To start, this article presents a comprehensive overview of soft power, including its international relations theory-based historical origins; definitional boundaries; associated tools and mechanisms; and the concept’s pragmatic problems and limitations. Second, the article offers several best practice case studies, including the United Kingdom and China, from which core lessons on soft power development and application can be gleaned. This will advance from a list of seven key lessons that any prospective soft power state should consider. Following this, the article engages in an examination of available evidence outlining Qatar’s attempted soft power action on the African continent and, particularly in Sudan, Somalia, Mali and Tunisia, arguing that it relies extensively on “carrotdiplomacy” or the influencing of others backed by material and financial resource inducements. Finally, five problems and roadblocks affecting Qatar’s approach to international relations will be presented, followed by alternative (soft) power-based strategies, which could be explored by its government and leadership.

Keywords: Soft Power; Qatar; Africa; Sudan; Somalia; International Relations; United Kingdom.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.4

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* PhD Candidate, Dalhousie University and Researcher, Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa.

MANAGING AFRICA’S NATURAL RESOURCE ENDOWMENTS: NEW DISPENSATIONS AND GOOD-FIT APPROACHES

Kobena T. Hanson*

ABSTRACT

Managing a nation’s extractive natural resource endowments can advance national development if done meaningfully. Unfortunately, across Africa, the apparent mismanagement of such resources, poor growth rates, social tensions, and civil strife in resource-rich countries have thrown up a great deal of literature on what is now known as resource curse.It has also ignited calls for enhanced governance and improved capacities for the myriad of actors engaged in natural resource extraction. This article draws on the extant literature to interrogate the complex entanglements of issues involved in the natural resource value chain in Africa. It argues that in spite of the general ills, economic challenges, and socio-political pains that resource-rich African nations face in exploiting and managing their natural resources, the extractive industry in Africa is evolving positively, and that the situation of resource-rich African states is not immutable. Available evidence suggests that Africa is emerging a new, more complex, participatory, and coordinated vision of NRM; a development that offers opportunities and possibilities for Africa to engage emerging actors especially in the global South.The article concludes that what Africa needs is an approach with a good fit to local realities, and an enhancement of individual and institutional capacities.

Keywords: Africa, Capacity Development, Governance, Natural Resource Management.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.6

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* Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Outlooks, Ghana/KM Consultant, AfDB, P. O. Box CT9049, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana, E-mail: kthanson64@yahoo.com

LAND GOVERNANCE AND LAND DEALS IN AFRICA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN ADVANCING COMMUNITY RIGHTS

Blair Rutherford*

ABSTRACT

This article examines the converging focus on “governance” by those donors and scholars who promote investment in land in Africa as well as by scholars and activists who criticize what they call “land grabs.” This focus on governance is particularly found in terms of understanding and assessing socio-economic consequences among the communities for the land deals, investment initiatives which have been accelerating on the continent over the last decade and longer. This article expands the concept of governance by examining how structures of authority and power are also involved in defining who belongs, or who has claims to belong, to these territories. It explores the topic of land deals and community rights through the conceptual lens of governance and belonging, the ability to be recognized as part of the community at various levels of action (including in terms of national citizenship). It starts with an examination of the recent increase in land investments in Africa, setting out its broad parameters, including public criticisms raised and some of the protests around them, and noting some of the key issues on which scholars have focused. In the next two sections, the article analyses these processes through the conceptual lens of governance and belonging as a way to bring out what the article proposes are key issues for assessing matters on community rights in regards to investments concerning natural resources in Africa, particularly over land. This analysis raises questions about those who uncritically promote Free and Prior Informed Consent as the solution to ensure “communities” approve any land deals.

Keywords: Land grabs, governance, Africa, community, politics of belonging

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.10

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* Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

CHINA’S INFLUENCE IN AFRICA: CURRENT ROLES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS IN RESOURCE EXTRACTION

Liu Haifang*

ABSTRACT

In the second half of 2014, some African countries felt the heavy strike of falling prices of mineral resources on the world market. The international media raised vocalex positions on the negative impact that China’s slow down might bring to the African economy. One headline read: “Chinese investment in Africa has fallen 40 per cent this year – but it’s not all bad news”.1 More recently, the exasperation intensified to “China’s slowdown blights African economies”,2 and managed to shadow the China-African Summit held in December 2015 in Johannesburg. Similarly, on the recent Africa Mining Indaba, the annual biggest African event for the mining sector, the renewed concern was stated as “Gloom hangs over African mining as China growth slows”.3 There is no doubt that China’s presence has had positive effects on Africa’s growth over the past decade. Nonetheless, only a narrow perspective would view Africa’s weak performance solely through the Chinese prism. This article addresses the afore-mentioned concerns regarding the impacts that China has in Africa. A historical approach is applied to reconstruct the economic cooperation since the mid-1990s. This reconstruction emphasizes the sustaining forces of cooperation. Literally, this article goes beyond the resource traction sector, to understand the basis of China-African cooperation, and the position mineral resource has taken in the bilateral cooperation. With a representative country case study, the current dilemma is shown from the structure of bilateral cooperation. Suggestions follow on how to address these challenges.

Keywords: China, Africa, mining, resource, investment, development.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.3

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* PhD (Peking), Associate Professor, Deputy Director and Secretary General of the Centre for African Studies, School of International Studies, Peking University, China. Email: liuhaifang@pku.edu.c

TRANSNATIONAL INITIATIVES TOWARDS NATURAL RESOURCE GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA POST-2015

Timothy M. Shaw*

ABSTRACT

The 21st century is marked by a welcome proliferation of innovative forms of natural resource governance to advance sustainable development. This article sheds light on the background for this quite remarkable and unanticipated shift. It analyses the prospects for AMV advocacy and adoption by emerging state and non-state actors by the end of this decade, both in Africa and beyond. It examines these evolving perspectives and debates vis á vis 21st century globalization. It also identifies the unexpected and unprecedented range of transnational governance initiatives that have been proposed since the turn of the century. These continue to proliferate and compete, being refined in the process as the problematic notion of global governance continues to be a subject of considerable debate. It also extends the range of developmental challenges to include the burgeoning water-energy-food nexus.

Keywords: governance, Africa, economy, development

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.9

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* PhD, Princeton, is visiting professor at University of Massachusetts, Boston and Adjunct Professor at Aalborg, Carleton University, and University of Ottawa. With degrees from three continents – University of Sussex, Makerere University and Princeton University – he has held visiting positions in China, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as in Canada and the US. He continues to edit IPE Series for Palgrave Macmillan/Springer and Routledge.

EXTRACTIVE RESOURCES, GLOBAL VOLATILITY AND AFRICA’S GROWTH PROSPECTS1

Elias T. Ayuk* and Rebecca A. Klege**

ABSTRACT

Africa is endowed with an incredible amount of natural resources of which the extractive sector is a key component. Unfortunately, however, the continent is characterized by a paradox of plenty or resource curse, depicting a situation of abundant resources that have not translated into economic growth and prosperity for the population. The potential role of the extractive sector is further affected by global volatilities. This article reviews the importance of the extractive sector to selected African countries. It identifies sources of global volatility that affect the sector and further attempts to establish the factors that drive the volatility-growth nexus. We use panel data covering 18 selected African countries from 1970-2013 to explain the gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Volatility persistence estimates are also calculated. The article further examines the policy space that African governments might consider to make the extractive sector play a major role in the development of the continent. We find that the extractive sector makes a huge contribution to GDP of the selected countries. The empirical evidence also indicates that 12 out of 18 countries find it difficult to adjust their economies back to equilibrium when hit with volatility shocks or changes in the volatility of GDP growth.

Keywords: economic diversification, extractive sector, growth, natural resources, resource curse, volatility

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.11

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* Director, United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Accra, Ghana.

** Doctoral candidate, School of Economics, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

1 The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and should not be attributed to their affiliated institutions.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE AND THE TRANSNATIONAL IN LIFTING THE RESOURCE CURSE

Karolina Werner*

ABSTRACT

In the past, natural resources such as coal and iron ore were catalysts for development and the economic theory focused mainlyon how the exploitation of natural resources could promote trade and development. Since the 1970s, however, we have been increasingly confronted with resource-rich countries lagging behind in economic growth and facing high risks of violent conflict. Using Sierra Leone as a case study, this article briefly explores the resource curse paradox, noting the role of the national government and international actors in maintaining the status quo. It highlights the fragile state of postconflict governments, focusing on the delicate balance between attracting foreign investment and fighting corruption and poverty in environments already susceptible to recurring violence. The article further examines both government and private sector activities that have contributed to the economies of violence through unequal distribution of natural resource rents and revenues. It also argues that to move from resource curse to resource blessing, both the affected states and the international community need to refocus their attention on the effectiveness of returns on natural resource revenues and the critical role of transnational corporations in perpetuating the curse.

Keywords: Sierra Leone, resource curse, TNCs, natural resources, postconflict states

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.13

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* Theme Leader, Conflict, Security, and Natural Resources, Institute for Natural Resources and Sustainable Development; Researcher, Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa, Canada; PhD Candidate, Global Governance, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.

TOWARDS A FLUID AND MULTISCALAR GOVERNANCE OF EXTRACTIVE RESOURCES IN AFRICA1

Cristina D’Alessandro*

ABSTRACT

Political geographies of oil investigate extractive value chains with an emphasis on governance and scales, analysing the role that territories and especially spatial networks play in these dynamics. While underlining the limits and gaps of territorial governance, as it is nowadays theorized and used in the academic literature, extractive resources, particularly in developing contexts, call for fluid networks, and multiscalar governance; more flexible and adapted to changing contexts. This approach leads to networked justice, as a consequent adaptation of spatial justice to these specific situations. This article points out, for instance, the geopolitics of pipelines in Africa and its critical role in transforming the continent, despite its related challenges and conflicts. It advocates a better governance of extractive resources in Africa. Scholars have a role to play in this process, helping to analyse critical phenomena and sensitive dynamics, as well as provide sound policy recommendations.

Keywords: Extractive resources, sub-Saharan Africa, territorial governance, political geography, justice.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.14

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* Senior Fellow, Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa, Canada.

1 This paper is part of the Qatar Foundation’s National Priorities Research Programme – NPRP 6-1272-5-160.

EVALUATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE EXTRACTIVE HOST COMMUNITIES IN NIGERIA

Bethel Uzoma Ihugba* and Sergius Nnamdi Okoro**

ABSTRACT

The extraction of oil and mineral wealth has some environmental, social, economic and political impact on the host communities. In many instances these communities do not derive any sustainable developmental benefit from the wealth extraction activities in their area and where they do, it is less than the magnitude of harm suffered. This has contributed to conflicts between government and host communities, and between host communities and mining companies. This suggests that either there is no legal framework for extractive industry host community development or they are weak or not applied. In Nigeria, existing legal framework includes revenue allocation formulas between the Federal and State Governments, the establishment of bodies like the Niger Delta Development Commission, and enactment of laws like the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA) 2007, the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Act 2007 and the proposal of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2012 and the recently passed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill 2016. However, despite this framework, contentions persist and there is sparse evidence of sustainable development in host communities to counter some conclusions of ineffectiveness. This article, therefore, examines some of the legal framework to determine their contribution or otherwise and potential towards sustainable host community development.

Key Words: Extractive industry, local host community development, Nigeria, petroleum industry, sustainability.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.15

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* LLB, LLM, PhD, BL, Research Fellow, National Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria. Correspondence email: bethelihugba @yahoo.com

** LLB, LLM, BL, Research Officer, National Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Elem Eyrice Tepecikliogu*

ABSTRACT

African affairs occupied a secondary status in Turkish foreign policy until very recently. However, following the adoption of the Action Plan for Opening up to Africa in the late 1990s, Turkish politicians started to assign a higher priority to relations with African countries. The incumbent Turkish government now attaches great importance to developing long-term relations with those countries. We can also see that Africa’s image in Turkey is changing with journalists presenting new narratives about the continent and supporting Turkish involvement in African affairs. There is also an increasing interest in African studies in the academia, although scholarly work produced on African issues remains limited. This study explores the evolution of Turkish-African relations and concentrates mostly on Turkey’s economic engagement in African countries. It also seeks to analyse recent Turkish initiatives in Africa’s energy sector. The article argues, among other things, that although the low level of attention paid to African issues has changed, the pace of the development of relations with Africa is still slow and more steps have to be taken to further improve relations with African countries.

Keywords: Turkey, Africa, Sustainable Development

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.2

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* Department of International Relations, Yasar University, Turkey. E-mail: elem.eyrice@gmail.com

LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT CREATION WITH AFRICAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Franklyn Lisk*

ABSTRACT

Natural resources are an assured source of government revenue, but this does not always translate into more jobs, better productivity or an increased demand for that country. Traditionally, the role of government in a resource-rich country has always been to act in the best interests of its citizens. In the case of natural resource-rich nations, this role also includes ensuring that jobs in the extractive sector are safe – both in the physical and financial sense. In such competitive environments, the private sector also has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that all employees are fairly treated. However, it is evident that almost all African nations that are rich in resources are affected by lack of human development. This article examines the current state of affairs in the resource-rich African nations and their impact on human development. It focuses on how these resource-dependent economies are experiencing economic growth and why this growth does not directly translate into higher and better employment for the local populations. The article examines growth and human development from the perspectives of both the private- and public-sector actors. It recommends that private actors should have a complementary approach, through foreign direct investors or other modes, to the long-term policies and plans set out by the state. This approach would allow for successful intersectoral linkages and community development through higher job creation. It argues that the state is responsible for managing these natural resources and highlights the role of governance in this management. Governance issues, challenges, such as developmental gains, job creation, transparency and accountability are all addressed in the article. Finally, the article strongly recommends developing both human and institutional capital and regulating production.

Keywords: Resource development, resource curse, Africa, governance, management.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v8i1.12

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* Professorial Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization (CSGR), University of Warwick, UK. Email: f.lisk@warwick.ac.uk

AN EVALUATION OF THE INDONESIAN LAW AND POLICY ON SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES*

Melda Kamil Ariadno** and Fitri Amelina***

ABSTRACT

Fisheries play an important role in food security, especially in Indonesia. Two-thirds of the land area is covered by sea and its coastal community is the largest one among the Indonesian communities. Data obtained from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Affairs in 2011 shows that 95 per cent of the operators in the Indonesian fisheries sub-sector operated on the small-scale and 42 per cent of them were women. Small-scale fisheries provide a great contribution to the food security of Indonesia and the world, either in the context of fulfilling animal protein needs or providing a basis for the local, national, and international-scale trade in fisheries products. The Indonesian fishing community contributes to the 90 per cent total amount of world fishers, of which half are women (FAO, 2012). To improve this small-scale fishing, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has initiated the adoption of ‘International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries.’ It is still in negotiation regarding the main principles that are to be implemented by states in securing the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and figuring out the solutions that need to be taken by Indonesia to improve the living standard of the small-scale fisherman/woman. The article aims to provide problems identification, regulations assessment, and recommendations on small-scale fisheries in Indonesia.

Keywords: Small-scale fisheries, international regulation, Indonesia.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.3

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* This article is the outcome of the research funded by the University of Indonesia on a giveaway scheme (Small Scale Fisheries) led by Melda Kamil Ariadno alongside with the research team members, namely, Mutiara Hikmah, Sammira Assovie, Fitri Amelina and Miftahul Khairi.

** Professor of International Law, Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia. Director of the Center for International Law Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Indonesian Journal of International Law, Faculty of Law Universitas Indonesia.

*** Junior Researcher on Center for International Law Studies, Faculty of Law Universitas Indonesia.

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN UKRAINE: TOWARDS NATIONAL ECO-MANAGEMENT

Katerina Fedorova*

ABSTRACT

The national energy security and independence issue is currently the most important problem in Ukraine. Continuous political games around traditional energy import sources exhaust the Ukrainian economy and lead to a systemic crisis. Ukraine has a huge natural potential for the development of green economy, but sustainable development in Ukraine is still at the initial stage of its evolution. Certainly, the transition to renewable energy technologies will be an effective solution to the key energy, environmental, social and political crises in Ukraine. Thus, the main attention of the author is focused on the renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal. It is emphasized that Ukraine has its national production of technical equipment for each of these areas of renewable energy. Along with alternative energy development issues, the author opens a wide panorama of current political, economic, social and security problems in Ukraine, which are deeply interdependent. The author argues that at its current level of development, Ukraine needs a comprehensive update of national ecomanagement strategy and a rational use of the potential natural programme. This will help the country to overcome the crisis permanently, transit from being a consumerist economic model towards an environmentally sustainable economic development and to integrate completely into Euro-Atlantic structures.

Keywords: renewable energy, sustainable development, eco-management, eco-economy, Ukraine.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.2

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* PhD (Political Science, Ukraine), Member of the International Scientific Committee, ‘Zwiastowaæ. Nauki i praktyki’, Warsaw, Poland. www.fedorova@gmail.com

ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION THROUGH MARKET REGULATIONS: COMPARATIVE LESSONS FROM THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

Alexandra Rosenbluth* Latravia Smith**

ABSTRACT

The existing legal frameworks in the United States (US) and the European Commission (EC) that regulate industrial chemicals represent divergent methods for controlling market entry, market restriction, and subsequent regulatory oversight when enforcement of these mechanisms fail. Contrary to the prevailing view that the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) law, which amended the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), is the ‘gold standard’ for chemical regulation, the central premise of this article is that the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century provides unique opportunities for preventing environmental releases from new and existing chemical substances, which amounts to, if not more stringent, than REACH.

Keywords: REACH, TSCA, Lautenberg, toxic chemicals.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.1

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* Graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2015 where she majored in Government and Environmental Science & Policy. Alexandra is now a community organizer at a small non-profit working on a just transition to renewable energy in Southern Oregon. During the summer of 2014, she served as a Policy Fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics.

** A student at Florida A&M College of Law, Juris Doctor candidate, class of 2017. She is currently enrolled in the Center for International Law and Justice, which focuses on international and comparative law of developing nations. This past summer, she served as an Honors Law Clerk at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement Compliance Assurance. The information presented herein is a synthesis of their research. Note: the views and opinions expressed represent those of the authors and not necessarily those of the College of William & Mary, Florida A&M University College of Law, nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Emmanuel E. Okon*

ABSTRACT

Sustainable development underpins environmental governance in all jurisdictions, but its legal status is still controversial. The major problem which Nigerian courts and policy-makers will continue to face when implementing and enforcing sustainable development in environmental governance is whether it is a moral or legal concept and, if it is the latter, whether it has metamorphosed into a legal principle or the rule of law having a normative value. This article argues that the legal status of sustainable development in Nigeria depends on which legal instrument it is incorporated and whether it is expressed in a general or specific mandatory language. Also, its legal status depends on the pronouncements of Nigerian courts on it. Methodologically, the qualitative content analysis is used to ascertain the legal status of sustainable development in the statutes and case law examined. In order to enhance the implementation and enforcement of sustainable development in the Nigerian environmental law, the conclusion of this article adopted as recommendations the latter part of its argument that sustainable development should be made an essential part of the right to life, the relevant constitutional provisions on the environmental should be amended to reflect it and, in addition, section 20 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 should be transferred to Chapter IV of the Constitution, which deals with fundamental human rights.

Keywords: Sustainable development, legal status, implementation, enforcement and qualitative content analysis.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.6

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* LL.B (UniUyo); LL.M, MBA (Ife); MILR (Ibadan); PhD (Wales); BL; Senior

Research Fellow and Head, International Law Department, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos Campus, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. emmyokon@yahoo.com.

HUMAN SECURITY IN THE NIGER DELTA: EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF RESOURCE GOVERNANCE, COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND CONFLICTS

Olayinka Ajala*

ABSTRACT

Prior to August 2009, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria witnessed widespread violent conflicts between the government, multinational oil corporations (MNCs) and militant groups. This conflict was widely attributed to deplorable human security, which deprived the indigenes of the region access to their sources of livelihoods due to pollution, by MNCs. In 2009, the government granted amnesty to thousands of ‘repentant militants’ and this programme has achieved mixed results. This article will explore the impact of human security on the outbreak of violence in the Niger Delta and the impact of the Amnesty Programme in addressing issues relating to human security. The article concludes that bottom-up community-driven initiatives offer the best approach to address human security issues in the Niger Delta. The article is based on an ethnographic research carried out in 2013 in three states in the region (Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states).

Keywords: Human security, justice, environment, Niger Delta, MNCs

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.5

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* Department of Politics, University of York, email: oaa511@york.ac.uk

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CLIMATE POLICY: THE LONG ROAD TO PARIS

Idowu Ajibade*

ABSTRACT

The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 countries, is the first global climate change instrument to explicitly reference human rights as a guiding principle. The treaty does not expound on the implications of climate change for human rights but the fact that it calls on State Parties to respect human rights when combating climate change shows a significant improvement in international thinking and acceptance of the linkages between human rights and climate change. Indeed, this is no mean feat. The journey to Paris has been a long and arduous process, especially for the broad coalition of indigenous people, gender, human rights, environmental and climate justice groups that worked tirelessly to bring the issue to global focus. My goal in this article is to explore the implications of a human rights clause in the Paris Agreement. Does it carry any legal or political weight? Are State Parties likely to operationalize it? In what ways can they enforce this part of the Agreement? To answer these questions, this article traces the historical account of the connections between human rights and climate change within the United Nations system and examines issues of equity and distributive justice in international climate change frameworks such as the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. The article expounds on opportunities for integrating human rights-based approaches into national and international climate policy and concludes on the need for further integration of both issues in future research and treaty negotiations.

Keywords: Climate change, human rights, justice, policy, Paris Agreement

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.4

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* Postdoctoral Fellow, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada. jajibade@balsillieschool.ca.

THE CASE FOR AN ANALYTICAL CONSTRUCTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF DEMAND GUARANTEES IN NIGERIA

Kolawole Mayomi*

ABSTRACT

Demand guarantees are independent collateral undertakings that secure the beneficiary against losses arising from the risk of default in an underlying contract. However, unlike in a true guarantee, the surety’s liability in a demand guarantee is insulated from disputes arising on the underlying contract as it is triggered by the beneficiary’s mere demand for payment, without any need to establish the principal’s default in the underlying contract. A review of Nigerian law reveals a lack of clarity in the construction and enforcement of demand guarantees, such that the courts have largely adopted a blanket approach which erroneously conflates the principles that undergird true guarantees and demand guarantees, and treats the payment obligation arising in both categories of guarantee contracts as the same. The consequence of this approach is to (a) open up the surety in a true guarantee to a primary liability; or (b) impose an onerous obligation upon the beneficiary in a demand guarantee to establish default in an underlying contract before the undertaking may be enforced. This article discusses the need for an analytical approach to the construction and enforcement of demand guarantees in Nigeria. It examines the key normative strengths of this approach which includes the ‘pay now, argue later’ rule, and proposes practical legal reforms through which the analytical approach could be better recognized by Nigerian courts and in Nigerian laws.

Keywords: Demand guarantees, collateral, security, Nigeria

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.11

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* Partner, Disputes Resolution; S.P.A. Ajibade & Co, Lagos, Nigeria. Email: kmayomi@spaajibade.com

THE SEARCH FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY IN NIGERIA: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PATHWAYS TO ITS REALIZATION

Ifeolu J. Koni*

ABSTRACT

This article examines the status of the local government under the tripartite governmental system in Nigeria that has been in operation since 1979. It reviews the various reforms that the administration of local government has gone through from the colonial era till 1999 when the extant Constitution of Nigeria came into force. The article finds that notwithstanding the provision of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution which provides for a system of local government by democratic means, many of the State Governments have continued to set up caretaker committees at this tier of government, thereby denying the grassroots population of the benefits of democratic rule. The creation of the infamous State Joint Local Government Account has rendered the Local Governments totally prostrate as they depend completely on the State Governments for funds needed for their development. The article recommends, inter alia, that section 165 of the 1999 Constitution should be amended with a view to abolishing the State Joint Local Government Account and making the Local Government Councils both politically and financially autonomous.

Keywords: Search, local government, autonomy, pathways and realization

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.8

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* LL.B (Hons), Ilorin, LL.M, PhD (Ife) BL, Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; Senior Lecturer, College of Law, Afe Babalola University AdoEkiti, Nigeria. Email: ife4law@yahoo.com

IMPLEMENTING ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE IN NIGERIA: A MATTER OF EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Abayomi Al-Ameen*

ABSTRACT

Many hardworking people from unprivileged backgrounds are automatically disadvantaged simply because they lack access to financial capital. Observably, microfinance provides a way out of the poverty trap if it is deployed appropriately. Nigeria, like many other developing countries, has thus taken up the challenge of developing inclusive microfinancing initiatives. In the country, funding for small-scale businesses is available from both the government and the private sector. Unfortunately, the nature and conditions of the schemes fail to meet the sensitivities of a substantial group who would otherwise have been eligible for the grants and loans. The practical implication is that such group would be twice excluded from the financial system. These potentially excluded groups are those poor Muslims who might desire funding but are unable to benefit from the government schemes because the loan conditions contradict their faith. It is argued that the effect of the status quo is that it breeds further inequality and inequity and could even amount to outright (or indirect) discrimination. This contention is substantiated through constitutional analysis and also in light of a contemporary economic welfare theory – the Capability Approach. The article argues that this marginalized group has a right to Islamic microfinance. This right, it is further contended, places justiciable (positive and negative) duty on the government. It, therefore, calls that Islamic microfinance should forthwith be embedded into the fabric of public governance in the country. The article demonstrates the exclusionary problem by analysing some of the existing schemes, and it proffers alternative sharia-compliant conditions for existing schemes.

Keywords: Islamic microfinance; social development, distributive justice; indirect discrimination; constitutional law/human right, capability approach.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.10

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* Lecturer in Commercial Law, Cardiff School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, UK.