Interstate border disputes in Africa and their resolution. The case of Ethiopia/Eritrea and Sudan/South Sudan (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Miscellaneous, grade: A, University of Buea (faculty of laws and political science), course: LLM, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this research is to critically examine the resolution of interstate border disputes in Africa. In doing so, the disputes between Sudan and South Sudan over the Abyei and Heglig zones and the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea over Badme will be the main focus of the study. The main research question is: How effective are the laws and mechanisms put in place to resolve interstate border disputes in Africa?

Africa as a continent is covered with a lot of interstate border disputes. It is true that international law has always considered as one of its fundamental purposes the maintenance of peace. Disputes are inevitable and no matter their nature, they are often accepted as a regular part of human relations. The major problem is always how to resolve them. The history of the African continent is characterized by interstate border disputes, which usually occurs around the border between two states, but also involve many other states. Most of the interstate disputes occur after the states become independent, when each becomes eager to know and secure its territorial boundaries with neighbours.