CPL Seminar: 'A Constitutional Solution to Secessionism?'

Speaker: Irene Ansa-Asare Horsham, Director of Legal Services - MountCrest University College, Ghana

Abstract: 

The territorial composition of the African continent is unique in its own right. This stems, primarily, from the arbitrary manner in which the continent was carved up into separate territories by the colonial powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885. In the process of dividing the continent up, the European colonial powers paid little attention to the local cultures or ethnic groups. This inevitably led, not only to different ethnic groups forming one arbitrarily unified state, but also to people from the same ethnic groups finding themselves on separate sides of the arbitrarily imposed borders. African states are therefore extremely culturally and socially heterogenous in nature.

Decolonisation of the African continent led to the obvious question of whether or not to retain the European-imposed colonial borders. The Organisation of African Unity (the predecessor of the current African Union), in its Charter, declared its adherence to the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each member state. In effect, the leaders of newly independent African states pledged to respect the borders they had inherited upon attaining independence. By maintaining colonial borders, African states remain extremely culturally and socially heterogenous in nature and consequently form a natural habitat for brewing secessionist sentiments. Nevertheless, in spite of the presence of several conflicts and a myriad of complex developmental problems, successful secessionist attempts in Africa are rare.

This paper seeks to explore the reasons for the apparent lack of secessionism on the African continent and will consider successful and failed secessionist attempts in Africa. It will conclude by considering whether or not the solution to maintaining a continent free of secessionism lies in a constitutional approach.

This seminar is open to all LLM, MCL and PhD students, Faculty members and Faculty visitors.