International Negotiations to resolve African conflicts

International Negotiations to resolve African conflicts

Mohamed JEBBOUR

Professor of international law and international relations, University Mohammed V    Rabat

Abstract

  Since their independence, African States have engaged in many disputes, which are  sometimes internal when it comes to corruption and destabilization of national systems, and other times  external when borders become the main cause of the disagreement. In this context, African States have long suffered from violation of that famous principle of the intangibility of borders. Indeed, when a State is powerful, its boundaries are well drawn and therefore intangible. However, when a State is found weak, it finds it very difficult to control its territory, which becomes surrounded by poorly controlled and unstable border areas. And that consequently makes its borders favorable to the development of conflicts.

  The proliferation of crises in Africa has shoved the countries of this Continent, especially  the ones involved in a dispute, to seek the intervention of the United Nations, since it is represented  as an entity having the same legal personality as the States, to bring the parties to settle their disputes by peaceful means. To properly carry out its mission and achieve its noble objective of establishing peace and security in the world, the UN refers to Chapter VI of its constitutive charter, which includes methods of peaceful settlement of disputes. At the top of these modes is placed the  negotiation. Thus, negotiating for peace and engaging in dialogue to meet the challenges has become an absolute priority for Africa.

   For the particular case of Morocco, the question of the Sahara would have been settled since the “green march”. As a matter of fact, however, the dispute arising from this issue remains at the top of geopolitical trends in the world until today. The UN, in this regard, has opened this dispute in its files since the 1980s, and is doing its best to bring together the parties concerned, from the Polisario Front with its spirit of rebellion, and Morocco which does not abandon its right to complete its territorial unity, around a negotiating table.

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