Non-Interference or Non-Indifference. The Role of the African Union in the Development of Norms on Protecting Civilians and the Conflict in Darfur.
Summary
The Battle of Mogadishu, the Rwandan genocide, the massacre in Srebrenica, and the consequent
reaction against intervention in the 1990s, spurred to action those who wanted to protect civilians
while respecting sovereignty. In 1999 African leaders decided to form the African Union, proactive
in responding to threats to civilians, to prevent a recurrence of an atrocity akin to the Rwandan
genocide. The organization had the power to intervene to protect civilians when atrocities
loomed. Many Africans could not abide by the idea of the West and former colonial powers
coming to their aid. The Union was an attempt to create an African solution to the problem of
civilian protection. In 2005, all United Nations member states agreed to a norm on the
responsibility to protect civilians, comparable to the African predecessor. Changing attitudes is
not a straightforward task, and much work is required still to prioritize protecting civilians over
safeguarding sovereignty. The role of the African Union in the development of norms on civilian
protection is under-researched, and the goal of this thesis is to address this gap in knowledge
with a historical account of norms about civilian protection based on primary sources from the
Union itself. This thesis utilizes social-constructivist theories of norms to analyze the historical
development of norms on protecting civilians from 1990-2005. The conflict in the Darfur region
in Sudan in 2003-2004 provides a case study that concerns norm development in an African
context permitting analysis of the African Union response. This thesis aims to connect research
on norm development regarding civilian protection in the African Union with such study in a
global context.