Collective Security and the Use of Force under the United Nations Charter: A Study of the Ezulwini Consensus

Abstract

The paper critically analyses the consensus that reflects the common African position on the United Nations Charter. It explains the four elements of the Charter - the responsibility to protect and the legality of force. It also analyses peace enforcement, peace-keeping post-conflict peace-building and the African common position on these issues. The import of the revised version of collective security empowers the Charter to deal decisively with threats to international peace and security. Instead of economic sanctions that were automatic in theory but discretionary in practice, the Charter gave the Security Council the right to impose non-military sanctions, with all members obligated to accept and carry out the decisions of the Council. Against the background of these time-honoured practices, African leaders acting under the purview of Article 13 of the United Nations Charter and Article 41 of the AU Act and joining issues with the recommendations of The High-Level Panel of the Secretary General of the United Nations of 2003, revisited the concept of Collective Security and on March 8, 2005, under the aegis of the African Union jointly took a common African position on Collective Security and the use of force, what is known today as the “Ezulwini Consensus”. In its submission, the paper argues that though the consensus is a well-thought-out idea, its implementation calls for consensus, commitment and central decision-making machinery merged in a coherent and practicable Collective Security system backed up by a political will.