The adoption by some peoples in Africa of the indigenous rights concept has brought about new challenges regarding the application of the concept to these peoples. The indigenous rights concept was shaped by the colonial experiences of indigenous peoples in the Americas and Australasia. The international understanding of the concept pre-supposes the existence of a set of group rights belonging to peoples who are descendants of the earlier inhabitants of the territory on which a state is located, in contrast to other citizens of that state who are considered colonial settlers. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has attempted to overcome this challenge by evolving a description of indigenousness for Africa. This article argues that, although the conceptual challenges that flow from the foreign origin of the concept have not been fully overcome, the African Commission's description has successfully located Africa within the global indigenous rights framework.

Federalism presents a dilemma for the implementation of international human rights law in those African states that operate federal constitutions. Central governments in these states enjoy international legal personality, make treaties and represent their states as parties to those treaties, yet internal legislative competence over some issues regulated by treaty is commonly shared between central and regional governments. Consequently, while central governments bear responsibility for transforming international standards into national law, challenges arise in areas such as the protection of children from child marriage, where they lack exclusive national legislative competence. How have these states managed to implement international law without violating their own constitutions? Applying a comparative approach, this article argues that African federal states have employed two main models to overcome the dilemma, neither of which has been totally effective. Drawing lessons from federal states outside Africa, the article suggests other mechanisms to perfect Africa's two main models.

Few mining countries face capacity building challenges comparable to Rwanda's. Worsened by the genocide, a 2009 report put the number of mining scientists in Rwanda at 40, fewer than four below the age of 40. The government has however recognized that local skills development is crucial to the potential of mining to contribute to the country's economic development. This has been demonstrated through a series of reforms, culminating in the mining code of 2014. This article considers two issues critical to capacity building in the mining sector: formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining and the promotion of local content / procurement. Its main thesis is that the code provides limited opportunities for local mining capacity building and its local content provisions are rather nervously worded. This is worsened by the fact that Rwanda has no freestanding local content legislation. The article calls for Rwanda to adopt such legislation, with specific provisions on local skills training.

Major development projects in many African countries are often financed by development partners through development aid procurement. Development partners implement specific procurement policies aimed at promoting development in countries receiving aid. This article examines the policies of development partners applicable to aid funded procurement. It argues that some development partner policies could limit the policy space available to implement prioritized development goals domestically.

This article raises concerns about the impact of judicial delimitation on private exploratory rights existing in contested waters. These concerns stem from the tendency of judges to disregard any non-geographic factors during the process of maritime delimitation. This practice allows for the reallocation of the private rights in question and eventually creates tension between public international law and private law. This is discussed in the context of the Somali-Kenyan maritime dispute, which is currently under judicial consideration. The article will demonstrate that, insofar as international judges apply the standard doctrines of delimitation, the prospective judgment may cause the reallocation and, ultimately, the frustration of Kenya's private exploratory contracts in the disputed area. It suggests that a unitization agreement entered after delimitation may reverse this outcome. However, inasmuch as state cooperation lacks the cloak of international custom, the interests of private actors operating in contested waters remain at stake.

Swaziland's Constitution of 2005 promised that every Swazi child would have the right to free primary school education, within three years of the constitution coming into operation. That date having passed, a civil society group took the matter to court. The case initially fared well, but in a subsequent application for performance on the original order, the court balked at making an immediately enforceable order, citing lack of resources as an obstacle. That approach was upheld by the Supreme Court. This article examines the courts’ pronouncements within the Swazi constitutional context. It discusses judicial deference, avoidance and pragmatism. Swaziland's free primary education judgments are compared with those of courts in South Africa. The remedial orders of those courts demonstrate that, although educational goods and services cannot be delivered overnight, creativity and oversight by the courts can ensure that an immediate start is made towards delivering on the constitutional promise.

The abolition of the mandatory death penalty for murder in Malawi has attracted attention to life imprisonment as a possible punishment for capital crimes. This article considers the human rights challenges that life imprisonment in Malawi raises in view of the Bill of Rights and Malawi's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other international and regional human rights instruments that prescribe various standards for punishment. The article argues that, in the absence of a clear statutory definition of life imprisonment and an inadequate release system, the application of life imprisonment in Malawi is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights and international standards on punishment.