1,720,961 research outputs found
Impact of ‘Global War on Terror’ on the Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Horn of Africa: An Analysis of the Somali Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Kenya
No full textThis article examines the impact of the ‘Global War on Terror’ on the rights of Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya. It proffers an overview of the ‘Global War on Terror’ and explains how this war has affected the viability of the international refugee law, and the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention in terms of refugee status. It argues that the terror attacks Kenya has been facing are neither caused by the presence of Somali refugees and asylum seekers, nor are they triggered by the deployment of Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) in the fight against terrorism in Somalia. This is asserted as fact by proving that Ethiopia and Uganda both accommodate Somali refugees and asylum seekers, and have sent their soldiers into Somalia to fight against terrorism, but neither are facing terror attacks like Kenya. The article concludes that mistreating and forcibly removing Somali refugees and asylum seekers from Kenyan territory and building a huge wall between Kenya and Somali are not durable solutions to terror attacks in the country. To arrive at those assertions, the article adopts a qualitative research methodology with an exploratory approach
Exploring the challenges of the African Union (AU)-led mediation in peace processes : the cases of Burundi, Libya, and Zimbabwe
Get PDFAbstract: Extensive research exists on the role of peacekeeping forces and yet relatively few studies have examined the role of AU mediation and the challenges it encounters in resolving African conflicts. While peacekeeping missions can halt political conflicts, however, literature depicts that they do not help deal with the conflicts from their root causes, and this is the reason why in many places political violence and insecurity have become intractable on the continent. The central aim of this study has been to study the role of mediation in resolving political violence and investigate whether the AU does fully own the mediation process and has autonomy over the mediation agendas and outcome. The study finds that Africa’s most important inter-state actor has no supremacy and wherewithal to act as an autonomous and powerful actor in the mediation process. Autonomous in that it is unable to act independently by setting and presiding of its agenda, and to act victoriously without being overcome by narrow endogenous (Africa) or exogenous (extra African) interests and influence. Challenges that were found depriving the AU of ownership and autonomy in mediation processes are both internal and external. The internal challenges were confirmed to include: the AU’s mediators’ failure to understand the origins, root causes and nature of African conflicts; the AU’s mediators’ lack of professional expertise in conflict analysis; unchecked divisions among AU member states; the AU’s lack of full control and authority over the mediation process; the AU’s lack of professionally trained and experienced mediators in mediation research; weakness of the AU mediation process; unfilled gaps in the AU’s Peace and Security Architecture; the lack of institutionalised mediation architecture and mediation teams at the AU; and lack of African originated resources to support AU mediation processes. The external challenges include: the presence of the seemingly unconquerable external conspiracy of dictatorial forces from the Western countries before and/or during the mediation process. Therefore, with these challenges, the study demonstrated that the AU does neither own mediation processes nor does it have autonomy over the mediation agenda item and outcomes. This was done through the close examination of how the AU mediation team applied the principles governing successful mediation in three African cases...D.Litt. et Phil
The current and potential role of blockchain-based technology in managing medical records in Africa
Get PDFAccurate and well-managed medical records play a major role in high-quality health care. They are a valuable asset that allows hospitals to treat patients in an effective and efficient way. They also play an important role in health care governance, providing evidence in court cases between patients and hospitals. However, in Africa, medical records are not given much academic attention. Good record-keeping has been hampered by a poor management, as well as a lack of trained personnel who understand how to record and keep these records. This study is aimed at exploring the utilisation of blockchain technology in improving medial records at African hospitals. The reserach is qualitative, comprising desktop research of secondary material and its analysis. It finds that poor medical records in hospitals contribute to the prevalence of disease in African countries, which results in funds that could be invested in development projects being diverted to health care instead. It also shows that 4IR, specifically blockchain-based technology, could play a significant role in the management of medical records in Africa. It could help staff to capture and maintain more accurate medial records, and ensure their security and longevity. Moreover, it could improve access to medical records for all health practitioners. Patients could also access their records, thus helping them to evaluate and manage their own health
Armed drones and international humanitarian law
Get PDFThe militarisation of Artificial Intelligence Diplomacy has resulted in the development of heavy weapons that are more powerful than traditional weaponry, fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and cause unnecessary suffering. Superpowers and middle powers have made significant investments in digital technologies, resulting in the production of digital weapons that violate international humanitarian law and human rights standards, and complicate the achievement of global peace. Armed drones and militarised robots cause unnecessary pain and suffering to helpless civilians. These weapons have been used to combat terrorism, but, surprisingly, have not addressed issues of terrorism that affect post-Cold War international relations. As a result, the use of armed drones is causing more harm than is necessary to achieve the objective of war. There is a call for international artificial intelligence (AI) governance, as well as a need to understand the effects and serious threats that armed drones pose to international humanitarian law (IHL), as well as to peace processes in international relations and global cooperation. Scholars, policy-makers, human rights activists and peace practitioners should participate more actively in debates about the military application of AI diplomacy, in order to develop effective AI diplomacy rules and regulations. This serves to mitigate the risks and threats associated with armed drones on IHL and international human rights standards, which are the foundations of the post-modern world
African solutions to African problems : an analysis of the nature and origins of African problems
Get PDFAbstract: This imperial system has underdeveloped Africa by draining African wealth and by making it impossible to develop more rapidly the resources of the continent
Good GovernanceMediation Interactions An Unexplored Imperative Contribution to Peace and Security
No full textThis article examines good governance-mediation nexus in peace processes and its role in leading to the creation of a peaceful society and sustainable peace. After defining the concepts of mediation, governance and good governance, and examining their interaction, the article critically assesses the African Union’s (AU’s) peace agreement for Burundi to explain that the failure of good democratic governance in the country is actually resulting from the failure of African mediators to understand the role of good governance when conducting the mediation process. The article shows that post-mediation phases in Africa are characterised by the recurrence of armed conflicts and electoral violence because of the failure to bring principles of good governance to the negotiation table. It proves that African mediators are former African leaders whose democratic good governance while in power was lacking; therefore, they are unable to understand the interaction between good governance and mediation when involved in the mediation process. Hence, deploying such leaders to conduct a mediation process is a fatal mistake amounting to burying a conflict alive. The article shows that African conflicts are intrastate in nature, and are triggered by the presence of uneven institutions that protracted bad governance and by the rebels who fight the governments, which state of affairs is exacerbated by a lack of understanding of what good governance means. The article concludes by asserting that it is vital for the deployed mediators to understand the interaction between good governance and mediation, and to teach the parties to understand the principles of good governance, and persuade them to be bound by those principles. Unless this interaction is understood and brought on-board at the negotiation table, conflicts in Africa will remain an unfinished business
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
HIV and Sustainable Development: Integrating Religion, Culture, and Science Infrastructure for a Holistic Treatment Acceptance and Adherence in Kenya
No full textJournal ArticleThe achievement of sustainable development in Kenya has been hindered by the prevalence of HIV. The effects of HIV on sustainable development have been given less academic attention. HIV prevalence prevents people from achieving good health and wellbeing, which then makes them unable to conduct activities that lead to sustainable economic growth. The paper found that the prevalence of HIV causes economic hardship, destroys human capital development and human resources by reducing life expectancy and increasing mortality rates. It was equally found that the prevalence of HIV undermines social stability and mobility, reduces economic investments, influences food insecurity and makes people vulnerable. The
paper found that the prevalence of HIV reduces labor supply and productivity, increases the
cost of health services, promote inequality and poverty. The paper found that the prevalence of
HIV was caused by the failure to integrate religion, culture and science infrastructure to achieve
a holistic treatment acceptance and adherence that would overcome all misconceptions people
have towards the disease. The paper found that while science provides effective HIV
treatments, religious and cultural perspectives often shape community attitudes toward the
disease. It was found that engaging religious and cultural as well as health workers or health
advocates can help reduce stigma and promote ART adherence by aligning treatment messages
with faith-based principles. The paper found that the integration that incorporates religion,
culture, and science into HIV interventions would promote a more inclusive healthcare system
that respects diverse beliefs while ensuring evidence-based treatment is accessible and widely
accepted. The study was conducted through a qualitative methodology. Data was collected
from secondary sources that included published articles, books and occasional papers as well
as reports. Collected data was interpreted and analyzed through document analysis technique
Dependency Syndrome Within Africa’s International Relations: A Hindrance to Sustainable Development in Africa
No full textJournal ArticleUsing a qualitative research methodology and exploratory approach to collect data, this study assessed the effects of dependency syndrome within Africa’s international relations
and its repercussions for achieving sustainable development. The collected data were analysed using document and content analysis techniques. The study revealed that dependency
syndrome within Africa’s international relations has led to aid dependency, political violence, and poverty. It has promoted laziness and an inferiority complex that affects the working
conditions of Africans. Further, it has promoted corruption and affected the rule of law for good governance; yet, sustainable development cannot occur without it. Moreover, dependency syndrome has inhibited innovation and led to the destruction of the local industries that are key to achieving sustainable development. The results of the study found that dependency syndrome has prevented the development of a robust transport network system that could promote African trade relations, which would lead to sustainable development. The results also posited that chronic poverty and underdevelopment in Africa are perpetuated by the dependency syndrome within Africa’s international relations. The study recommended that Africa needs to overcome dependency syndrome and reform her international relations with external world. This would require establishing a continental sovereignty that enables the continent to have one common foreign policy within its planning diplomacy endeavour
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