Human rights and state collapse in Africa

"This book examines the factors responsible for State collapse in Africa. The author demonstrates that the role of human rights violations is critical to understanding this phenomenon. He uses Sierra Leone and Somalia as case studies to examine the impact of human rights violations in the processes leading to collapse. The analysis shows that the difference in success of international action is due to the huge attention paid to accountability for human rights violations in Sierra Leone, which has been absent in Somalia. The author concludes that human rights protection and building a human rights culture must have primacy in State rebuilding efforts to lay a solid foundation for the future. Contemporary international law must come to terms with the phenomenon of State collapse, including an unambiguous outlining of the responsibility of non-State actors, who become the main actors in situations of total anarchy and chaos."--BOOK JACKET.