Call for Submissions - African Yearbook of IHL

The African Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (AYIHL) is an annual legal journal published by Juta Publishers which aims to promote interest and research in International Humanitarian Law and Policy, International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice. This year the AYIHL is calling for papers on these topics as well as the following special theme:

2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The Eurocentric drafting history and international political context in which the conventions were conceived underscore the fact that Africa was largely absent from the rooms of drafting and diplomacy which led to these important international instruments. For Africa, at the time, the reality was ongoing colonialism and the formalisation of the system of apartheid in South Africa. Beyond the foundational and drafting histories of the Geneva Conventions, it is also appropriate, in the year of their 70th anniversary, to critically assess the normative and practical impact of the Conventions on the development of international humanitarian law in Africa. From an African perspective, one could perhaps contrast the Additional Protocols of 1977, conceived in an era of decolonisation and during the height of the armed struggle against apartheid, with the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Submissions on the historical, critical, normative, legal, and practical meaning and impact of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 are welcome. Contributions from an African perspective are particularly welcome. The deadline for articles (8000 – 10 000 words) is 1 March 2020. The journal also publishes Current Development articles (3000 – 4000 words). Please submit articles to the Assistant Managing Editor Lauren Nel at ljnel1988@gmail.com. For general enquiries contact the Chief Editor Prof. Mia Swart at miaswart26@yahoo.com