Humanitarian Law in Action Within Africa

In Humanitarian Law in Action within Africa, Jennifer Moore studies the role and application of humanitarian law by focusing on African countries that are emerging from civil wars. Moore offers an overview of international law, including its essential vocabulary, and describes four particular subfields of international law: international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international refugee law. After setting forth this overview, Moore considers practical mechanisms to implement international humanitarian law, focusing specifically on the experiences of Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Burundi. Through the case studies of these countries, Moore describes transitional justice's fundamental components: criminal, social, and historical. Although the African continent has gone through some of the world's greatest humanitarian emergencies, issues such as violence against women, child soldiers, and genocide are not unique to Africa, and as such, the study of humanitarian law by examining Africa's experience is important to conflict resolution and reconstruction throughout the world.

Jennifer Moore is a Regents Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law and was Director of UNM Peace Studies. She has worked for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, first as an associate protection officer in West Africa, then as a legal officer in Washington, D.C. Professor Moore received her J.D. from Harvard and was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship.