International law and the self-determination of South Sudan

The document examines the legal tension between the right to self-determination and the principle of uti possidetis (the inviolability of colonial borders) in Africa. It argues that South Sudan's independence represents a normative shift from state security to human security, suggesting that territorial integrity is not absolute when serious human rights violations occur and representative government is denied. The author traces the historical marginalisation of southern Sudan and concludes that while independence is a key step, full self-determination requires ongoing democratic and institutional guarantees.

• The principle of uti possidetis, established in the 1964 Cairo Declaration, committed African states to respecting colonial borders to avoid continent-wide chaos, often giving precedence to territorial integrity over the right to self-determination.
• International and African regional law recognize that the right to external self-determination (secession) may be legitimate as a last resort when a population is subjected to serious human rights violations and denied meaningful access to government.
• The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights established a higher threshold for overriding territorial integrity than some UN declarations, requiring not only a lack of representative government but also human rights violations severe enough to call the state's integrity into question.
• South Sudan's independence is a result of long-term socio-economic, political, and cultural marginalisation, including the imposition of Arabisation and Islamisation by northern Sudanese elites and the failure of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement.
• The independence of South Sudan demonstrates that the principle of uti possidetis is no longer absolute in Africa, reflecting a shift toward 'human security' where state sovereignty is conditional on the state's ability to provide representative government.
• Independence is only one part of the self-determination process; full realisation requires the establishment of inclusive legal and political frameworks to ensure personal security and sustainable development.

APA

Dersso, S. A. (2012). International law and the self-determination of South Sudan. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper231.pdf

Chicago

Dersso, Solomon A. International law and the self-determination of South Sudan. Institute for Security Studies, 2012. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper231.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dersso |first1=Solomon A. |title=International law and the self-determination of South Sudan |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 2012 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper231.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dersso2012international, author = {Dersso, Solomon A.}, title = {{International law and the self-determination of South Sudan}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper231.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }