Anti-Zionism, Jus Cogens, and International Law: The case of the Banjul Charter and Arab Charter

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the legal and political implications of the anti-Zionism provisions in the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) and 2004 Arab Charter on Human Rights (Arab Charter), considering the International Law Commission’s current work on peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens). The Banjul Charter and Arab Charter present what appear to be rare test cases of treaties that conflict with a jus cogens norm, which self-determination—in the case of the Banjul Charter and Arab Charter, this would be Zionism, which this article understands as Jewish self-determination—at least arguably is. This article has three parts. First, it sets forth the nature and parameters of jus cogens under international law, paying attention to the operation of these norms under international treaty law. It then examines the anti-Zionism provisions in the Banjul Charter and Arab Charter and explores their drafting history. Finally, on the assumption that self-determination qualifies as a jus cogens norm, this article applies the black letter law of jus cogens to the Banjul Charter and Arab Charter and looks at the political implications of the two treaties’ anti-Zionism provisions, whether or not self-determination qualifies as a jus cogens norm.