Global responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since its discovery in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 have been geared towards containing the virus through the adoption of measures such as restrictions on movement and social distancing to reduce physical contact among persons. Countries have also adopted diverse legislation, regulation and policies; and have also exercised emergency powers to facilitate restrictive measures. Various international instruments emphasise the need for restrictive measures to be objective without any attendant violation of individual human rights to dignity and other freedoms. Utilising a mixed methods approach, involving doctrinal, historical, critical and geopolitical perspectives, this paper examines the acts of law enforcement officers in implementing compliance with various COVID-19 measures and their effect on the fundamental rights of citizens in selected African countries. It discusses the trend of human rights violations in these countries and analyses the legality of adopted enforcement measures in line with international human rights law.
Various States have resorted to stringent border controls as irregular migrants sought to enter their territories within the past few years. These externalised border controls are sometimes, strictly enforced to the extent that irregular migrants-particularly vulnerable migrants such as unaccompanied minor children are arbitrarily detained in detention centres-the living conditions of which are in express violation of various international human rights treaties. This article examines the validity of these border controls which continue to negate the human rights of these irregular migrant children, and the role which the international community plays in upholding these established human rights The article discusses the extent to which these externalized border controls are enforced in Australia and across the European Union in law and in practice. The article concludes by proffering recommendations which facilitate a global harmonised governance system for irregular migrant children.
Nigeria, like other countries in the world, competes for available water resources due to the increasing demands for the resource as a result of agricultural and other industrial activities. Nigeria’s current National Water Policy 2017 is vague regarding the enforcement of the right to water, with an absence of institutions to actualise same. The provisions under chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 does not provide a justiciable cushion for the actualisation of this right. This paper examines the reality of the right to water in Nigeria, using South African policy as a model. It interrogates the feasibility of existing policy on water in Nigeria against the backdrop of the South African right to water, which is justiciable and hailed as one of the most proactive in water legislation around the world. The paper concludes with recommendations on the justifications for the right to water in Nigeria, advocating systematic engagements with government and community stakeholders as a key driver towards achieving sustainability and entrenchment of the right to water in Nigeria.
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