Part V Regional Perspectives on Global Ocean Governance, 11 The African Perspective on Global Ocean Governance

Abstract

This chapter discusses issues of global ocean governance from an African perspective. It first provides an overview of the historical lack of engagement by Africa in the 400-year long evolution of the customary international law of the sea before considering its belated entry into the international negotiation process that yielded the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It then describes the developing institutional framework for African ocean governance, focusing on the African Union and its areas of competence, along with the different African regional arrangements that have been established to address maritime issues ranging from natural environmental protection and sustainable marine resource development, to maritime transport safety and security. It also examines Africa's contribution to global ocean governance framework and concludes with an assessment of the Combined Exclusive Maritime Zone of Africa (CEMZA) proposal.