Sustainable Development and the African Union Legal Order

Abstract

Sustainable development has been at the centre of discourse in the African Union (AU) and its Member States in recent times. Over time, the AU has developed mechanisms on sustainable development including conventions and different policies and programmes. This chapter critically analyses these mechanisms and their possible implications on the development of sustainable development norms in Africa. This chapter argues that the various AU treaties on the environment and initiatives on sustainable development are an integral part of the emergent AU legal order on the continent. This chapter discusses the utility of the African Charter on Human and People’s Right and Agenda 2063 as integral aspects of sustainable development under the AU and hence contributing to the emergent AU legal order. This chapter focuses on the contribution of the African Charter and Agenda 2063 to the development of sustainable development norms under the AU’s framework.