This book conducts an in-depth examination of the existing counter-terrorism laws and practices in the six-member East African Community (EAC), as it applies to a range of law enforcement activities under a range of international legal obligations. This book provides a comparative examination of existing law at the national level for South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania, to include compliance with obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law, and offers a range of reform recommendations.
This book addresses two primary, related research questions: To what extent do the current national counter-terrorism laws and practices of the EAC Partner States comply with existing international human rights safeguards? What laws or practices can the EAC adopt to achieve better compliance with human rights safeguards in both civilian and military counter-terrorism operations? Initially, this book provides an extended examination of international legal norms, namely under international human rights law, the Charter of the United Nations, international humanitarian law, and regional treaty law, as it applies to the counter-terrorism obligations of the EAC Partner States. This book examines the administration of justice in each Partner State, to include constitutional, statutory, and—where available—decisional law to identify the principal means of addressing that nation’s counter-terrorism threat. This book concludes that updated national laws, with enhanced law enforcement operations and national criminal prosecutions, can facilitate greater regional political and economic integration—by eliminating some of the underlying human rights problems that can bring about unwanted international scrutiny. This book recommends specific constitutional and statutory changes in each country, as well as a regional mutual legal assistance treaty and increased support to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).