How does the work of the ILC and the General Assembly on the law of international watercourses contribute towards a legal framework for the Nile Basin?

Abstract

The purpose of this research to draw out fresh insights on how the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) and the General Assembly of the United Nations (GA) on the law of non-navigational uses of international watercourses has impacted the development of the Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement (NRBCFA). Chapter 1 introduces a bird’s eye view of the genesis of water crises in general and that of the Nile in particular. The Chapter raises the main research question to be dealt with in the limelight of legal imperatives of the work of the ILC and GA. Chapter 2 seeks to analyze the physical, environmental, political and economic factors in order to demonstrate their positive and negative impacts on the need for a basin wide legal and institutional structure in the Nile. Chapter 3 looks in to the evolution and current applicable law in the Nile in order to analyze the growth of institutional coordination, while Chapter 4 makes an in-depth analysis of the work of the ILC and the GA in the law of non-navigational uses of international watercourses. The adoption of the UNWCC and the post-adoption status of the convention is also outlined in this Chapter. Chapter 5 identifies the most controversial legal issues with a comparative analysis of the work of the ILC and the GA and the Nile. Based on the assessment from the comparative analysis and the work of the ILC and GA and the Nile in resolving contentious issues, Chapter 6 identifies the findings of the research, while Chapter 7 recaps the essence of the research draws a conclusion that the work of the ILC and the GA in the UNWCC can influence emerging watercourse agreements in the Nile.

Date of Award	2009
Original language	English
Supervisor	Patricia Wouters (Supervisor) & Alistair Rieu-Clarke (Supervisor)