The normative power of the right to selfdetermination under the African Charter and the principle of territorial integrity: competing values of human dignity and system stability Carlson Anyangwe* ABSTRACT: This article considers the interaction between the right of selfdetermination and the principle of territorial integrity, two powerful norms seemingly pulling in opposite directions, with reference to relevant texts and decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It posits that the enjoyment of complete self-determination is constrained by the somewhat skewed interpretation given to the norm by the Commission. The basic argument canvassed is that the right of self-determination is an enabling, ongoing collective human right applicable in colonial and certain post-colonial contexts. The case-law on self-determination shows that while the Commission readily upholds the right of internal self-determination it always declines claims to external self-determination. The dubious reasoning of the Commission is that this variant of self-determination is unavailable in post-colonial Africa because of its incompatibility with the principle of territorial integrity. And yet the right of self-determination is available to other oppressed peoples even in a non-colonial context to assert their humanity, dignity and freedom. The author concludes that while selfdetermination and territorial integrity appear to be pulling in opposite directions, in fact the two norms are not always in conflict. Sometimes they complement each other and are mutually reinforcing. Sometimes also, one norm yields to the other as a matter of law. In circumstances where the law is silent on the question of which norm prevails over the other, it seems meaningful that self-determination should prevail over territorial integrity on account of the fact that it is people who determine the destiny of territory and not the other way round. TITRE ET RÉSUMÉ EN FRANCAIS: Le pouvoir normatif du droit à l’autodétermination dans la Charte africaine et le principe d’intégrité territoriale: l’opposition entre les valeurs de dignité humaine et de la stabilité du système RÉSUMÉ: Cet article examine l’interaction entre le droit à l’autodétermination et le principe d’intégrité territoriale, deux normes fondamentales qui, en référence aux textes et décisions pertinents de la Commission africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples, semblent chacune tirer dans sa direction. Cet article suggère que la jouissance d’une autodétermination complète est limitée par l’interprétation quelque * BA, LLB (Yaoundé), PGD Comparative Law (Strasbourg), LLM, PhD (London); Professor of Laws and former Executive Dean and a Rector, Walter Sisulu University; currently Adjunct Professor, Nelson Mandela School of Law, University of Fort Hare; Member of the African Commission’s Working Group on the Death Penalty and Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings in Africa. I acknowledge with thanks the assistance by Nkatha Murungi in preparing the final version of this contribution; carlany2001@gmail.com 47 C Anyangwe ‘The normative power of the right to self-determination under the African Charter and the principle of territorial integrity: competing values of human dignity and system stability’ (2018) 2 African Human Rights Yearbook 47-71 http://doi.org/10.29053/2523-1367/2018/v2n1a3