Sustainable Development

Emerging literature has established that there is a link between taxation and human rights. However, the nature of this link, the existence (or absence) of a coherent normative framework, and how taxation can be leveraged to foster the realization of socioeconomic rights have preoccupied the discussions in the literature. Notably, very few conversations in the literature have exclusively focused the discussion on taxpayers’ perspective in the global south. This is precisely the gap addressed by Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives, edited by Eghosa O. Ekhator, Newman U. Richards, and Chisa Onyejekwe, and published by Routledge in 2025. As this review will demonstrate, this book makes a significant and timely contribution to the literature for several important reasons.

‘Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development- Global South Perspectives’ is an enjoyable and accessible read for those looking to understand more about domestic, regional, and international fiscal policy relevant to the human rights and sustainable development discourse.

Many discussions of human rights and economic policy feel aspirational, treating rights as guiding principles but stopping short of turning them into concrete legal or administrative action. The edited volume Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives takes a different path. It digs into the hard work of turning human rights into working law and policy for taxation, viewed through experiences and priorities in the Global South.

Human rights play an integral role in State revenue sourcing and taxation in different parts of the world. For countries in the Global South, it should be an obligation to consider human rights in their tax policies and legislation as they need a sustainable revenue source to meet their socio-economic responsibilities (the welfare state) of which tax revenue is major slant. This goes to the foundations of a good tax system. Drawing lessons from the Global South, this book examines whether human rights can be invoked in the debate on creating effective tax regimes across the various jurisdictions.

This study develops a new framework for understanding the premium by introducing the concept of an “institutionalized” African risk premium. In doing so, the study identifies three distinct forms of the African risk premium: (a) the perceived African risk premium; (b) the real African risk premium; and (c) the institutionalized African risk premium.

We invite interventions from scholars of international law, international relations, and germane fields exploring the future of international economic law.

La mondialisation a créé une interdépendance entre États sur plusieurs plans, notamment sur le plan économique. Cela s’est traduit par la conclusion d’accords économiques visant à faciliter et à multiplier les échanges commerciaux entre États. Toutefois, cette multiplication des échanges commerciaux a aussi révélé de nouveaux défis, qui semblent tout aussi importants que les retombées économiques, tels que la protection des droits de l’homme, la protection de l’environnement, etc. Cette prise en compte de l’environnement apparaît comme un élément indissociable du développement socio-économique et, de ce fait, chaque accord international devrait accorder une place primordiale à la question environnementale. C’est le cas pour certains accords tel que l’Accord économique commercial global (AECG), conclu entre l’Union Européenne et le Canada, qui a davantage mobilisé sur les questions liées à l’impact environnemental du libre-échange que sur ses retombées économique.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

The News and Events category publishes the latest News and Events relating to International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South. Every week, Afronomicslaw.org receive the News and Events in their e-mail accounts. The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law. News and Events with a Global South focus are also often included.

This report critically examines the trends and drivers of the debt-for-nature swap (DNS) in Africa, including its design frameworks, challenges, and potential, as currently implemented, and outlines the specific design principles for a fit-for-Africa DNS.