Legal Governance of Disaster Risks under NEPAD: Establishing Contractual Responsibility for Resilience and Sustainable Development in Africa
By Khedidja Ziani, Hichem Makhlouf, Mohammed Halim Limam
Law and World · Vol. 12, No. 39, pp. 35-63 · 2026
Abstract
This paper examines the strategy of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) for disaster risk reduction and aims to analyze the initiative’s approach to overcoming obstacles that hinder sustainable development, particularly the poor management of major disasters and the limited effectiveness of national risk reduction plans. The study is guided by a central research question: How does NEPAD’s strategic approach to disaster risk reduction contribute to enhancing the resilience of African countries in the face of major disasters, and to what extent does this strategy establish a genuine legal, as distinct from merely political, responsibility on the part of African States for its implementation?
The findings indicate that the successful implementation of a disaster risk governance strategy to improve the preparedness and resilience of African nations against various crises depends on several key factors. These include strong political commitment from governments to disaster risk reduction, the development of national institutions and observatories to enhance risk identification and assessment mechanisms, and the establishment of effective early warning systems. Additionally, the study finds that NEPAD does not, of itself, establish a contractual responsibility in the strict sense of treaty law; it establishes a conditional responsibility that hardens into a binding legal obligation only as African States progressively transpose continental commitments into national legislation. The study further highlights the importance of integrating disaster risk governance into development plans and programs, as well as strengthening coordination among African governments to ensure a more comprehensive and effective response.
Details
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Author
- Khedidja Ziani - Ph.D in Political Science, University of Batna 1, Algeria
- Hichem Makhlouf - Ph.D in Private Law, University Center of Barika, Algeria
- Mohammed Halim Limam - Ph.D in Political Science and International Relations, University of Algiers 3, Algeria
- Journal
- Law and World
- Publication
- September 30, 2026
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 39
- Pages
- 35-63
- Language
- English
- DOI
- 10.36475/12.3.3
- ISSN
- 2346-7916
- Access
- Open access
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Added to catalogue
- Metadata source
- Supplied by the publisher
Areas of law
Keywords
Cite this record
Ziani, K., Makhlouf, H., & Limam, M. H. (2026). Legal Governance of Disaster Risks under NEPAD: Establishing Contractual Responsibility for Resilience and Sustainable Development in Africa. Law and World, 12(39), 35-63. https://doi.org/10.36475/12.3.3
Ziani, Khedidja, Hichem Makhlouf, and Mohammed Halim Limam. "Legal Governance of Disaster Risks under NEPAD: Establishing Contractual Responsibility for Resilience and Sustainable Development in Africa." Law and World 12, no. 39 (2026): 35-63. https://doi.org/10.36475/12.3.3.
@article{ziani2026_y31h8v,
title = {Legal Governance of Disaster Risks under NEPAD: Establishing Contractual Responsibility for Resilience and Sustainable Development in Africa},
author = {Ziani, Khedidja and Makhlouf, Hichem and Limam, Mohammed Halim},
year = {2026},
journal = {Law and World},
volume = {12},
number = {39},
pages = {35--63},
doi = {10.36475/12.3.3},
issn = {2346-7916},
language = {en},
url = {https://lawandworld.ge/index.php/law/article/view/1038},
note = {Open access}
}
TY - JOUR AU - Ziani, Khedidja AU - Makhlouf, Hichem AU - Limam, Mohammed Halim TI - Legal Governance of Disaster Risks under NEPAD: Establishing Contractual Responsibility for Resilience and Sustainable Development in Africa PY - 2026 JO - Law and World VL - 12 IS - 39 SN - 2346-7916 DO - 10.36475/12.3.3 LA - en UR - https://lawandworld.ge/index.php/law/article/view/1038 AB - This paper examines the strategy of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) for disaster risk reduction and aims to analyze the initiative’s approach to overcoming obstacles that hinder sustainable development, particularly the poor management of major disasters and the limited effectiveness of national risk reduction plans. The study is guided by a central research question: How does NEPAD’s strategic approach to disaster risk reduction contribute to enhancing the resilience of African countries in the face of major disasters, and to what extent does this strategy establish a genuine legal, as distinct from merely political, responsibility on the part of African States for its implementation? The findings indicate that the successful implementation of a disaster risk governance strategy to improve the preparedness and resilience of African nations against various crises depends on several key factors. These include strong political commitment from governments to disaster risk reduction, the development of national institutions and observatories to enhance risk identification and assessment mechanisms, and the establishment of effective early warning systems. Additionally, the study finds that NEPAD does not, of itself, establish a contractual responsibility in the strict sense of treaty law; it establishes a conditional responsibility that hardens into a binding legal obligation only as African States progressively transpose continental commitments into national legislation. The study further highlights the importance of integrating disaster risk governance into development plans and programs, as well as strengthening coordination among African governments to ensure a more comprehensive and effective response. KW - Risk governance KW - disaster risk KW - legal responsibility KW - strategies KW - risk management KW - capacity KW - resilience KW - რისკების მმართველობა KW - კატასტროფის რისკი KW - NEPAD KW - სამართლებრივი პასუხისმგებლობა KW - სტრატეგიები KW - რისკების მართვა KW - შესაძლებლობები KW - მედეგობა SP - 35 EP - 63 ER -
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