South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis

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dc.contributor.advisorBennett, T.W.
dc.contributor.advisorDevine, D. J
dc.contributor.authorFerguson-Brown, Kevin W
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-23T13:01:06Z
dc.date.available2026-03-23T13:01:06Z
dc.date.issued1987
dc.date.updated2024-07-22T08:01:23Z
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines whether South Africa is legally entitled to use force in the form of cross-border raids against the neighbouring states in order to destroy alleged ANC bases in these states. Chapter 1 provides a factual account of those cross-border raids in which South Africa has officially acknowledged the participation of its security forces. I do not investigate the legality of those raids which South Africa has conducted against SWAPO bases in Angola because this would involve the complex issue of the legal status of Namibia which falls outside the scope of this thesis. The main basis for the entitlement to use force in international law, the right of self-defence (provided for in Article 51 of the UN Charter) is analysed in Chapter 2 and then applied to South Africa's conduct in Chapter 5. Because self-defence is not permitted against a lawful use of force, Chapters 3 and 4 examine the legality of the ANC's armed struggle and whether the neighbouring states violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter if (or when) they permit ANC guerillas to use their territories for infiltration into South Africa. Although I argue that the ANC and the neighbouring states are legally entitled to use force against the Republic and, therefore, South Africa cannot avail itself of the right of self-defence, I none the less consider the position were South Africa subjected to an unlawful use of force. Even so, I conclude that South Africa's cross-border raids cannot be justified in terms of Article 51 because they are neither the last resort nor effective in removing the danger of ANC violence and, therefore, unnecessary. Lastly, the analysis in Chapter 1 of the cross-border raids in the context of South Africa's regional policy is used to support my rejection of South Africa's argument that its raids are acts of self-defence because the role that these raids play in the Republic's destabilization of the region suggests that they are fashioned by goals other than self-defence and, consequently, South Africa does not satisfy the requirement of good faith for the legitimate exercise of the right of self-defence. In addition I discuss other bases which have been raised to legally justify the raids (namely, the rights of necessity and hot pursuit) and conclude that South Africa's cross-border raids are contrary to international law.
dc.identifier.apacitationFerguson-Brown, K. W. (1987). <i>South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFerguson-Brown, Kevin W. <i>"South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFerguson-Brown, K.W. 1987. South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ferguson-Brown, Kevin W AB - This thesis examines whether South Africa is legally entitled to use force in the form of cross-border raids against the neighbouring states in order to destroy alleged ANC bases in these states. Chapter 1 provides a factual account of those cross-border raids in which South Africa has officially acknowledged the participation of its security forces. I do not investigate the legality of those raids which South Africa has conducted against SWAPO bases in Angola because this would involve the complex issue of the legal status of Namibia which falls outside the scope of this thesis. The main basis for the entitlement to use force in international law, the right of self-defence (provided for in Article 51 of the UN Charter) is analysed in Chapter 2 and then applied to South Africa's conduct in Chapter 5. Because self-defence is not permitted against a lawful use of force, Chapters 3 and 4 examine the legality of the ANC's armed struggle and whether the neighbouring states violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter if (or when) they permit ANC guerillas to use their territories for infiltration into South Africa. Although I argue that the ANC and the neighbouring states are legally entitled to use force against the Republic and, therefore, South Africa cannot avail itself of the right of self-defence, I none the less consider the position were South Africa subjected to an unlawful use of force. Even so, I conclude that South Africa's cross-border raids cannot be justified in terms of Article 51 because they are neither the last resort nor effective in removing the danger of ANC violence and, therefore, unnecessary. Lastly, the analysis in Chapter 1 of the cross-border raids in the context of South Africa's regional policy is used to support my rejection of South Africa's argument that its raids are acts of self-defence because the role that these raids play in the Republic's destabilization of the region suggests that they are fashioned by goals other than self-defence and, consequently, South Africa does not satisfy the requirement of good faith for the legitimate exercise of the right of self-defence. In addition I discuss other bases which have been raised to legally justify the raids (namely, the rights of necessity and hot pursuit) and conclude that South Africa's cross-border raids are contrary to international law. DA - 1987 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Public Law LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1987 T1 - South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis TI - South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFerguson-Brown KW. South Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 1987 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43031en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Law
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Law
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectPublic Law
dc.titleSouth Africa's cross-border raids against alleged ANC bases in the neighbouring states: an international legal analysis
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelLLM
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