The EU-East African Community Economic Partnership Agreement

The EU under the auspice of the Cotonou Agreement is negotiating new trade agreements known as Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with its African, Caribbean and Pacific partners (ACP). There is however a growing concern whether these free trade agreements are actually in conformity with the relevant World Trade Organisation law provisions. An analysis on the WTO compatibility of these Economic Partnership Agreements is included in this work. Further still is the controversial issue of trade and human rights; the discussion being whether human rights are relevant under trade law. This work addresses issues such as; the legal imperativeness of the right to food (as defined in the ICESCR) under the EPA and to what extent it has been incorporated in the current EU-EAC EPA framework negotiations. Most importantly also is the resultant impact such a trade agreement would have on the right to food in the East African society. With the possible violation of this right, legal redress is needed, thus a discussion on the justiciability of the human right to food is included herein.