Africa and Global Justice

In this paper I explore some ways in which Africa can contribute to the discourse on global justice. I first note the wide range in the circumstances in which judgements of justice continue to be made-from the domestic to the local and national, and from the national to the international. I conclude the paper with a look at the international human rights situation, suggesting areas where African wisdom and criteriology can be brought to bear on discussions of global justice. In doing this, I call attention to John Rawls's important distinction between a people and the state which the people call their own. The state does not constitute the people, but the people may constitute a state.