It is a crime to engage in armed insurrection with intent to overthrow, supplant or change the form of government of a legally constituted government. It is equally a crime to participate in the leadership of such an insurrection or to organize, provide substantial support or advocate it.
Rebellions are a powerful and seemingly ubiquitous menace throughtout sub-Saharan Africa, killing thousands of people annually, turning millions into refugees, and leaving countries bereft of civil and political order. Insurgency by the Shining Path movement in Peru was reported in 1992 to have claimed 25,000 lives since 1980.
If political and economic exclusion, social alienation, and ethnic hegemony continue to grow, then it is possible that they will continue to provoke rebellions across Africa.
Many of the nationalist movements in Africa that brought independence from colonial rule in the 1960s had their roots in violent revolts. But in the 1990s, only the rebel movements in Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea brought long-term stability to their countries. Such insurgencies may set an example for rebel groups in other countries.