Africa Action: Activism for Africa Since 1953
Democracy and Human Rights
Democratic governance and respect for human rights are the foundations for political and social stability and economic progress. They are also intrinsic to the goal of human development. Today, the struggle of Africa's people for democracy and human rights continues. As in the past, international support can play an important role. African victories in recent decades in overcoming colonial rule, apartheid and other Cold War era forms of dictatorship (notably military dictatorships and one-party political systems) have marked important progress and empowered Africa's people. While democratic advances have been made across the continent, serious challenges still remain.
As is the case everywhere, democracy in Africa is a work in progress. Constitutional reform movements now seek to advance the democratic process in many countries. African civil society organizations continue to struggle for women's rights and workers' rights, as well as for government accountability to the needs of Africa's poor majority.
To encourage democratic governance, African leaders introduced the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Launched in 2003 as part of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the APRM is a pan-African initiative to provide mutual oversight on good governance and to promote development. Since the APRM is a voluntary process, a participating country conducts its own national consultations and assessment, then drafts a program of action. The APRM's Panel of Eminent Persons then sends a team of experts to dialogue with government officials, members of political parties, parliamentarians and representatives from civil society. So far, 28 countries have signed on to the process. Regional efforts such as these are important for establishing governance norms and should be supported by the international community. The U.S. has a role in promoting the full spectrum of human rights, encouraging mechanisms to ensure government accountability and to work alongside and support institutions that are formulated and run by Africans. In this way, the U.S. can offer real support and partnership to Africa's people. A consistently positive U.S. contribution in this area can do much to advance the shared goal of international stability. It is also an essential prerequisite to economic growth and social progress.
However, U.S. policy on democracy and human rights in Africa has tended instead to be quite selective, guided very much by the United States' own perceived strategic interests. The U.S. has been less quick to criticize some countries, such as Nigeria, Morocco or Ethiopia, which are considered strategically important to the U.S., while condemning other countries that are less strategically crucial or have become politically or economically dispensable.
Similarly, the U.S. has failed to take the necessary steps to end the genocide in Darfur, partly as a result of the importance of the Sudanese government to the U.S. in terms of intelligence gathering on terrorism. This dynamic is reminiscent of relations during the Cold War, when geopolitical considerations were placed far above human rights concerns. This relationship started to fray as international condemnation began to put pressure on the U.S. government to take a stronger stand; the Bush administration was the first to call the violence in Darfur a genocide, the Obama administration has appointed a special envoy to the region and the United States is supportive of the indictment of the Sudanese president by the International Criminal Court (ICC), though does not directly support the existence of the Court. These are steps in a positive direction, but more must be done to put an end to the impunity for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The United States must make ending the genocide in Darfur a priority during the Obama Administration and must not shy away from the condemnation of the perpetrators and the political, financial and logistical support of regional and international structures that could help to end the violence.
Several key African countries now find themselves at important political junctures, and strategic U.S. engagement could be instrumental in boosting democratic forces and averting de-stabilizing crises. These countries include Nigeria, Kenya and Liberia, among others.
In 2007, Nigeria avoided a constitutional amendment that would have allowed former President Olusegun Obasanja to exceed the constitutionally mandated two-term limit. However, the April 2007 elections that brought Umaru yar-Adua of the People's Democratic Party to power were widely criticized as corrupt by both Nigerian civil society and international observers.
Kenya was hailed as a bastion of peace and democracy, however flawed, on the Africa continent until the last presidential election. The results of the election in December of 2007 were highly contested and led to inter-ethnic violence that displaced 600,000 people and killed 1,500.
These examples of failures in the democratic process are counterbalanced by examples of successful elections and subsequent peace. Liberia's presidential elections in 2005 marked an end to decades of civil war in that country and brought President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf into office as Africa's first female head of state in free and fair elections.
In Sudan, a new government of national unity was inaugurated in July 2005, ending the longest civil war in Africa. There are still serious fractures in Sudan's unity government, and it is critical that the U.S. support the democratic processes and governance mechanisms outlined in Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
In all of the above cases, U.S. and international support for human rights and the rule of law must be unequivocal. Democratic institutions that are nurtured and supported by both international and local agents can lead to sustainable peace in conflict-ridden regions; the U.S., as an important democracy, should be ready and willing to face these challenges and provide the necessary support to enable fledgling democracies to succeed and to reform flawed or corrupt processes.
A powerful way that the U.S. can provide this support is through political, financial and logistic support for regional structures, such as the African Union (AU). Although it faces daunting challenges in its missions, the AU has played a key role in promoting democracy and human rights in Africa, as illustrated by its engagement in the Darfur peace process and its efforts, in a joint operation with the United Nations (UN), to provide security for Darfuri civilians. AU efforts to promote democracy and human rights on the continent must be supported by the international community and given the capability to become a strong peace-making and peace-keeping organization on the regional level While the responsibility of the U.S. towards supporting democratization and free and fair elections is crucial, it does not stop there. The commitment of the U.S. to promoting democracy and good governance in Africa must extend beyond support for the electoral process to encourage increased citizen participation and accountability on the part of both national and multinational institutions. It should involve the promotion of not only political and civil rights but also of economic and social rights as the critical expressions of healthy societies. This would include U.S. support for the rights of workers to organize, for example. Women's organizations are an important voice in civil society, and any U.S. policy should include important consideration of the rights of women, especially as regards their political participation in their own government processes.
As is the case everywhere, democracy in Africa is a work in progress. Constitutional reform movements now seek to advance the democratic process in many countries. African civil society organizations continue to struggle for women's rights and workers' rights, as well as for government accountability to the needs of Africa's poor majority.
To encourage democratic governance, African leaders introduced the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Launched in 2003 as part of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the APRM is a pan-African initiative to provide mutual oversight on good governance and to promote development. Since the APRM is a voluntary process, a participating country conducts its own national consultations and assessment, then drafts a program of action. The APRM's Panel of Eminent Persons then sends a team of experts to dialogue with government officials, members of political parties, parliamentarians and representatives from civil society. So far, 28 countries have signed on to the process. Regional efforts such as these are important for establishing governance norms and should be supported by the international community. The U.S. has a role in promoting the full spectrum of human rights, encouraging mechanisms to ensure government accountability and to work alongside and support institutions that are formulated and run by Africans. In this way, the U.S. can offer real support and partnership to Africa's people. A consistently positive U.S. contribution in this area can do much to advance the shared goal of international stability. It is also an essential prerequisite to economic growth and social progress.
However, U.S. policy on democracy and human rights in Africa has tended instead to be quite selective, guided very much by the United States' own perceived strategic interests. The U.S. has been less quick to criticize some countries, such as Nigeria, Morocco or Ethiopia, which are considered strategically important to the U.S., while condemning other countries that are less strategically crucial or have become politically or economically dispensable.
Similarly, the U.S. has failed to take the necessary steps to end the genocide in Darfur, partly as a result of the importance of the Sudanese government to the U.S. in terms of intelligence gathering on terrorism. This dynamic is reminiscent of relations during the Cold War, when geopolitical considerations were placed far above human rights concerns. This relationship started to fray as international condemnation began to put pressure on the U.S. government to take a stronger stand; the Bush administration was the first to call the violence in Darfur a genocide, the Obama administration has appointed a special envoy to the region and the United States is supportive of the indictment of the Sudanese president by the International Criminal Court (ICC), though does not directly support the existence of the Court. These are steps in a positive direction, but more must be done to put an end to the impunity for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The United States must make ending the genocide in Darfur a priority during the Obama Administration and must not shy away from the condemnation of the perpetrators and the political, financial and logistical support of regional and international structures that could help to end the violence.
Several key African countries now find themselves at important political junctures, and strategic U.S. engagement could be instrumental in boosting democratic forces and averting de-stabilizing crises. These countries include Nigeria, Kenya and Liberia, among others.
In 2007, Nigeria avoided a constitutional amendment that would have allowed former President Olusegun Obasanja to exceed the constitutionally mandated two-term limit. However, the April 2007 elections that brought Umaru yar-Adua of the People's Democratic Party to power were widely criticized as corrupt by both Nigerian civil society and international observers.
Kenya was hailed as a bastion of peace and democracy, however flawed, on the Africa continent until the last presidential election. The results of the election in December of 2007 were highly contested and led to inter-ethnic violence that displaced 600,000 people and killed 1,500.
These examples of failures in the democratic process are counterbalanced by examples of successful elections and subsequent peace. Liberia's presidential elections in 2005 marked an end to decades of civil war in that country and brought President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf into office as Africa's first female head of state in free and fair elections.
In Sudan, a new government of national unity was inaugurated in July 2005, ending the longest civil war in Africa. There are still serious fractures in Sudan's unity government, and it is critical that the U.S. support the democratic processes and governance mechanisms outlined in Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
In all of the above cases, U.S. and international support for human rights and the rule of law must be unequivocal. Democratic institutions that are nurtured and supported by both international and local agents can lead to sustainable peace in conflict-ridden regions; the U.S., as an important democracy, should be ready and willing to face these challenges and provide the necessary support to enable fledgling democracies to succeed and to reform flawed or corrupt processes.
A powerful way that the U.S. can provide this support is through political, financial and logistic support for regional structures, such as the African Union (AU). Although it faces daunting challenges in its missions, the AU has played a key role in promoting democracy and human rights in Africa, as illustrated by its engagement in the Darfur peace process and its efforts, in a joint operation with the United Nations (UN), to provide security for Darfuri civilians. AU efforts to promote democracy and human rights on the continent must be supported by the international community and given the capability to become a strong peace-making and peace-keeping organization on the regional level While the responsibility of the U.S. towards supporting democratization and free and fair elections is crucial, it does not stop there. The commitment of the U.S. to promoting democracy and good governance in Africa must extend beyond support for the electoral process to encourage increased citizen participation and accountability on the part of both national and multinational institutions. It should involve the promotion of not only political and civil rights but also of economic and social rights as the critical expressions of healthy societies. This would include U.S. support for the rights of workers to organize, for example. Women's organizations are an important voice in civil society, and any U.S. policy should include important consideration of the rights of women, especially as regards their political participation in their own government processes.
