Dorothy-Grace Guerrero and Firoze Manji (ed) (2008) China’s New Role in Africa and the South: A search for a new perspective. 
Current Issue
Pambazuka News 369: Women and the Ghana elections
The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa
Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839
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CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Comment & analysis, 3. Pan-African Postcard, 4. Letters, 5. Obituaries, 6. Blogging Africa, 7. Zimbabwe update, 8. African Union Monitor, 9. Women & gender, 10. Human rights, 11. Refugees & forced migration, 12. Social movements, 13. Elections & governance, 14. Africa & China, 15. Corruption, 16. Development, 17. Health & HIV/AIDS, 18. Racism & xenophobia, 19. Media & freedom of expression, 20. Social welfare, 21. Conflict & emergencies, 22. Internet & technology, 23. Courses, seminars, & workshops
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Highlights from this issue
FEATURES: Mawuli Dake on women and the Ghana elections
COMMENTS & ANALYSIS:
- Nefta Freeman on the forces undermining Zimbabwe
- Jegede Ademola Oluborode on human right in Nigeria
- William Gumede on Mbeki and the AIDS controversy - Part V
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Agustín Velloso on intrigues and coups in Equatorial Guinea
LETTERS: Readers' comments and announcements
OBITUARIES:
- Wanjiku Wa Ngugi remembers Ngugi Wa Mirii
- Lazare Ki-Zerbo pays homage to Aime Césaire'
BLOGGING AFRICA: Review of African blogs
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: AU Monitor weekly round-upZIMBABWE UPDATE: Journalists and trade unionist targeted
WOMEN AN GENDER: Advancing women’s rights critical to Liberian development
CONFLICT AD EMERGENCIES: UN under fire over DRC mission
HUMAN RIGHTS: Routine killing of civilians in Somalia
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: Media, Activism and Change
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: UN closes camp in Ethiopia
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Zimbabwe’s opposition rejects presidential run-off
AFRICA AND CHINA: EA lawyers to sue China over Zimbabwe
CORRUPTION: South Africa’s Scorpions boss to join World Bank
DEVELOPMENT: Trade Unions want EU trade agreements scrapped
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: One in three malaria drugs failing in Africa
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA: Nigerians in the UK urge BA boycott
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Press freedom wanting in Africa
SOCIAL WELFARE: Now Zambia suspends maize exports
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: UN, HP partner to boost youth IT skills
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops, Jobs, and Books and Publications
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Features
Women and the 2008 Ghana Elections
2008-05-05
Mawuli Dake
Mawuli Dake looks at the ways in which women are being locked out of the democratic processes in Ghana and argues that societies "cannot claim to be committed to the principles and ideals of democracy and the universal values of equality" if groups within are marginalized.
This year, over ten million eligible Ghanaian voters will again exercise the power to choose a President and 230 members of Parliament. This election is extremely important in many regards. The electioneering process and its outcome will determine whether we will as a nation continue or disrupt our forward march for democracy, especially in light of what we have witnessed in Nigeria and Kenya. It also presents the unique once in four years opportunity for citizens to hold Ghanaian politicians accountable for their actions vis-à-vis their rhetoric and promises. When all is said and done, the elections and the subsequent appointment of Ministers and District Chief Executives will determine our political platform and direction for the next four years, and the interests that are represented over the period. In this light, it matters who participates in this process.
For many citizens, the single most important opportunity they have to meaningfully participate in the democratic process is voting. It is also the primary means for Ghanaians, especially the poor, women and other disadvantaged groups of society, to participate in and influence government policy, priorities and practice. This article highlights how the choices we have in the 2008 elections significantly exclude citizenry majorities like women, and what we can and must do about it. It is needleless to emphasize that one of the most fundamental principles of democracy is equity: Even if not equal, fair and reasonable participation and representation of all. This of course is recognized not only in many international and regional instruments like African Union and United Nations declarations, conventions and protocols, but also clearly recognized in our own laws. In this spirit, I hope everyone will concur, that the current situation, given the appalling female to male ratio at local, regional and national levels of political leadership, is neither fair nor equitable by any standard, and definitely not democratic.
It is intriguing how our democratic institutions and processes have been able to craftily and systemically exclude “majorities”. As Ghanaians go to the polls in December, a majority of the electorate will be choosing from candidates who have little in common with them. Like in previous years, Ghanaian women will not see the face of any “sista” among the Presidential candidates on the ballots. Neither will the poor have anyone who identifies with their situation on those ballots. Additionally there will be fewer women to choose from among the parliamentary candidates to represent the people. Every time I think about it I wonder why despite there being more women than men in Ghana, they have never had anything close to majority in political leadership.
An electioneering period however is a fine opportunity for us to make the necessary changes that will strengthen our democratic as well as developmental processes. It is in light of this that I hope that we will reflect and strategize to improve the situation.
It is bad enough that none of our political parties have considered a woman as their presidential candidate in the coming election, but I hope no party will participate in the election this December without selecting a woman as their vice President. Women in Ghana have demonstrated that they are more than qualified for the job. There are many Ghanaian women (like Betty Mould Iddrisu) that are as visionary and as charismatic (if not more) as any other political leader we have had since Kwame Nkrumah. I have encountered many women (like the late Hawa Yakubu) who are powerful and strong. And of course, many (like Joyce Aryee), who are as experienced and able like any man we can find for the job.
INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
Ghana is not alone in the marginalization of women in the political processes. The Millennium Declaration emphasizes the importance of democratic governance to the achievement of development and just peace, placing particular stress on the importance of ensuring more inclusive political processes that allow genuine participation by all citizens. The Beijing Platform for Action also emphasizes that “women’s equal participation in decision making is not only a demand for justice or democracy, but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken into account...” The Platform accordingly proposed two important strategies to: “ensure women’s equal access to and full participation in all power structures and decision making”; and “increase women’s capacity to participate in decision making and leadership”.
Some countries, before and after Beijing have elected women to their highest office. Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister of Great Britain three times. Other countries that have elected women presidents include Liberia, Argentina, Iceland, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Finland, Ireland and Chile.
Nevertheless, there rages a global debate, over women’s political participation and representation. This ongoing discourse includes extensive studies and analysis in support of varied theories and approaches that comprise intrinsic and instrumentalist arguments. Some argue for equal participation of women in politics from the human rights perspective, that women constitute half of the world population and therefore, they should have equal (proportional) representation in our democracies. Instrumentalists on the other hand argue for greater participation of women on the grounds that men and women are different, that women have different approaches, vision and concepts of politics owning to their sex and their gender roles, with the assumption that women will bring a special “women values” to politics. Even without reaching an intellectual consensus on the merits and demerits of various arguments, I believe proponents of varied arguments and theories will agree on this one thing, women must be included in politics at all levels (from the high office of President to the local government assemblies).
In Ghana, gender barriers are not taken as seriously as other social ones like religion and ethnicity. The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe, because some still fall prey to the stereotype that it is not a women's place to be the Leader of the country; because a few old men have been allowed to dominate the process for so long that society thinks it is their right to do so and exclude everyone else; because of entrenched structural and functional socio-political factors that perpetuate the exclusion of women; and because sometimes women simply choose not to fight for it.
All of this can change. One of my most important observations, as a Campaign Strategist for a black presidential candidate here in the United States, is that people are far less prejudiced than we think they are, irrespective of race and equally irrespective of gender. This is not to deny the existence of prejudice, but contrarily to popular assumption, I have not encountered anyone, regardless of race or gender who are against having a black or woman president respectively. No doubt there are men and women in Ghana today who may be against the idea of a woman President, but they are a tiny minority. On one of my recent visits home, I listened to a phone-in program on Joy FM discussing if and which Ghanaian women could be President, the phone lines were jammed with men and women, who did not only think that Ghana was ready for a woman President, but who readily suggested or endorsed capable women for the job. From my recollection, some of the women highly recommended for the job were Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Emma Mitchel, Joyce Aryee and the late Hawa Yakubu.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
After emerging from colonialism some 50-plus years ago, Ghana went through an unprecedented history of military coups, counter coups and attempted coups. Ghanaians however resolved to return to constitutional democracy through the April 28 1992 referendum, followed by subsequent elections including the first and historic democratic change of government effected by a general, free and fair election in 2001, a democracy we have continued to enjoy uninterrupted since then. These achievements are great steps in our forward march for democracy, nevertheless, there still remain serious challenges to this process. Like in too many other countries in the world, the limited and unequal representation of women in political leadership remains one of those challenges, but there also exists opportunities that we can exploit.
A 2003 WISE study by Dake & Herlands: Data on Women in Leadership in Ghana, highlighted that in general, women exercise little power in political, economic, and social institutions in Ghana. It particularly highlighted that women are woefully underrepresented in political leadership positions relative to their participation at the middle and bottom levels in society. Even though anecdotal evidence indicates gross inequity in representation of women in leadership positions, the statistics of the survey are shocking.
There have been some significant changes since this survey was conducted in 2003 including the appointment of a woman as one of the five Chief Officers of the State (the appointment of Ghana’s current Chief Justice Ms. Georgina T. Wood). There is also a less than 2% increase in the number of women in parliament to about 11% compared to 9% in the last house. Nevertheless, these statistics remain a fair, quantitative reflection of the inequity in Ghana’s political leadership.
These changes have occurred largely due to the tireless efforts of women’s rights advocates and women’s organizations. Abantu for Development and the Women’s Manifesto Coalition for instance, have not only been aggressively pushing for women’s involvement, but have been empowering women to get involved in politics at various levels. I am particularly impressed with the strategic approach to increasing women’s representation in local governments. I recently joined one such effort to provide campaign strategy training to women candidates who were vying for seats in the local government elections for the Northern regions of Ghana and was inspired to learn that some of these women now serve in their local assemblies. This shows that things can and do change.
THE WOMEN’S MANIFESTO OF GHANA
The women’ manifesto of Ghana is a political document that sets out critical issues of concern to Ghanaian women with clear demands for addressing them. The manifesto covers areas such as Women in Politics, Decision making and Public Life, Women's Economic Empowerment and Women, Human Rights and the Law among others, clearly laying out the issues and demands that can guide government’s efforts. The manifesto states “In spite of the pivotal role Ghanaian women play … they do not occupy key decision-making positions in any of the sectors of economic, political and social life. They are relegated to the background as far as public decision-making is concerned. This is because no concrete policy measures are in place to ensure that the structural inequalities between women and men are taken into account in promoting participation in policy decisions."
The document outlines some concrete action demands to address this. Two of these are: “That political parties ensure that by the year 2008, there is at least 50% representation of women in party executive and other decision-making structures" and “That by the year 2008 at least 50% of appointees to public offices, such as boards of corporations and institutions and the higher echelons of the bureaucracies, are women”.
DECEMBER 2008 ELECTIONS
One of the best things about elections and change of governments is the opportunity it presents to citizens to get involved in processes that affect them and the opportunity it offers for change or for correcting wrongs. 2008 particularly gives Ghanaians an unprecedented opportunity to chose not only between NPP and NDC (both of which they have tried and tested), but if they so wish, opt for a third option- CPP. Exciting!
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
As we approach December and the elections, I invite political parties, government, the media and civil society as a whole to consider and take some of the following steps to promote the greater participation of women.
It should begin with ensuring that all the political parties choose woman vice-presidential candidates. This demand is not only for democracy sake, but also for respect and recognition of the capabilities, dignity and rights of Ghanaian women. Additionally, we will be honoring our commitments and obligations as a country under international instruments to promote gender equity, Not to mention the strategic goodwill that such step could generate for our country internationally as we have witnessed on Liberia and in Nigeria (when a woman served as the country’s Finance Minister).
It must be noted that that it is ultimately the responsibility of government to spearhead efforts to ensure equal representation. The role of civil society is to compliment this effort. We must however be quick to recognize from the history of such struggles that, change hardly occurs without a strong demand and fight, be it for the right to vote, for independence or other basic rights. Frederick Douglas puts it in the best possible way “…power concedes nothing without demand, it never has and it never will.”
Political parties must show greater commitment to the issue of gender equity by deliberately supporting and increasing the number of female candidates especially for the parliamentary elections; ensuring that women play more visible official roles as well as increasing women’s representation on committees and in other official party structures. Finally, they must ensure speakers who address all political rallies and platforms include women.
The media remains the most visible platform for highlighting political issues. And I want to urge the Ghanaian media to continue to highlight and make women more visible in this year’s elections. Photos from the grassroots should not only show women laying their cloths down for the men to walk over. Their struggles, their views and efforts must be highlighted.
Imperatively, advocates of gender equality in Ghana will need to be aggressive, strategic and unequivocal in their demands on government and the political parties to do the right thing, while at the same time providing the necessary moral, technical and resource support for women candidates. The movement must strategically sustain the momentum generated from the election processes to ensure that the pressure is brought to bear on post-election appointments. Being mindful of the practical realities that the change we seek will not happen in one election, but will require long term commitment and struggle, we should continue to call upon all Ghanaians of good will to voice and provide their strongest support for women candidates.
We can start with some of these simple steps above. For example, while we could argue that it will be laborious to legislatively award quotas for equal representation, nothing can prevent the President from ensuring gender balance in his appointments. And some unacceptable acts like the President handpicking 103 men against a woeful 6 women as DCE revealed in the 2003 survey should not be tolerated by anyone. Let’s start from doing the simple things and we will get there.
In conclusion, I want to state that we as a people cannot claim to be committed to the principles and ideals of democracy and the universal values of equality, but deny any groups equal opportunities for involvement. The continuous limited participation of women in our political process is detrimental to the progress of Ghana. For some, it may be too difficult an issue to tackle, yet difficulties must be overcome and not swept under the carpet. There is no question that the full and active participation of women in leadership is a pre-requisite for positive change and development in Ghana and in Africa.
*Mawuli Dake is an African human rights and social justice advocate, strategist and consultant. He currently serves as a Campaign Strategist for a US presidential candidate.
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Comment & analysis
Zimbawe - the other kinds of silences
2008-05-07
Netfa Freeman
Netfa Freeman argues that commentaries looking at Zimbabwe should also "include an analysis of and explicit stand against US-British intervention and address why and how they are targeting Zimbabwe.
When Collin Powell gave his infamous presentation to the United Nations, “proving” Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, Iraq dominated the headlines. It took some time and subsequent discoveries before many realized most of what we were fed was untrue.
Although not as elevated, today Zimbabwe has taken a high profile place in corporate media headlines. Are we getting the truth this time and can we rely on the same progressives who broke through misinformation around Iraq to do the same for us again?
This commentary is a response to the article by Bill Fletcher Jr., titled “Z” is for Zimbabwe; Turmoil & Silence as a Country Potentially Unravels [Published in Pambazuka as - Zimbabwe: Black America must not be silent; ]http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/47437]
Mr. Fletcher, also being a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where I am a program director, makes us colleagues. As I respect him for his analysis on many if not most matters, we have differences when it comes to Zimbabwe. There are several points his commentary raises that I believe omit the complexity and context of the issue.
Contrary to what is implied, many Africans (people of African descent) interpret Zimbabwean developments, not necessarily through romanticism, but with a valid rejection of imperialism’s “mania for regime change”. Too often has the public seen leaders and countries demonized simply as a prelude for this policy.
The right of anyone to criticize ZANU PF or Mugabe is valid and should be reserved without a person being condemned as an agent of the CIA or State Department. However, progressives and certainly revolutionaries must necessarily include an analysis of and explicit stand against US-British intervention. This would mean also addressing why and how they are targeting Zimbabwe. More often critics of ZANU PF and Mugabe reduce US-British positions to mere words or rhetorical condemnations when imperialism is never so passive. Not only did the US State Department admit on April 5, 2007 that it was engaged in efforts for regime change in Zimbabwe, such efforts were written into the text of the US’ hypocritical Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.
This policy includes pervasive economic sanctions (war without guns) designed to strangle the people into submission. No matter what one’s position on ZANU PF and/or Mugabe, a position against imperialism’s immoral assault on Zimbabwe should be a matter of principle, being that “the stakes are too high.” After all, even though Saddam Hussein was widely believed a cruel dictator, progressives nevertheless oppose not only imperialism’s war on Iraq but avidly opposed the preceding US sanctions against Iraq. In Zimbabwe’s case, hardly any stand is taken against imperialism and progressives often corroborate much of the misinformation.
Specifically on Mr. Fletcher’s commentary the following are a few instances where I feel more clarifications are warranted:
Mr. Fletcher says: “We ignored the violent crushing of a rebellion in the early years of the Mugabe administration” but another side would say: “the violent crushing of a ‘violent’ rebellion.” I don't know any other way to put down a violent rebellion than through violence. I’m assuming here that Mr. Fletcher is referring to what took place in Matebeland, often referred to as a massacre in order to demonize ZANU PF. It is a situation too complex to do justice in this commentary but knowing the alternative explanation is important. Following an agreement to integrate the armed forces of ZANU, ZAPU and Rhodesians to form a Zimbabwe National Army, it was agreed that all guerrillas and Ian Smith soldiers were to surrender their weapons to the national armory.
ZAPU secretly decided not to, hiding massive arms caches on its farms and in the bushes, including armored cars and heavy artillery. After being discovered by Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organization, it is said that ZAPU failed to give a satisfactory explanation for this leading to a massive exodus of ZAPU leaders from the new government and the beginning of dissident activity in Matebeland. Shona speaking people and commercial farmers were being killed. Former ZAPU guerillas were roaming freely with guns, terrorizing people, especially in Matebeland and Midlands areas. The ZANU led government could not of course let this go on and it is said that security forces were deployed to end the dissident and banditry activity. Unfortunately people were killed along with dissidents and those who harbored them. However, what is more often mischaracterized as a massacre was more like a small-scale civil war with civilian casualties on both sides.
Subsequently, in 1987 ZAPU and ZANU leaders held talks, which culminated in a Unity Accord and is now celebrated annually on December 22nd, as ZAPU leaders were again put into the fold to form a government of national unity. It is instructive to note that the current National Chairman of ZANU is a former ZAPU leader, the National Youth Chairman is former ZAPU, the Second Vice President is former ZAPU, and the National Army Commander is former ZAPU. In fact former ZAPU members are now in control of many government and party institutions.
Mr. Fletcher says: “We ignored President Mugabe's adoption of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank formula of ‘structural adjustment.’”(ESAP) However, this ignores the context of the times and the world situation. Undoubtedly, it was a mistake to deal with the IMF and World Bank but the conditions and constraints that led to Zimbabwe's doing this were largely due to the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and were felt by all countries trying to pursue an independent path. Cuba referred to these conditions as their Special Period. This also ignores that Mugabe’s government abolished the ESAP, something done nowhere else in Africa.
Mr. Fletcher says: “And, we ignored the fact that the land was not being redistributed.”
But some was. Although it represented only one third of a 162,000 household target, more than 50,000 households had been resettled by 1990. Why wasn't more land redistributed before the late 1990s?
This is explained by constraints of the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement that brokered Zimbabwe’s independence and it is critical to note that the liberation forces were encouraged to accept this agreement by fellow liberation forces in the other Front Line states. The constraints in this agreement were not the choice of Mugabe or ZANU.
Mr. Fletcher says: “Many well-intentioned supporters of Zimbabwe ignored or were oblivious to the growing protests that had swept Zimbabwe in the 1990s among workers who stood in opposition to the economic policies of structural adjustment that were impoverishing them.” I don’t know what the point is here. That instead of commending ZANU-PF, for jettisoning ESAP as soon as it could, it is better to support the opposition, which wants to cement ESAP in place?
Mr. Fletcher says: “And some of us closed our eyes to who was actually benefiting from land redistribution and who was not.” With all due respect this sounds like a version of the land going not to the landless but to Mugabe's cronies routine. I’m sorry but I can’t believe Mugabe had 134,000 cronies to dole land out to in 2002. Land audits bear out the fact that land went mainly to the landless and had reached over 250,000 families by 2006. Furthermore, not only have there been eyewitness testimonies by others, such as that of Baffour Ankomah, editor of New African who has seen things for himself but I also personally know of a youth farming cooperative started with land from this exercise. Having been there and stayed at the home of the cooperative’s chairman I attest that these youth are hardly cronies of Mugabe.
Mr. Fletcher says: “I found myself attempting to explain to them (his Zimbabwean comrades) why many African Americans were silent in the face of President Mugabe's repression.” Actually, I haven't noticed this reluctance disproportionate to any other issue. Maybe I've seen too many articles taking the standard line against Zimbabwe. I have experienced quite a bit of cynicism among most intellectual African-“Americans” about my alternative position on the issues. On the other hand I also find that the common Black person on the street has legitimate reservations about anything remotely resembling the regime change rhetoric of imperialism.
Regarding Mr. Fletcher’s position on the elections, I agree that it would have been better to announce the results even with a recount needed. Although I recognize that the MDC and Western media would have treated the initial figure as real and the recount as rigging. From that standpoint, I think I can understand why the total has not been announced. But it still may have been better to do so. The same rigging claims were going to be tossed around regardless. Statements by British officials and US make it clear that they will accept no result that does not favor the opposition. What more is the iron first and velvet glove of imperialism doing to ensure their interests in Zimbabwe? Mr. Fletcher and I agree that the stakes in Zimbabwe are higher than the mere outcome of an election but I contend that it’s one of completely embedded neo-colonialism versus the right to national self-determination and sovereignty.
Mr. Fletcher says: “Though originally planned as a labor party, the MDC became a sort of united front of opponents of President Mugabe, ranging the political spectrum from the revolutionary Left to some conservative white farmers.” There is more to this than one could gather from this summary. In December 1998, with Zimbabwe having already earned the indignation of Western governments, a plan was presented to the European Union’s Africa Working Group recommending strategies for regime change. The plan called for the formation of a political party from this spectrum of opponents in “civil society”, naming in particular, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). Prior to this, in May 1997 European trade unions had already singled out the then Secretary General of ZCTU, Morgan Tsvangirai as their presidential candidate against Robert Mugabe. It’s with this backdrop that the MDC was born.
I agree with Mr. Fletcher’s assertion, “Whether we like or dislike the MDC, or President Mugabe for that matter, holds second place to whether there is a political environment that advances genuine, grassroots democracy and debate in Zimbabwe.” Clearly, however such an environment cannot exist while foreign interests are so pervasively manipulating so much of what appears to be internal.
On January 24th, 1999 a meeting was convened at Britain’s Royal Institute of International Affairs to discuss the EU’s regime change policy. The theme of the meeting, led by Richard Dowden, now the Executive Director of the Royal African Society, was “Zimbabwe - Time for Mugabe to Go?” The “confiscating” of white-held land is what got a “yes” to the conference’s rhetorical question. Dowden presented four options:
1. a military coup
2. buying the opposition
3. insurrection
4. subverting Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party
A few months later, the US State Department held its version of that meeting, a seminar entitled “The Zimbabwe Crisis” to discuss its strategy for dealing with the same. Their conclusion too was that civil society and the opposition would be strengthened to foment discontent and dissent.
If we’re going to discuss Zimbabwe and what position to take on it, it’s important that the African community consider this context. While Mr. Fletcher is concerned with what he refers to as "infintile approaches" to controversy within our communities, I’m more concerned that our assessments are arrived at with plentiful and accurate context. Because, like Mr. Fletcher, I believe the stakes are much too high.
*Netfa Freeman is director of the Social Action & Leadership School for Activists (SALSA), a program of the Washington DC based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a longtime activist in the Pan-African and international human rights movements, and a co-producer/co-host for Voices With Vision, WPFW 89.3 FM, Washington DC. This article first appeared at www.blackcommentator.com
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Human rights crisis in Nigeria
2008-04-03
Jegede Ademola Oluborode
Jegede Ademola Oluborode looks at various marginalized groups in relation to human rights in Nigeria.
INTRODUCTION
"Burdened in the midst of hope!"
With the wave of democracy sweeping across Nigeria once again in 1999, and more fundamentally since 2003, efforts have been made towards institutional development aimed at laying political foundation for Nigeria to realize its potentials. Basic freedoms in the form of political and civil rights, whether sincere or otherwise, at least appear to have featured predominantly in these efforts. Little or no attention is however being given to economic, social and cultural rights so well encapsulated in several international and regional instruments to which Nigeria is signatory.
In a regime of neglect to crucial rights, Marginalized Groups, and their category is ever growing, suffer more. This is perhaps because, apart from contending with inattention which appears to be common fate of all, the harms and injuries faced by these groups, due to inadequate legal framework and political leadership commitment to their concerns, are gradually emerging and may dominate human rights discourse in the coming decades. Using the marginalized group as a barometer, attempt is made here to appraise human rights violations in Nigeria and predict its future situation. The Essay concludes on the note that unless there is a renewed commitment to embrace and apply human rights as vehicle of positive change, the future may only be remarkable for intense agitations and bitter protests of the marginalized.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN NIGERIA
The human rights concerns and needs of Nigerians, particularly the Marginalized Groups remain unaddressed. The approach adopted below is to define and describe the human rights situation of the marginalized by variables such as disability, sexual orientation, religion, region and gender.
DISABILITY
Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria guarantees the right to freedom from discrimination in all its forms against any person. The provision may be considered applicable to persons with disabilities. Prior to 1999, the Nigerian with Disability Decree of 1993 made copious provisions for the protection of human rights of persons with disabilities. In its Section 3, provisions were made for their human rights and privileges while Section 14 established a National Commission for Persons with Disability. As beautiful as this piece of legislation is, nothing concrete has however been done to match its provisions with action. To date, the National Commission for persons with Disabilities has not taken off. Contrary to section 9 of the Decree, transport is not free for the disabled, national news and official broadcasts do not provide sign language for interpretation in accordance with section 19, while it has been difficult in the circumstance of our electoral process for the disabled to exercise their rights to vote and be voted for. In spite of the social rights guaranteed under the Act, most disabled live off begging on the city streets.
Two significant Bills for persons with disabilities were introduced at the National Assembly in year 2000 namely; (1) A Bill for an Act to provide Special Facilities for the Use of Handicapped Persons in the Public Buildings and (2) A Bill for an Act to Establish a National Commission for the Handicapped Persons and to vest it with the Responsibility for their Education and Social Development and for the Connected Purposes . Nothing significant came out of these Bills.
Nigeria has signed the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its optional protocols. At a Forum to sign the Convention, the then Minister of External Affairs, Mrs. Joy Ogwu, noted that Nigeria was in the process of signing a Disability Law . Except for the National Disabled Trust Fund (Establishment Bill) presented in 2004 by Senator. Chris Adighije which is still dragging at the National Assembly, no such Law appears to have been passed till date. Section 21(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that no treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly. Lack of political commitment to appropriate legal framework and implementation of the existing laws underlies the violation of Disability rights in Nigeria.
By 2018, events are more likely to reveal that it requires more than a piece of legislation or endorsements of international conventions to realize the rights of person with disabilities in Nigeria. Appropriate legislations will benefit from Human rights education and advocacy in the coming decades. Human rights activities in this regard will also be complemented if there is an upgrade of legal education to accommodate Disability Rights.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Section 214 of the Nigerian Criminal Code penalizes consensual homosexual conduct between adults by fixing 14 years as punishment. Similar position appears to be taken in the Sharia Codes against sodomy . The effect of this framework is that relationship and marriage ceremonies between the people of the same sex are criminal in Nigeria. In a letter routed through the Human Rights Watch by a network of national and international NGO's, the foregoing trend has been criticized as inconsistent with international legal regime which emphasizes that granting lesbians and gays the basic rights of expression and association is a good public health measure capable of boosting government efforts to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS .
It does appear that the greatest challenge in the struggle for lesbian and gay rights activism in Nigeria presently is the lack of understanding of major policy and law makers about the public health significance of gay and lesbian rights. Predictably, this trend may continue in the coming two decades and may be characterized by a clash of two views; public morality and public health. One can only speculate about the dominant view in the future. One thing is certain though, behavioral and social practices can not be shaped by a piece of legislation without other tools of public health education to complement, more so by pieces of legislation which tend to undermine gay and lesbian rights.
RELIGION
The secular nature of the Nigerian State is well captured in Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that the Government of the Federation shall not adopt any religion as State Religion. Islamic law has however come into operation in the northern part of the nation such as Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Borno, Zamfara, and Gombe with extensive jurisdiction covering criminal cases. People have been tried for different manners of offence and received sentences based on the provisions of the Sharia. The Sharia provisions on sentences have been subject of international condemnation lately as amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including death sentences, amputations and floggings. The manner in which Sharia is applied violates women rights to freedom from discrimination, particularly in adultery cases where standards of evidence differ based on the sex of the accused.
Christian groups notably Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has consistently asserted the threat that rapid islamisation of the northern part of the nation portends for the minority Christians. The plank of their position has been that such trend may occasion inter-religious crises and reprisal killings in different parts of the country. Lack of judicial pronouncement and federal position on the issue of the nation’s secularism heighten the anxiety of the minority and discourage them from taking advantage of their right to freedom of religion.
In the coming two decades, controversies, particularly in relation with religion and constitutional provision on secularism of the nation will increase. Agitations for Sharia law will likely continue in the nation with increasing protests by members of other religious groups notably, Christians. Clashes as well as reprisal attacks along religious grounds are not ruled out with the minority suffering the most in the majority’s efforts at domination.
REGION
Underlying the hydra-headed conflict situation in the Niger Delta region (Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Abia, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross rivers and Akwa Ibom States) is the perceived grave violation of human rights of the communities in the region. The situation has its roots in the discovery of oil in the region by the Royal Dutch Company in the late 1950s and has continued till date. The allegation of the people from the Niger Delta-Region in Nigeria is that attempts by Government to alleviate the regions problems have been insincere.
It has been observed by the Human Rights Watch, and rightly so, that the Federal Government policy towards conflict in the Delta has vacillated between heavy-handed attempts at imposing order and attempts to bring reconciliation . In September 2005 federal authorities arrested Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) leader Asari on charges of treason. In what seems to be a reconciliatory move, charges against him were later dropped by the new administration of President Musa Yar’adua who had earlier indicated an interest to convey a National Summit to address Niger Delta question. Meanwhile, hostage taking and kidnapping still continue to characterize the conflict face of the Niger Delta region.
Lack of an a-political comprehensive blue print development programme for the region as well as political commitment has over the years accounted for the deep human rights crisis of the Niger Delta region. In the coming decades, issues of self determination, police brutality, illegal occupation and detention will bitterly rage in the Niger- Delta region and may degenerate into humanitarian crises unless political leadership realizes the need for a review of the legal regime of ownership and control of oil resources vested in the Federal Government through legislations such as The Petroleum Act 1969 and Land Use Act to accommodate the concerns of the communities in the areas.
GENDER
The legal framework for the observance of womens rights remains hazy in Nigeria and it is a major bane to the realization of their human rights. The argument in this respect has been whether the Constitution as it is, entails a comprehensive set of provisions on human rights capable of supporting the emerging body of womens rights particularly, reproductive rights embodied in international instruments such as (The Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1981) to which Nigeria is signatory and the consensus of Conferences such as (International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD),1995) which Nigeria approved.
The provisions on human rights in the 1999 Constitution do not provide for, the rights to health, a standard of living adequate for health and well being and the right to enjoy scientific progress and to consent to experimentation as envisaged in the World Health Organisation Bill on Sexual Rights. Issues such as health, economic and social rights are only accommodated in the Fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy in sections 13 to 24 of the constitution.
The consequence of the foregoing is that whereas the provisions on human rights are actionable in court, the 1999 Nigerian constitution does not make provision for the enforcement of fundamental objectives of the state or for accountability of the same. It merely provides for policies and directives to be made on such matters. In line with these directives, the government has made several policies including the following:
- National health policy (1996)
- National Women Policy (2001)
- National Reproductive Health Policy (2002)
- National HIV/AIDS Policy (2002)
However, these policies are merely directive and neither confers on any individual a right that is actionable nor the duty to hold government accountable for their performance in Nigeria. Equally too, certain rights in the Constitution are abstract and too narrow to avail protection as reproductive rights. These are as follows;
- The right to be free from discrimination: this imposes criteria which is rather onerous to establish.
- The right to dignity of the human person: it apparently does not envisage the broader issues of child labour, female genital mutilation or the concept of ‘marital rape’.
Apart from the foregoing lack of basic legal framework for reproductive rights which calls into question the relevance of government service to women, the representation of women in governance remains a major challenge. Although Obasanjo’s administration appears to have made an appreciable success in this regard, much still remains to be achieved.
In the coming two decades, gender gaps in Nigeria will evolve still in a dynamic version. Foreseeable gender inequities in the future may not necessarily feature between groups but within the same group.
CONCLUSION
In describing the future of Human Rights situation in Nigeria, some hope could be sensed, but the question to anticipate is how political leadership in Nigeria can take advantage of its new breath of democracy in gaining the confidence of its diverse and marginalized citizenry. Using a human rights-based approach in reforming all its vital systems and sectors of government remain the major strategy for positive change. Otherwise, the coming decade may only be remarkable for intense agitations and bitter protests of the marginalized with all its attendant human rights wrongs. This is a great burden which is greatly to be feared!
* Jegede Ademola Oluborode is a legal practitioner and a human rights activist in Nigeria.
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Mbeki’s AIDS denial – Grace or folly? Part V
2008-04-22
William Gumede
Pambazuka News brings you the last part of William Gumede's chapter on Mbeki and the controversies surrounding his AIDS policies. This is from his book 'Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC'.
In the end, economics rather than compassion would force Mbeki’s hand on HIV/AIDS. Members of his international investment council warned him at roughly the same time as the NEC meeting that investors found the confusion over the government’s approach to the disease unsettling, if not downright frightening. Mbeki’s association with the AIDS dissidents was fuelling negative perceptions about South Africa as a potential investment opportunity, and unless a clear and unambiguous change in policy could be discerned, his meeting with the G8 in June to discuss NEPAD could be blown off course.
Trevor Manuel and Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni were also starting to feel the pinch as foreign investors probed them on government’s AIDS policy, and they, too, began dropping cautious hints to the president of looming economic consequences.
When the cabinet met in April 2002, Mbeki proposed that ARVs be made available to pregnant women and rape survivors without further delay, pointing out that despite the absence of conclusive evidence that they worked, they were already being routinely used by medical staff who suffered puncture wounds sustained from hypodermic syringes.
It was a landmark decision and a radical departure from Mbeki’s position to date. He followed through by starting to distance himself from the AIDS dissidents, and gave cabinet an undertaking that no longer would the dissidents or Mokaba be allowed to speak on his behalf regarding the disease.
In an interview with the Star, Mbeki denied that there was a lack of govern- ment leadership on AIDS. ‘Perhaps we are not communicating that message loud enough, ’he said. ‘But I think there’s been very strong leadership on the matter. It is critically important that I communicate correct messages.'
Since then, like many other developing countries, South Africa has increasingly channelled funds into AIDS programmes, albeit at the cost of poverty alleviation or opening up their markets to trade with poorer countries. Development funding is now earmarked almost exclusively to halt the infection rate and treat the victims.
But in fairness, the business community has not been a partner to govern- ment in this battle. The South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS surveyed 1006 companies throughout the country on the impact of the disease in commerce and industry, and found that only 25 per cent of them had implemented a formal HIV/AIDS policy. Less than 20 per cent had introduced voluntary counselling and testing programmes, or provided care, treatment and support to infected workers.
Having previously announced with great fanfare that it would make ARVs available to employees free of charge, mining giant Anglo American subsequently withdrew the offer, saying it would be far too costly.[68]Incredulously, trade minister Alec Erwin would claim as late as April 2002 that AIDS had ‘no impact on the South African economy or workforce’.
The harsh reality is that South Africa is now faced with creating the largest AIDS treatment programme in the world. The ARV roll-out in the public sector will require a major upgrading ofthe existing health-care infrastructure,recruitment and training of a vast corps of health workers, and a well-coordinated national programme for HIV tests and counselling.
It is a daunting prospect, to be sure, but it can be done. In the mid-1980s,the picture looked equally grim in Thailand, but thanks to a dedicated monitoring programme, concentration on high-risk groups, general AIDS education combined with 100 per cent condom use and vigorous efforts to dispel the stigma attached to the disease, the situation has been brought under control and infection rates appear to have stabilised. The secret ingredient to success, however, has been large doses of political will.
Worryingly, Mbeki still firmly believes that those who contract the disease should assume individual responsibility for their care and not simply expect the state to pick up the tab. He remains unconvinced that HIV causes AIDS, and many senior ANC leaders share his view. Said Smuts Ngonyama, the party’s official spokesperson and one of Mbeki’s closest associates: ‘It’s based on a scientific assumption, and like all assumptions, it can be disproved.’
Small wonder, then, that Mbeki could tell the world, without blinking an eye, ‘I don’t know anybody who died of AIDS’ in an interview with the Washington Post in September 2003.
Cynics have no doubt that the only reason the government backed down on the ARV roll-out was to deny opposition parties the chance to use the issue as a vote-catcher in the 2004 elections. Many claimed that the ANC still lacked the political will to tackle AIDS head-on, and predicted that the issue would be moved to the back burner again once the election was over.
In August 2004, Tshabalala-Msimang confirmed that the government would not meet its target of supplying ARVs to a paltry 53 000 people by March 2005. After all, she sighed, ‘we are just a developing country’. Somewhat tellingly, she added: ‘If you say to the nation that you are providing ARVs then you will wipe out all the gains made in the promotion ofa healthy lifestyle and prevention.'
Government’s AIDS policy soon regressed to such an extent that, at the Make Poverty History rally in 2005, Nelson Mandela urged Mbeki to ‘recognise that the world is hungry for action, not words’.
Although by the end of 2006 there was a noticeable increase in government’s delivery of ARVs, with about 200000 patients receiving the drugs through the public health system, making it one of the world’s largest ARV treatment pro- grammes, a further 800000 were in desperate need of them. In many other respects, government rapidly returned to doing things the old way. The AIDS plan was heavily undermined when Jacob Zuma said during his rape trial that, after having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive family friend, he had taken a shower to prevent infection. His testimony showed that AIDS denial was endemic within the highest echelons of government and the ANC. Zuma was the former head of the country’s National AIDS Council.
At the World AIDS Conference in Toronto in August 2006, international activists, medical doctors and the media accused South Africa of ‘lunatic’ negligence regarding HIV/AIDS. The official South African stand prominently displayed lemons and garlic, along with condoms and ARVs, as ways to deal with AIDS. At the start of the conference, the display had also included apples, nectarines and grapes, but these were quickly eaten by passing delegates. Such was the inter- national criticism that investor perceptions of South Africa slumped, which spurred Mbeki into action. The AIDS issue again became part of a political football game. A day after being acquitted of rape in May 2006,Zuma publicly apologised for the irresponsible statements he had made during his trial. Cynical as this apology was, his position was immediately contrasted with that of Mbeki, who had elected to maintain a stony silence on the topic of AIDS. In addition, the SACP and COSATU rained fresh hammer blows on Mbeki over the government’s approach. AIDS activists stepped up their criticism and embarked on a strategy to shame government, particularly at prestigious international forums.
In September 2006, the TAC was joined by eighty-one leading scientists to demand the sacking of Tshabalala-Msimang.This was particularly effective, as Mbeki and his cabinet are super-sensitive when it comes to international, and especially business, perceptions of government. Deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge broke ranks with her superiors in October and admitted that government was failing to fight the pandemic. ‘Our country is in pain. We are all in pain,’ Madlala-Routledge said. She later demanded that all government leaders – including Mbeki – should take public AIDS tests, but backtracked quickly after being reprimanded by senior officials in the presidency and denied that she had singled out the president. On World Aids Day at the end of November, the government announced it would cobble together a new five-year plan to expand treatment and prevent new HIV infections. Mlambo-Ngcuka and Madlala-Routledge became the first government leaders to meet with civil society groups and activists such as Zackie Achmat, previously shunned like the plague. The new plan would make those aged between fifteen and twenty-four a priority, halve the rate of new infections and provide treatment for 750000 adults and children by 2011.‘This is a sea change, ’exclaimed Mark Heywood, a leading AIDS activist. ‘We’ re not across the ocean yet, but now the government is sailing in the right direction.
Mbeki’s strategists blamed Tshabalala-Msimang for previous failures, and she was quickly sidelined. Although government strategists grudgingly conceded that the health minister had become identified with the abysmal failure to manage the disease, Mbeki still refrained from firing her. Ironically,it would take Tshabalala- Msimang falling seriously ill in late 2006 for Mlambo-Ngcuka, with the help of Madlala-Routledge,to finally wrest control of government’s AIDS policy from the health minister. Mlambo-Ngcuka was assigned to lead the new AIDS approach, and was appointed as head of South Africa’s National AIDS Council. Some of Tshabalala-Msimang’s responsibilities were transferred to her deputy, who had previously been excluded from making decisions on AIDS policy. Mlambo-Ngcuka promised to consult non-governmental groups and outsiders on government’s future AIDS policy. However, Tshabalala-Msimang has tried to fight back in-between bouts of illness, attacking both Madlala-Routledge and Mlambo-Ngcuka: ‘The incident of my illness was portrayed as an opportunity to turn others into champions ofa campaign to rid our government of the so-called “HIV and AIDS denial at the highest level.”
Nevertheless,Mlambo-Ngcuka and Madlala-Routledge – with Mbeki’s backing – have revitalised the moribund battle against the pandemic and have deservedly been showered with praise by HIV/AIDS experts and civil society groups. However, some long-suffering AIDS veterans remain sceptical: they have been here before and have seen many false dawns.
Practical considerations aside, there is much work yet to be done, by govern- ment, the TAC and other civil society organisations, to destigmatise the disease. Gugu Dlamini was stoned to death by a mob near Durban after she disclosed her HIV-positive status on radio. The veil of secrecy surrounding the deaths of Peter Mokaba and Parks Mankahlana show how pervasive the stigma is.
The Sisulu family proved a rare exception when they went public after a family member died of AIDS. Buthelezi, an arch-traditionalist, also broke the silence by acknowledging that both a son and a daughter had died of AIDS within months of one another in 2004, and publicly speaking of the devastation the disease has caused within the family circle. And when Nelson Mandela announced that his son, Makgatho, had died of AIDS in January 2005, it was a move aimed at breaking one of the most stubborn taboos surrounding the pandemic.
It is true that there are cultural taboos against speaking about death, but the continual denials perpetuate the terrible stigma surrounding AIDS in South Africa. The vast majority of the population still see the disease as something that happens to ‘other’ people – prostitutes, migrant workers and moral lepers. Only those who have done something bad, behaved immorally or been sexually promiscuous get AIDS, and ‘decent’ folk are right to treat them as outcasts. Sex, too, is something that polite people don’t discuss in public. It happens, but one does not talk about it, hence Zuma’s mind-boggling statement that those who dare to mention oral sex are ‘un-African’.
The fact that Mbeki has never led the way in talking openly about AIDS, as President Yoweri Museveni did in Uganda, has seriously undermined all government efforts to combat the disease. Mbeki’s refusal to acknowledge that HIV is sexually transmitted is a major obstacle to facilitating behaviour modification and greatly diminishes the dedicated attempts of sex educators to protect another generation from wholesale infection. A more enlightened leader such as Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, for example, insisted that all his ministers should make mention of AIDS in their public addresses, no matter what the topic.
Mbeki’s role is crucial. Though South Africa has the most progressive Constitution and Bill of Rights in the world, with women’s rights firmly entrenched, gender relations are far from being democratised. Age-old perceptions of women as ‘possessions’ run deep, and in November 2003,a South African Medical Research Council study offered conclusive evidence of links between gender-based power inequalities and the risk of South African women contracting AIDS.
The study recommended that reducing gender inequalities and making men more respectful of women are crucial weapons in the fight against AIDS, and in building a society in which women have the right to live free from violence. The most recent research shows that women aged between fifteen and twenty-nine are three to four times more likely to be infected than males. As the country’s president and leading male role model, Mbeki could be extremely influential in changing attitudes towards women.
Recent official surveys show a high level of HIV infection – 20 per cent – among young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. In addition,1.5 million children under the age of eighteen are maternal orphans, who have lost either a mother or both parents, and 66 per cent of them have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. In all, 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths have occurred in South Africa since the start of the pandemic.
Mbeki’s handling of the AIDS issue has reinforced his image as a lone, remote intellectual and contrarian battling against the world. It has also illustrated the president’s Don Quixote side, which caused his mentor, Oliver Tambo, many headaches. Tambo once told an associate: ‘That Thabo is such a clever young man, but I always have to keep a close eye on him,because he tends to wander off[on intellectual pursuits].He would cause my death,if I am not careful.’
In dealing with AIDS, Mbeki may have wandered off on a deadly diversion that has helped place an entire nation in denial and needlessly taken the lives of millions of its citizens.
*William Gumede is the author of Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC. His latest book, 'The Democracy Gap - Africa's Wasted Years', will be published later this year.
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Pan-African Postcard
Airbus A330-300 to Malabo: Get your ticket to the heart of darkness
2008-04-15
Agustín Velloso
Agustin Velloso advices those interested in plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea "to choose one's travel companions for a coup d'état with care."
Starting April 1st, 2008, Lufthansa offers 295 seats, three times a week, in a superb Airbus for anyone wanting to travel from Frankfurt to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea's capital city. It now seems incredible that in the 90's only Iberia flew to Malabo, from Madrid on Sunday morning, and back the same evening with a group of civil servants, a bunch of nuns and priests plus some Equatorial Guinea nationals.
This new connection between Equatorial Guinea and the rest of the world beyond its closest African neighbors, joins those of Air France, Swiss International Air Lines, Royal Air Maroc, KLM, Spainair, Sonair, Jet Air and some others. Even flights from unspecified airports in Europe with airlines which are not IATA members - although they advertise as such- can be found on the Internet.
The airlines tell the public this intense activity is due to growing business opportunities and changes taking place in the African country: "Blessed by a growing economy in recent years, the country maintains numerous international trade relations, principally in the energy sector." (http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/uk/info_and_services/local_box?l=en&nodeid=2088346&cid=1000243#ancN65662)
THREE MEN AND A HELICOPTER
However, seasoned travellers do not agree on this point. Simon Mann, a British mercenary once told the UK's television Channel 4 that "things were very bad" in Equatorial Guinea and that "regime change was badly needed". He added that "the regime was stumbling, the State was sinking" (http://www.asodegue.org/marzo1208.htm).
Mann is the model of the English gentleman. He studied in Eton, the world's most elitist school, cradle of renowned travellers since its foundation in 1440. After graduating he spent the next 30 years travelling the world together with other gunmen, shooting to order or off his own bat in order to make money. His last trip for that purpose, began in South Africa in 2004 and has landed him in Malabo's Black Beach jail, where he has just been imprisoned after being jailed for a time in Zimbabwe.
Many people learn at school that travelling is the best way to learn. Mann has certainly changed his opinions. A mere week at his Black Beach prison cell has led him to abandon his former negative image of Equatorial Guinea and to declare the country "has experienced an incredible change in four years".
On the same day in Madrid, where he lives as a Geneva Convention refugee, Severo Moto, president of Equatorial Guinea's government in exile, said the opposite : "I am coming back home!" in order to bring freedom and democracy to the country. (http://www.guinea-ecuatorial.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=704)
Moto's travelling experience is the opposite of Mann's. The more he travels the world the further he gets from Equatorial Guinea. Seeking all kinds of support for his political return home, he has been to many different places. But none of them has taken him even half way to his apparent destination. What is worse, he has come close to losing both his life and his refugee status in Spain.
Mann and Moto are not alone in their plight. Since 2004, after a life of travel for pleasure, one of their main supporters, Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has some difficulty leaving Britain. Many countries refuse to grant him a visa precisely for his past involvement in adventures that were too big for him. How come his partners failed to notice that this true wet blanket has failed in virtually all the sports, business and financial projects he has undertaken?
Mann now complains that Moto and Ely Calil, another financial backer, cheated him. Thatcher says he thought the helicopter he rented for their botched plan, was meant to serve as an ambulance. Moto says he knows nothing at all about Mann's coup d'état. Calil, who made his fortune in the oil business, has left his fancy residence in London's Chelsea. His current whereabouts are unknown.
NOTIONAL COUPS, NOTIONAL OPPOSITION
The only clear thing emerging from this Marx Brothers remake is the advisability of choosing one's travel companions for a coup d'état with care. Opposition leaders inside the country know this all too well. That means cultivating relations with the most important foreign centres of political power. In other words: travelling from Malabo to the United States and European Union capitals.
Unfortunately, despite frequent invitations for these leaders to visit powerful countries with leverage over Equatorial Guinea, their visits have not borne fruit. On the eve of legislative elections due next May in Equatorial Guinea, Convergencia Para la Democracia Social (CPDS), an opposition party founded underground in 1990, today has two representatives in the national congress. The remaining 98 seats are held by supporters of Teodoro Obiang, President without a break since 1979.
One might say that the important thing is not the number of trips, but their quality. Up until now, it seems that CPDS secretary general, Placido Mico, has yet to learn what Moto knows: world governments are far more interested in Equatorial Guinea's oil than in its people's human rights. All those foreign trips have not taught Mico what Obiang and any other dictator who leans on US friendship knows: so long as they obey imperial policies, they will stay in power, unless their own people bring them down.
Mico never tires of declaring in every city he visits that CPDS "is a political party aiming to introduce changes in Equatorial Guinea once it gets power, which it will acquire by democratic means. For this, it works peacefully for the establishment of a democratic regime in Equatorial Guinea". It may seem incredible, but he adds that he is confident that the United States government may change its current policies towards Equatorial Guinea (http://cpds-gq.org/laverdad56/opinion3.html).
This and similar statements are sweet music to Obiang and the world leaders who support him. So they are more than happy to pay for Mico's air tickets and travel expenses. The Equatorial Guinea opposition leader gives them no trouble and above all guarantees that their corporations increasing investments and business in this small oil-rich African country are safe. Furthermore, this heavenly status quo means they can meet with Mico openly. So in the unlikely event that domestic public opinion questions Equatorial Guinea's lack of democracy, they can say they are doing their share to support it.
TYRANNY - GOOD FOR BUSINESS
No wonder more and more airlines are offering new connections to Malabo. International entrepeneurs have realised, as politicians have, that their businesses are not in peril with the current government or any other likely to succeed it. Such security does not apply to Equatorial Guinea's people, whose human rights are violated on a daily basis. It seems corporation CEOs do not get news about Obiang's policemen chasing after opposition leaders and sometimes torturing them to death. They also seem not to know that business is the preserve of the elite, that democracy is just a dream for the majority of the population either at home or in exile. (http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Africa/Equatorial-Guinea)
One learned observer of Equatorial Guinea who, oddly enough, does not travel there, explained last March 17 why businessmen choose this country for their activities:
"We have heard many times during the last years that Equatorial Guinea is changing. The truth is that real development has not taken place. What exists is an enormous development of Obiang's entourage's enterprises. These have made them incredibly rich while the majority of the population remains poor." (http://www.asodegue.org/marzo1708.htm)
He adds: "news coming from different parts of the country speak of little enthusiasm amongst the people entitled to register for the elections. They are tired of the same people governing all the time, no matter who the citizens vote for. Some reports also inform of irregularities." (http://www.asodegue.org/febrero01081.htm)
TRAVEL - THE GREAT EDUCATOR
In the meantime Obiang himself and his family also travel to Europe and the United States. On arrival he is greeted with flattery. In the April 12, 2006 press conference by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she said: "thank you very much for your presence here. You are a good friend and we welcome you." (http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/64434.htm)
From time to time Obiang has to listen to "recommendations" and "suggestions" about governance and human rights on his trips abroad, but his bank accounts and properties keep on growing anyway. Neither do the admonitions affect the income of Western companies operating in Equatorial Guinea.
When criticism cuts him to the quick, he fights back and speaks his mind. He is right. Why the half-hearted criticism at the same time as they openly flatter him? This helps explain Obiang's growing interest in China: a country he has visited five times in the last few years. (http://www.embajadachina.org.mx/esp/xw/t217927.htm)
Obiang's trips to Europe and the United States, generate new ones in their turn, from Western Prime Ministers and Foreign Affairs Ministers, from other high government officials and from big corporation CEOs. If two sandals and an ass were all it took Herodotus to write impressive reports of the political and social events he witnessed in his travels, what will these people write from their first class seats in an Airbus A330-300, equipped with "two meter long beds, wine cellar, 5-star chef, musical classics and video"? (www.lufthansa.com)
Back home, after a two or three day visit to Equatorial Guinea, they declare the country has made important steps towards democracy, that the political situation has vastly improved, and last but not least, praise the outstanding environment for foreign investment. That is why people say travel broadens the mind. Maybe when Western airlines start giving seats to the thousands of people from Equatorial Guinea who have never flown with them, those people too will at last see the wonders of Equatorial Guinea so fulsomely described by foreign politicians and businessmen.
Moral: increase international air connections with Equatorial Guinea.
*Agustín Velloso is Professor of Education Sciences at the National University of Education in Madrid. This English version of the article was revised by toni solo.
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Letters
South Africa - only a matter of time
2008-05-07
Tundanonga
It is a question of time! How long it has taken in Kenya, beacuse the land issue was the true cause of the Kenyan drama? [Why South Africa will never be like Zimbabwe; ]http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/47873]
More than 1000 white farmers have been killed in their frams in SA, even the Western medias are keeping silence about this fact.
Soon or later, the unresolved problem of land reform will lead to political disturbancies in SA.
Tundanonga
Zimbabwe - keep your eyes open
2008-05-07
Rodney M. Burton
Keep your critical eye focused on the grindstone of Zimbabwe's land reform and training of its people to restore the country to its former capacity as the breadbasket of the region. [The complexities of Zimbabwe].
Be suspect and examine the programs or propositions of the unions (local and international) who I suspect are itching to plant their paws in the soils of Zimbabwe.
Remember Indonesia and other places in the world where the unions have done nothing but dug underground paths for corporate interests to slide in and have their way.
We can be sure that lurking behind the scenes are salivating entities, poised and ready to usurp and exploit the people, the land and your beautiful country. Do not let this happen. Keep hammering away about this most important issue.
Peace and Love
Obituaries
Ngugi wa Mirii - Africa has lost a dreamer
2008-05-05
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi
Ngugi wa Mirii was born in Roromo, Limuru in 1952 as the second born in a family of six to John Mirii and Elizabeth Wanjiku. He was educated at Ngenia Secondary School and from 1972 to 1974 he worked with the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications.
He took a diploma in Adult Education at the Institute of Adult Studies, Nairobi University and then joined the Institute of Developmental Studies. Whilst working for the Institute he became involved with peasants and workers in Community Development at Kamiriithu, Limuru. It is then that he co-authored the play Ngaahika Ndenda, in 1977 (I Will Marry When I Want) with Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong'o. The play's uncensored political message became very popular in Kenya, and the government went ahead to censor it. Despite his arrest and torture Comrade Ngugi continued with his activism.
In 1982, he collaborated on yet another play written by Prof. Ngugi along with Dr. Kimani Gecau, 'Mother Sing for Me'. This time the authorities were ruthless. Fearing for his life and that of his family, Comrade went underground and then went into exile in Zimbabwe. He was joined a year later by his wife, Wairimu wa Ngugi and one-year old daughter, Elizabeth Wanjiku Ngugi. Comrade Ngugi then joined Zimbabwean Foundation for Education with Production (ZIMFEP) where he worked for a few years.
Ngugi was above all a man of action. He was a theatre lover, and in 1985 he founded the Zimbabwe Association of Community Theatre (ZACT), an umbrella organisation for which had a membership of over 300 hundred theatre groups in its lifetime. Through ZACT Comrade helped the youth concientise their communities on vast issues. The concept was theatre for the people by the people--for concientization really on issues ranging from the political to championing rights for women and addressing the rapidly spreading HIV/AIDS. His contributions to the world of theatre in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa and the rest of the world is immense.
Ngugi loved writing. If he wasn't with his family or friends, or reading, he was writing. Writing was his mainstay, and it is how he connected us with his ideas. He wrote extensively on the question of neo-colonialism and imperialism. His focus was always towards a united Africa, but he was also an internationalist. He traveled all over the world connecting the Pan-African struggle to the international movement in the fight against imperialism. Those who know him, know that he was very passionate about this. Shortly before his tragic death, he had just returned from a conference where he gave a key note address in the USA at a conference titled 'Creative Uprisings.: Work at the Intersection of Art, Education and Activism that has engaged masses of people in some sort of mobilization.
The death of Comrade Ngugi--the son of two Nations as he so often referred to himself--is a loss to not only Kenya and Zimbabwe but to Africa as a whole. It is a loss of an outstanding intellectual, really a man of ideas, a fighter for peace and progress, and a dedicated patriot of Africa. Indeed his life energies were ultimately dedicated to the Pan-African dream, which he one-day hoped to see realised. He will remain one of our great pan-Africanists, and we can only hope that his dream will triumph some-day. That is what Ngugi would have wanted, that is what he dreamed, that is what he lived for.
To quote many, Ngugi was a beautiful human being, a Kenyan revolutionary, our friend, our comrade; To lose him is to lose part of our ourselves.
Cde. Ngugi was also a loving Husband, father and son. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Wairimu Ngugi, and five children. Martha Nyambura, John Mirii Ngugi, Elizabeth Wanjiku, Jane Wangari, and Kiarii (Kish) Ngugi; his parents, brothers and Sisters. May his soul rest in eternal peace!
* Wanjiku Wa Ngugi is a Kenyan activist.
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Homage to Aimé Césaire
2008-05-02
Lazare Ki-Zerbo
On the 23rd of June 2006 I arrived in Fort de France to celebrate Aime Césaire's 93rd birthday. Visiting the beautiful island of Martinique, and meeting her celebrated son filled me with a deep sense of joy.
The 22nd of July 2006 will remain one of the most important days of my professional life, a gilded moment in one's lifetime.
Césaire, to borrow his characterization of Haiti:...where negritude stood up... was negritude standing up, as unique as the slaves' victory over their master. He was both the uniqueness and the universality of the black experience.
The universality of the black experience is particularly critical to the current discourse on human rights, especially when one considers that negritude is in essence a revolt against the specific conditions facing black people everywhere; oppressed, shunned, victimized, as expressed by the likes of Rimbaud in Abyssinia. It is through this expansive lense that we understand Césaire's negritude. At the end Toussaint Louverture we read: Toussiant demonstrated that there is no pariah race; that there is no marginal country; that there is no special nation of people. The aim was to emphasize and give force to a principle. In the struggle for human rights, Louverture was an advocate for all blacks, and this is his true legacy. Toussaint Louverture fought to concretise the rights of man and for this reason the slave revolt of Santo Domingo is inscribed in the history of human civilization.
Beyond his poetry, Césaire contributed ideas that provide us with a basis for the struggle for protection and advancement of human rights.
How do Césaire's ideas resonate in Brazil?
Eminent scholars have distinguished between the different forms that negritude has taken; the insurrectionist, the intellectual, Cesairian, Haitian, black-American in the tradition of Marcus Garvey, or Malcolm X, and even the religious, the rural, and the Brazilian.
In 1979 on the occasion of the First African Diaspora Studies Institute (FADSI) held at Howard University, St Clair Drake asked the question: Should black Brazilians be included in the broader pan-African network, or should their way of life and their more parochial form of negritude be granted its own legitimacy?
Roger Bastide addressed the same question at the end of his book Les Amériques noires (« les chemins de la négritude »), in which he makes a distinction between,a negritude that is lived, deeply rooted and rural, on the one hand, and that of the uprooted urban black proletariat, and intellectuals on the other.
Other scholars have noted the resurgence of a ritual and pan-Africanist negritude in the Afro-Brazilian religiosity and its spread to the United States
Besides the fact that Brazil is to some degree the the foremost « African » country in the diaspora, in terms of size, resources, population, and the struggle for the rights of its black citizens, the country provides an important case study on negritude and pan-Africanism. It allows us to explore the different political cultures within these literary and political movements.
I also recall that during Rene Depestre's sojourn in Brazil during the 1950s, he was challenged by Césaire for having defended the formalist style of [Louis] Aragon. He refers to the Haitian revolution in the poem « le verbe marronner »:
« C‘est une nuit de Seine et moi je me souviens comme ivre du chant dément de Boukmann accouchant ton pays au forceps de l’orage ».
Césaire's collection of poems Noria, published in 1976 expresses his perception of Brazilian negritude, especially in Bahia. This perception stems from a particular Brazilian Africanness that does not preclude a direct connection to the founding fathers of Quilombos, not the least of whom was Zumbi de Palmares, the famous maroon. This national hero was a revolutionary in the vein of Toussaint Louverture.
In a seminal speech delivered at the CIAD (I) conference, professor Mamadou Diouf recalled that it was not until 1956 at the first Congress of Black Writers and Artists, that there were any Brazilian or even South American delegates at any major pan-African gatherings. The Brazilian writer Jorge Amado attended that famous meeting in Paris.
Meanwhile on the 22nd of February 2006, Elisa Larkin Nascimento, wife of Abdias do Nascimento sent me an email in which she emphasized the point that the spirit of negritude was always present in the work of her illustrious husband, ever since he founded the Black Experimental Theater (BET) in 1944. this is what she had to say:
...I would say that Leopold Senghor and his work on negritude occupy have historically had a major influence in our struggle. More recently, they have served as a significant reference point. Abdias do Nascimento, Gerreiro Ramos and the BET, were the main, if not the only voices that advocated negritude in Brazil in the 1940s and 50s, at a time when mere mention of the term evoked indignation and horror. It is true that the negritude they embraced adopted the Brazilian language and the particular reality of Afro-Brazilians. However the reference to the essential negritude movement was always present.
The official delegation to the World Festival of Black Arts excluded Abdias and the BET, instead sending white intellectuals to represent the country's Afro-Brazilians. You are no doubt familiar with the open letter Abdias addressed to the Festival and that was subsequently published by Alioune Diop in Présence Africaine. In some way the critique may have been biased by an ideological position that tended to ignore the specific African realities, as demonstrated by the experiences of pan-Africanists like George Padmore and CLR James.
We would sooner identify with the voice of Aime Césaire and Leon Gontran Damas than Senghor, because of some of the latter's political positions, especially his membership in the Académie Francaise, and vis-a-vis Cheikh Anta Diop. This is no doubt a simplistic take on what is in essence a more complex problem. Nonetheless, I hope it is useful...
This is just a personal view, but it clearly demonstrates how negritude was a wonder weapon for afro-descendant victims and their allies, faced with injustice, deprivation and both real and symbolic violence
My preoccupation is with the present form of this negritude, forged in resistance to all forms of discrimination, and human rights abuses... all human beings, be they Indian, European, black... we need to find political and institutional solutions. The work of the Special Secretariat of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR) in Brazil , or even the Institut de Peuples Noirs in Burkina Faso is a good start. Could this work transform into an Institute for the people of Africa and the Diaspora in which the incandescent voice of our Osiris, Aime Césaire will echo through to all the immortals of the pan-Africanist movement
* Lazare KI-ZERBO
(Comité international Joseph Ki-Zerbo)
* Translated by Josh Ogada
**Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org
Blogging Africa
Africa Blogging Roundup
2008-05-07
Sokari Ekine
It’s been a while since I have written a roundup for Pambazuka News and after browsing through the last couple of months I notice there has been an absence of news on what is happening at grassroots level in Africa and the Diaspora so I have focused on activist blogs or blogs posting on local community issues.
Shackdwellers
Shackdwellers]http://www.shackdwellers.org/]Shackdwellers – Housing Struggles Worldwide
I’ll start with two new blogs from the South African housing / land rights movement. First up is Shackdwellers. Although Housing struggles worldwide is an aggregator of posts from on housing struggles worldwide and other related social movements, it is based in South Africa and supports three African campaigns: The Abahlali baseMjondolo [SouthAfrica], Ota Benga Alliance [DRC] and the campaign to reinstate Fazel Khan who was fired by the university of KwaZulu Natal for being critical of the university.
The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
http://westerncapeantieviction.wordpress.com
The AEC is an umbrella body for some 15 communities in the Western Cape who are fighting evictions through the legal process and direct action and mass mobilisation and education.
This week AEC highlights the negative impact of the 2010 World Cup on the poor particularly in the area of housing via an article in Le Monde Diplomatique by Philippe Rivière [http://mondediplo.com/2008/05/13southafrica]
“South Africa will host the World Cup in 2010 so construction – and corruption – is booming. But almost none of the building or the money can be accessed by the poor who live in shantytowns without proper water, sanitation or electricity.”
Africa Rise
http://unitedafrica.blogspot.com/2008/05/haiti-community-driven-development.html
Africa Rise reports on a grassroots initiative in Haiti to provide water and roads to a local community.
“The water project in Carice is one example of how communities in Haiti are deciding their own priorities. Other communities have chosen different activities, ranging from soil conservation to building a fruit processing center, buying a plough, or building a community school.”
Sokwanele
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/
Sokwanele continue provide the most up to date news of the continuing oppression, violence and election crisis in Zimbabwe. They have created a series of maps on the election results which includes documenting violence by Mugabe’s supporters. Their most recent post shows how the violence has escalated since the elections nearly 4 weeks ago.
“Last night we received unconfirmed reports that eight people were executed in Shamva. Their bodies are in the morgue, but their names are still unknown.
A little after this report came in we heard that ten people were killed in Mazoe, not Shamva. There is some confusion about whether eighteen people have been killed, or whether it is ten. Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that Mazoe is on the road to Shamva.”
Black Looks http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/05/eudy_simelane_another_lesbian_raped_and_murdered.html
Black Looks reports on yet another vicious rape and murder of a South African Lesbian, Eudy Simelane. Unlike other recent cases, five suspects have been arrested and denied bail. They remain in custody until the trial.
“Violence against lesbians and gays is unSouth African. Here, oppression and discrimination have no place, still there are parents who reject or kick children out to the streets; siblings, friends and communities who hurt, beat, rape, torture and even kill lesbians and gays. If they survive all this, they face further victimisation at in the hands of the police and even the courts THIS IS NOT JUSTICE AT ALL. People who inflict harm upon and even kill lesbians and gays (or anyone else) do not belong in South Africa. Leaders and communities that do not oppose violence against gays, lesbians, women, children, rape survivors and HIV+ people do not belong here.”
* Sokari Ekine blogs at www.blacklooks.org
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/
Zimbabwe update
Chinese arms ship heading to Congo Brazza
2008-05-08
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18125
The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) says the Chinese vessel An Yue Jiang carrying weapons for Robert Mugabe's beleaguered regime in Zimbabwe is still on African waters looking for a friendly port more than three weeks after being turned away from South African waters.
Concerns over terror in farms
2008-05-08
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18114
General Agriculture and Plantantion Worker's union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) have expressed concern over the harrassment of farm workers in farms around the country as the post election violence continues to inflate. In a letter sent yesterday, GAPWUZ General Secretary Getrude Hambira said farmer workers continue to bear the brunt as if the damage suffered by the farm workers in the 2 000 land invasions was not enough. "The farm workers are once again the target of political violence following Zanu PF's defeat in the last elections," said Hambira
Lawyers, journalists and trade unionists targeted in crackdown
2008-05-08
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news080508/lawyers080508.htm
One of the country’s top lawyers, Harrison Nkomo, was arrested by police on Wednesday for allegedly insulting Robert Mugabe. Nkomo who was representing arrested freelance journalist Frank Chikowore at the High Court, is alleged to have told Michael Mugabe, a law officer in the Attorney General’s office, to ‘go and tell your father that he must vacate office because he has failed.’
Post-election death toll rises as state sponsored violence escalates
2008-05-08
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news080508/deathtoll080508.htm
The number of post-election deaths has now risen to at least 32 as the ruling party continues to hunt down opposition officials and supporters. It remains extremely difficult to get the full details and the death toll is almost certainly much higher. On Tuesday in the Chiweshe rural area about 150kms north of Harare, our correspondent Simon Muchemwa said 11 villagers were murdered after they resisted unspecified demands by a group of so-called war veterans who brutalised the area on Tuesday.
Resolution from Pre-ACHPR NGO Forum in Swaziland
2008-05-07
We the participants gathered at the Forum on the Participation in the 43rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, held in Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, from 3-5 May 2008:
Mindful of the important progress made by the African Union through its adoption in 2002 of the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa which provides therein that "the holding of democratic elections is an important dimension in conflict prevention, management and resolution";...
RESOLUTION ON ZIMBABWE
We the participants gathered at the Forum on the Participation in the 43rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, held in Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, from 3-5 May 2008:
Mindful of the important progress made by the African Union through its adoption in 2002 of the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa which provides therein that "the holding of democratic elections is an important dimension in conflict prevention, management and resolution";
Encouraged by the adoption of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in January 2007;
Worried by the reluctance of State Parties to ratify this critical document in order to ensure that it urgently comes into force;
Recalling the obligation contained in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights to take into account other regional and international human rights instruments, including the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections;
Disturbed by the recent negative developments in various countries on the continent which have failed to peacefully manage election and transitional processes;
Concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe following elections held on 29 March 2008;
Noting with regret the failure by the government of Zimbabwe to observe the provisions of the Resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in November 2007;
Even more gravely concerned by the escalating political violence and internal displacement and their negative impact in the context of a possible second election in Zimbabwe which, by law, must be held on or before 24 May 2008;
Noting that the recommendations of the 2002 Fact-Finding Mission of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, if they had been implemented by the State, would have averted the current crisis;
WE THE PARTICIPANTS HEREBY CALL UPON THE ACHPR TO RECOMMEND TO THE AU AS FOLLOWS:
In respect of the current situation in Zimbabwe, we the participants call on the ACHPR:
* 1. to constitute as a matter of urgency and in any case not later than the date of the elections run-off, a Fact-Finding Mission including all or a number of the following Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups: Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Expression, Women in Africa and Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Internally Displaced Persons, and Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, to visit Zimbabwe and investigate the escalating political violence, internal displacement and other ongoing human rights violations. This investigation should include an investigation of the reasons for lack of compliance of the State with the recommendations of the Commission's 2002 Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe.
* 2. That, bearing in mind the possibility of a second election on or before 24 May 2008, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights urgently issues a public statement and/or resolution which addresses the following matters of concern:
* a) The impact of the delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in announcing the results of the presidential election on its general acceptance as a true reflection of the will of the people.
* b) That, in the event that the two presidential candidates agree to contest a second election, the following minimum requirements must be adhered to in order to contribute to a credible, free and fair election:
* (i) Immediate cessation of all forms of political violence in Zimbabwe, especially at the local community level, by all state actors and non-state actors acting with the acquiescence of the state.
* (ii) Immediate public statements by the commanders of all security forces and law enforcement agents (military, police, prisons and intelligence services) and relevant ministers denouncing violence, instructing their subordinates to cease all violence and assuring voters that they will be protected regardless of political affiliation.
* (iii) Immediate and unlimited access to all victims of political violence by lawyers, medical practitioners, humanitarian organizations and other groups to provide emergency and ongoing support services and a state assurance of their safety during the entire period of the second election.
* (iv) An immediate and public guarantee by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, of the institutional and individual independence of the judiciary, especially the judges of the Electoral Court so that they can carry out their constitutional functions without fear or favour.
* (v) The immediate entry into Zimbabwe of expanded regional and international observer missions, especially those of SADC, COMESA, PAP, AU and the UN, who will be allowed full access to all areas of the country, and who can ensure, amongst other things, that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), through its officers on the ground at each and every polling station, is able to perform its constitutional functions transparently and without fear or favour.
* (vi) The immediate cessation of arrests of ZEC presiding officers and other election officers, the withdrawal of all charges against those already arrested, and their immediate release from detention.
* (vii) A public undertaking and order to all law enforcement agents by the Minister of Home Affairs and the Commissioner-General of Police that ZEC officers will not be targeted and their safety and security will be guaranteed during the second election and in the aftermath thereof.
* (viii) The immediate cessation of attacks on civil society organizations and individuals working therein, including media practitioners and all other human rights defenders, especially those involved in human rights, electoral and civic education activities, by state actors and non state actors acting with the acquiescence of the state.
* (ix) Assurance that all local observers will be allowed to continue with their observation obligations as stipulated by law and increase their numbers of accredited observers if they feel it is necessary, to ensure state compliance with electoral and international law and procedure at all times, especially, but not limited to, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and its member organizations.
* (x) Strict compliance by the authorities with the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and international election standards, especially as regards the time frame within which the election run off has to be conducted, the posting of results outside polling stations immediately after counting and tabulation and the timely announcement of results.
* (xi) Zero tolerance on any amendments of the law relating to the electoral process through the use of presidential powers or by any other means at any time prior to the second election.
* (xii) Immediate and equal access by both presidential candidates and their representatives to the publicly-owned media (print and electronic) and immediate cessation of inciting hate speech and propaganda, false information, et cetera.
ADDITIONAL GENERAL RESOLUTION BY NGOS ON ZIMBABWE
We the participants having taken note with disappointment that the UN Human Rights Council has just finished a session in Geneva in March 08 and that the grave situation in Zimbabwe did not feature prominently in the Council agenda hereby strongly recommend that the UN Human Rights Council considers holding a special session on Zimbabwe to avert what the UN Human Rights Commissioner has rightly identified as potential disaster unfolding in Zimbabwe.
More...
African Union Monitor
AU Monitor Weekly Roundup
Issue 135, 2008
2008-05-07
http://www.aumonitor.org
While a number of African countries signed interim Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union late last year, African policy makers are coming under increasing pressure from a variety of stakeholders to revoke and annul the interim framework agreements. At the continental level, the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa called “for the nullification of the interim EPAs and for appropriate time to be given for negotiating new trade relations between Africa and Europe that take account of Africa’s genuine needs for development and regional integration”. Similarly, the East African Community (EAC) signed, without parliamentary debate, an interim agreement “ostensibly to avoid disruption of exports to the latter bloc [the EU] following the World Trade Organisation-mandated expiry of the Cotonou pact”. Parliamentarians called this week on Uganda to revoke the partial EPA, said to entrench “unfair treatment” of the five-member EAC which Uganda currently chairs. The ninth ordinary session of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is being held from May 5 - 16, 2008 in South Africa. Included in the programme will be a debate on the EPAs and their impact on integration in Africa as well as a broader debate on the EU-Africa Strategy and the report of the Second EU-Africa Summit.
Meanwhile the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed an agreement to establish markets in China and ECOWAS aimed at enhancing trade and investment activities between respective business sectors as the first step towards promoting economic and trade cooperation envisioned under the ECOWAS-China Economic and Trade Forum scheduled for September, 2008. Also in September, the Ghana High Level Forum on aid effectiveness will be held in Accra. A preparatory meeting was held in Kigali, Rwanda, this week, with the aim of creating a unified African “negotiating position to firmly abide with during the upcoming Ghana aid effectiveness summit”. Participants at the workshop in Kigali called on donors to commit to providing aid according to the national priorities of recipient countries.
Cuba and the ECOWAS Commission have agreed to implement a regional programme on renewable energy that will promote energy efficiency. “The programme involves the donation of one million compact fluorescent lamps to match the purchase of a similar number by ECOWAS under a two-phased pilot project”. Further, Cuba is providing an energy consultant to provide technical support and training for the project. In Southern Africa, "energy trading" initiatives between Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states have been established in order to offer more secure and adequate power supplies throughout the region. “This form of trading in energy supplies allows countries to buy and sell surplus power through an ever-widening network of electrical lines and relay substations”, writes Richard Nyamanhindi. “However, if energy trading is going to continue benefiting the region, there is need for a follow-up on international pledges made to finance regional infrastructure projects under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)”.
The African Development Bank will hold its annual meeting seminars under the theme of “Fostering shared Growth: Urbanization, Inequalities and Poverty in Africa” in Mozambique on May 14-15, 2008. The seminars will explore the opportunity provided by urbanization to foster economic growth and to achieve national development. In addition to the ministerial roundtable and the high-level seminars, a seminar will be held on May 12th to exchange experiences of rural finance reform and financial innovation between China and African countries and discuss the role of finance in rural economic development. Meanwhile, as the “Imagining the Future of East Africa” scenarios report is launched in Kigali, Charles Onyango-Obbo determines that unity of the region will be driven in part by new technologies, underscoring two important developments over the last year: the first being the announcement that Rwanda would no longer require work permits for EAC professionals; and the second being the decision by Kenya’s Safaricom to open its initial public offering of stocks to all east Africans.
As the new leadership is sworn in at the African Union Commission (AUC), the Pan-African Parliament will this week debate the report of the audit of the African Union concluded in January 2008, within which many of the recommendations focus on the AUC and are intended to rationalise, strengthen and improve continental integration. The PAP will also consider the reports of its election observer missions to Kenya and Zimbabwe. As the crisis in Zimbabwe continues, civil society participants at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) issued a resolution calling on the Commission to send a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe to investigate alleged abuses of human and peoples’ rights as well as to issue a statement on the “impact of the delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in announcing the results of the presidential election”. The resolution further elaborates minimum requirements that must be adhered to in the event that the two contesting parties agree to hold a second election so as “to contribute to a credible, free and fair election”. Meanwhile a SADC delegation held crisis talks in Harare this week, while foreign ministers from the African Union (AU) discussed the Zimbabwe situation in Arusha, Tanzania. In addition, the new AU chairman Jean Ping met Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission and South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating between the parties under the auspices of SADC this weekend. Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya has stated that “we are going to ask the African Union to be more proactive when dealing with this issue. The fact that elections can be held in an independent country and it takes more than a month for the results to be announced is sad. That is not really how you want to run a democracy. The rest of Africa is silent and this is not good for democracy. We must speak when an injustice is being done”.
Women & gender
DRC: The Brutal Truth: A filmmaker confronts the Rapists and finds no remorse
2008-05-08
http://www.otabenga.org/node/109
The Greatest Silence is an apt title for the film this article reviews, since it keeps under wraps one of the most common crimes, so common that people just shrug their shoulders, sometimes with the words: it is human nature. The filmmaker, Lisa F. Jackson, has brought out something which horrifies people, but the horror, strangely, does not seem to lead to anything serious enough to change the dominant mindset about rape. Why do the offenders brag about raping one might ask?
Global: Play a part in protecting maternal health and ending fistula
2008-05-08
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1126
Some 250 million years ago, all of the earth’s land mass formed one supercontinent, Pangea. On May 10, organizers of Pangea Day, aim to restore connections between far-flung places through the power of story telling, film, and new technologies--allowing individuals to see the world through the eyes of others. The approximately two dozen films being featured in Pangea Day’s 18:00 GMT broadcast – on television, the internet, and mobile phones – will demonstrate the universality of the human experience.
Liberia: Advancing women’s rights critical to development
2008-05-08
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26596
The top United Nations official in Liberia has called for furthering the rights of women as a crucial element in advancing peace and development in the West African nation that is recovering from a decade-long civil war.
Human rights
Global: Landmark UN treaty on rights of persons with disabilities enters into force
2008-05-09
http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=2&language_id=1&headline_id=7153
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force today, one month after the required twentieth country ratified the landmark treaty which guarantees the rights of some 650 million people worldwide. The Convention – which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called "a powerful tool to eradicate the obstacles faced by persons with disabilities" – was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 Dec