AU Monitor: Issue 133, 2008
Hakima Abbas
hakima at fahamu.org
Thu Apr 17 00:09:00 BST 2008
AU Monitor: Issue 133, 2008
Headlines – Weekly Roundup – Read More
Headlines
1. Call for Papers: African Perspectives on Aid in Africa
2. Kenya’s Peer Review Missing in Action
3. SADC Disappoints Civil Society
4. Human Rights Court Struggles to Make Impact
5. Delhi Declaration
6. Europe Africa Business Summit
7. Global Trade Deal
8. Paris Declaration Undermines Policy Space
9. Freedom of Movement in ECOWAS
10. Gender Policy Review
11. SADC Summit on Zimbabwe
Weekly Roundup
The AU Monitor and the African Forum and Network on Debt and
Development (AFRODAD) invite research papers for the forthcoming
publication “African Perspectives on Aid in Africa” to be published
in September 2008. While Africa is the biggest recipient of aid
globally, the terms, conditions and principles upon which aid is
delivered are rarely defined by the people of Africa for whom, at
least rhetorically, this aid is supposed to create positive change.
Indeed, recent analysis from Third World Network, highlights the
“effect of circumscribing national sovereignty and country autonomy
over development policies” “contrary to the stated principles of
country ownership and mutual accountability” of the Paris Declaration
on Aid Effectiveness. In light of the September 2008 high-level
meetings on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, Fahamu and AFRODAD
seek to publish a comprehensive volume on Aid in Africa from the
diverse perspectives of African civil society, social commentators,
policy makers, academics and citizens. The “African Perspectives on
Aid in Africa” book will uniquely seek to explore the very premise
and foundation upon which the concept of aid is based, the history
and context of aid, how the emergence of new global powers such as
Venezuela and China are redefining aid, related power dynamics and
its relation to development, all from the perspectives of Africa. The
deadline for submission is May 30, 2008. Please contact us via email
at charles at afrodad.co.zw and hakima at fahamu.org with a one page
abstract for your paper and for further information by April 25th, 2008.
In this week’s AU Monitor, we bring you news from the extraordinary
summit of heads of state of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to discuss the “deepening tensions in neighbouring
Zimbabwe”. The summit, which was attended by eight SADC heads of
state, concluded that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should
announce the results as guided by the country’s laws and expressed
support for the continued mediation of President Thabo Mbeki of South
Africa. However, both civil society and the opposition party have
expressed disappointment at the outcome claiming that the summit
almost endorsed the ZEC’s delay in announcing the election results,
failed to denounce rising violence, the closure of the ZEC command
centre and the ban on rallies or to pronounce on the failure of
President Mugabe to attend the summit.
As Zimbabwe’s electoral crisis continues, Bronwen Manby analyses the
Kenyan post-election crisis in light of the African Peer Review
Mechanism (APRM) report of 2006, noting that “had the problems the
APRM report then highlighted been tackled, it is possible that the
violence and distress of the 2008 crisis could have been avoided”.
Indeed, the APRM eminent persons noted “the role of prominent members
of the ruling party and high ranking government officials in fuelling
the so-called ethnic clashes” with impunity and called for leadership
which “recognises the need for dramatic change in a society” that
“entails not simply directing change but managing it in a way that
ensures broad ownership, legitimacy and self-directed sustenance and
replication of change in all associated systems.” Highlighting areas
of weakness of the APRM report and process that contribute to the
lack of implementation of its decisions, the author notes that the
report “does not identify the issues relating to the independence of
the Electoral Commission of Kenya” but focuses rather on “the simple
fact of holding elections”. Further, she stresses “the gap between
the country review report and the programme of action”, the lack of
monitoring on reporting related to implementation of the
recommendations and the lack of sanctions for failure to act,
concluding that without “integration into other national planning
systems, debates and oversight mechanisms, the APRM process seems
doomed to become little more than a cosmetic exercise without effect
in the real world of policy and decision making”.
The Delhi Declaration, adopted at the end of the India-Africa summit,
stresses the need for strengthened ties not only at the bilateral
level but through India’s strengthened “partnership with the African
Union and the Regional Economic Communities of Africa”. Notably, the
declaration also urges “the international community to give real and
immediate effect to commitments on climate change, especially in the
areas of technology transfer, financing and capacity building. There
is also need for a closer look at the Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) regime to ensure cost-effective transfer of appropriate and
advanced clean technologies to developing countries.” The
Declaration also stresses the importance of the development dimension
of the Doha Round of trade negotiations at the World Trade
Organisation and welcomes “the strengthened engagement, solidarity
and cooperation among developing countries in that process”, while
Peter Draper claims that “the Doha Round is likely to result in a
host of opt-outs for the majority of African states, meaning they
will benefit from free trade by being able to export goods more
easily to developed countries, but will be protected to a degree from
having to reciprocate by opening their markets in a way which would
damage them”. The next Africa-India Summit will be held in 2011 in
Africa. Meanwhile, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) council, will host the Europe Africa Business Summit on April
28-30, in Hamburg, Germany, “aimed at providing a critical assessment
of the current state and future of the European African economic
relationships.”
Also this week, representatives of African civil society
organisations, regional economic communities, gender experts and
policy makers convened to finalize the draft African Union Gender
Policy aimed at accelerating “the execution of mandates of the AUC
and its organs to promote the social, economic, political and
cultural development for continental cooperation and integration”.
The final draft of the policy will be submitted to another experts
group meeting prior to the joint Economic Commission on Africa/AU
Ministers of Gender Conference scheduled for June and will be
submitted for adoption by heads of state and government during the
June-July AU Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Finally, a stakeholder consultation was held last week by the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission to
improve intra-Community movement of citizens and reduce the
harassment at the borders. Participants called for “the
operationalisation and reinforcement of the pilot committees set up
in eight Member States and meant to improve the circulation of
citizens and stem their harassment at the borders”. Meanwhile in East
Africa, civil society organisations concluded that “the African Court
of Justice has failed to make an impact on human rights abuses on the
continent, two years after its inception” at the close of a
roundtable held in Arusha, Tanzania.
Read More
Call for Papers: African Perspectives on Aid in Africa
Fahamu’s AU Monitor initiative and the African Forum and Network on
Debt and Development (AFRODAD) invite research papers for the
forthcoming publication “African Perspectives on Aid” to be published
in September 2008.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1201/
Kenya’s Peer Review Missing in Action
Bronwen Manby (the EastAfrican) -- The latest report on Kenya by the
African Peer Review Mechanism says there is a need for a healing of
the nation.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1200/
SADC Disappoints Civil Society
(IRIN) - Zimbabwe's civil society and the opposition party, Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), have expressed disappointment over the
outcome of the much vaunted crisis summit held by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC).
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1199/
Human Rights Court Struggles to Make Impact
Christine Afandi (The EastAfrican) -- The African Court of Justice
has failed to make an impact on human rights abuses on the continent,
two years after its inception.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1198/
Delhi Declaration
We, the Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegation of
Africa, representing the Continent, the African Union and its
Institutions along with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India,
have met today in New Delhi, India, to consolidate the process of
deliberations and discussions with a view to redefining and re-
invigorating the decades-old partnership and historical and
civilizational links between the African continent and India.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1197/
Europe Africa Business Summit
(Leadership) -- New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) council, has concluded all arrangement to host Europe Africa
Business Summit between 28th and 30th April 2008 in Hamburg- Germany
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1196/
Global Trade Deal
Peter Draper (allAfrica.com) -- Trade Ministers are set to gather in
Geneva on May 19 to bed down the Doha Round. This comes in the wake
of a seemingly gathering consensus on draft agreements on agriculture
and industrial goods, and on associated trade-offs.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1195/
Paris Declaration Undermines Policy Space
Celine Tan (TWN) -- The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness may
have the effect of circumscribing national sovereignty and country
autonomy over development policies contrary to its stated principles
of country ownership and mutual accountability, research has shown.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1194/
Freedom of Movement in ECOWAS
Press Release -- Participants at a stakeholder meeting to address the
constraints to intra-Community movement of ECOWAS citizens have
called for the operationalisation and reinforcement of the pilot
committees set up in eight Member States and meant to improve the
circulation of citizens and stem their harassment at the borders.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1193/
Gender Policy Review
(PANA) - Approaching key issues in a systematic and well-organised,
coordinated and harmonised fashion remains a key challenge to the
African continent, a senior official of the African Union Commission
(AUC) said here Wednesday.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1192/
SADC Summit on Zimbabwe
(PANA) - Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa has summoned heads of
state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for an
extraordinary summit in Lusaka following what he said were deepening
tensions in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1191/
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Hakima Abbas
Policy Analyst, AU-Monitor
Fahamu - Networks for Social Justice
Email: hakima at fahamu.org
Skype: hakima_abbas
www.aumonitor.org
www.fahamu.org
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