Peacebuilding and Democracy in Africa

There's no democracy without peace For the past two decades, Africa has worked hard to put its lost eras behind and make noteworthy strides on the social, political and economic fronts. This has been noticeable through the rapid democratic transitions leading to more responsive and accountable governments. Armed conflicts are decreasing frequently and economic growth as well as stability are returning. If you look back to the democratic conditions the African continent was in, we have made great progress. African countries that have had ongoing conflicts are the ones with leaders who don’t want to hand over power and who have failed to create a link between the state and the citizens they are supposed to serve. These conflicts originate from groups in the society who strongly feel like their socioeconomic and political needs are not met hence instability. It is no surprise that the more democratic a country is, the more peaceful it is. You can’t have one without the other. Therefore, when seeking solutions to the different issues Africa is currently dealing with, leaders need to not be power hungry and focusing on personal gain, but rather, join forces, combine their skills and knowledge in order to build a democratic and economically stable continent.  Despite few conflicts, African peace has made significant progress the past few years. An example is Sierra Leone, which, on 7th March 2018, underwent through free and transparent presidential elections. There’s also the example of Liberia. After years of conflict, the country found peace and elected its first female president, also a first in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. However, despite the advances in peace building, there remains countries struggling with continued stability such Somalia, Sudan, and DRC. Peace and good governance are pre-requisites for social and economic development therefore conflict resolution and management has been a priority on the continent. Africa has seen the number of conflicts decline in the past couple of years and is now working on post conflict reconstruction. Even so, societies remain fragile and could easily return to violence as new threats emerged. These include drug trafficking, extremism, and fundamentalism to name a few. Nevertheless, the continent continues to make progress. The number of countries undergoing free and fair elections keeps increasing. Africa is working hard to build the foundations for democracy as well as stable and sustainable development. Our hope is that, even though countries are building up their capacity individually, they can also join forces, work together and learn from each other’s experiences in order to promote peace and democracy on the continent. We encourage all Africans to do all they can so that Africa doesn’t keep falling behind. For Africa to reach a level of democracy and peace whereby the continent can claim a seat the table of stable and developed nations, various actors at national, regional and international levels have work together to resolve conflicts and other various social issues faced by the continent.

Important Days that marked September The month of September saw the celebration of the International Day of Democracy under the theme “Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a changing world”. It was a time for Africa to evaluate its current democratic state and find democratization processes that are implemented in ways that positively impact the lives of ordinary people who are not in power, especially the youth. On this day, we also looked back at the improvements made so far in promoting and upholding the principles of Democracy, but keeping in mind that there’s still work to be done. It was an opportunity to envision ways to invigorate democracy and find solutions to the systemic challenges it faces which include economic and political inequalities, limited and at times no involvement of the youth and other marginalized groups into the political system, which can ultimately make democracies more inclusive and more innovative. In Africa, with a history of discontent, there is a wave of change taking place. Elections marked as free and fair are taking place in different regions and leaders seem more inclined to relinquish power or have been forced to accept the ultimate check on their authority by other stakeholders. Africa is witnessing processes of democratic consolidation and even though they could be vulnerable to reversal, there are good reasons to believe that in the long-run, democratization will improve the lives of African citizens. Our remaining responsibilities now, is to make sure that components of democratic values such as term-limits and elections are working as intended and that democratic procedures are becoming ingrained. Citizen who are informed and involved and hard work from leaders and government institutions are what we need at the moment in order to have effective democratic governance that enhances the quality of life in Africa. During September, we also celebrated the International Day of Peace under the global theme “The Right to Peace: The universal declaration of Human Rights at 70” as well as the African Union’s theme. “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. Considered to be one of the UN’s greatest accomplishments, the universal declaration of Human Rights was adopted in December of 1948 in recognition of the fact that all human beings have fundamental rights and freedoms. Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ principle is acknowledging that the protection of human rights is the foundation of peace in the world. It's been 70 years since the declaration was drafted but in some countries in Africa it hasn’t been implemented and we have noticed this through insecurity and conflicts that are ongoing in countries such as Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Among other factors, corruption has made peacebuilding a challenge by undermining regional, national and social order as well as the rule of law. It is hindering peace and development especially in youth. Corruption hinders their employment opportunities and also limits their access to basic needs and services. African nations need to work towards increasing understanding of the link between human rights, corruption and sustainable peace and development in Africa and the role of the youth in understanding those links and being mindful of their negative socio-political and economic impact. The implementation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights needs to be reinforced so as to strengthen knowledge strategies and opportunities that promote peace and fight corruption. We need to cultivate youth responsibility in taking up action that helps the achievement of peace and human rights while fighting corruption.

Why Critical thinking is important for the democratic and peaceful society  by Omar Ndizeye   According to Dewey “ A society which makes provision for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its institutions through interaction of the different forms of associated life is in so far democratic. Such a society must have a type of education which gives individuals a personal interest in social relationships and control, and the habits of mind which secure social changes without introducing disorder” Last month, on September 21 st , the world at large observed International Day of Peace which is celebrated on the same day same month since 1981. It is important to reflect Dewey´s saying at macro and micro level regarding society conceptualization for achieving sustainable inclusive and peaceful societies. The celebration of international Day of Peace (Peace Day) coincided with the 70 th Anniversary of Universal declaration of Human rights and for this occasion the UN chose the theme to be “The Right to Peace: The universal declaration of Human Rights at 70”. In Rwanda, the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in collaboration with Never Again Rwanda (NAR) together with their Partners had adopted the theme “Critical thinking for Peace”. If one would agree with Dewey, including critical thinking as the key element of peace education in schools means shaping social relationships in our society and ensuring that members of our society are responsible of their thinking but at the same time are basing their decision on careful analysis of facts and possible consequences instead of basing their thinking and decision-making processes on emotional or prejudicial thoughts. On this day, during which the whole world reflected on “Peace”, it is important to analyse our context when we talk about democratic and peaceful culture in African societies where generally the set of thinking is centered to Ubuntu Philosophy which could be summarized in a Zulu say “Umuntu Ubuntu Ngabantu” to mean that a person is a person through/because of (other). Although the saying has been left out by those who analyse leadership and democracy in Africa, it seems that this philosophy is driving the choices and decision-making processes in many of our societies. Many conflicts on our continent have been a result of ethnic based divisionism and regionalism. If we are to build peaceful societies the key question is how do we empower members of societies to think rationally when they choose their leaders? How do we increase their capacities to resist to stereotypes and any sorts of manipulations? Understandably introducing critical thinking in both formal and informal education is very important. If we are to empower the future of our society, we have to start from the young people by empowering them to embrace the culture of critical thinking and democracy without any discriminative thought therefore ensuring that both leaders and citizens inherit the values of tolerance, mutual trust and empathy toward each other. In the event organized at Kigali Serena Hotel by Never Again Rwanda in collaboration with National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, speakers talked about the role of critical thinking in shaping the future of our society. The minister of Youth in her opening remarks insisted on the importance of critical thinking as a way to enable young people to control their words and their reactions as well as avoiding conflicts in our society. This message was not only a call for young people to be peaceful but again to think critically and become responsible of their actions. As Dr. Joseph Nkurunziza, co-founder and executive director of Never Again Rwanda said in his speech as representative of peace Actors “ 24 years ago youth were manipulated into committing crimes against humanity (In Rwanda) however today youth have various platforms that enable them to analyze critically, furthermore parents have a critical role to play in terms of educating and mentoring their children to think critically and also support them to prevent transmission of trans-generational trauma.” In order to achieve this, it is important to remember Dewey’s assumption of achieving social changes without introducing disorders. This is about creating platforms where young members of the society interact but again control their minds. It is about engaging and empowering young in a democratic culture of choosing their leaders without basing their choices on emotions, stereotypes or any other personal interests but basing their decisions on actions and facts. It about empowering young people to have respect of their fellow male and female countrymen, in young people who are responsible, tolerant and peaceful in whatever they are doing. As Bishop Rucyahana said in his opening remarks of 2018 Peace day celebration “ Youth are the strength of our country and if they are not guided they can easily be manipulated into committing crimes and in order for the word Never Again to become a reality youth should be at the forefront in terms of promoting peace”  In the end, democracy and leadership is about people, culture, empowering our societies and increasing tolerance. All of that is crucial if we are to live in this world where globalization has made us interlinked and interconnected.

What's happening across the continent

Burundi Burundi, a country that has been struggling to emerge from a civil war that started 12 years ago, has recently suspended activities of the most non-governmental organizations claiming that they did not comply with a new law imposing tighter controls on their operations. Burundian authorities said that more of those NGOs were not following regulations.  These new regulations impose ethnic quotas, administration fees and obliges these organizations to keep their accounts in foreign currency. Since the European Union sanctioned Burundi, the country has been experiencing foreign currency shortages.

Cameroon During the month September, brutal attacks on civilians and security forces in anglophone regions of Cameroon with a possibility of getting worse as the presidential elections get close. Human rights groups are calling for the government to act accordingly and as soon as possible, to restore peace because the ongoing violence, if not stopped will fuel further incidents and crimes. So far, tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring countries and hundreds of others are internally displaced. As the election day nears, more people are leaving towns and villages in anglophone regions out of fear of intensified attacks. The country has also been suffering economically as a result of the conflict in the anglophone regions. The Cameroonian business lobby has said $500m has been lost as a result of the crisis, along with 6,500 jobs in the formal sector. As for president Paul Biya, who has been in power for the past 36 years, it is said, that despite the fact that he’s about to contest a national election, he has been spending most of his time in Switzerland.

Libya In Libya, more than 400 prisoners escaped the Ain Zara prison in south-east Tripoli, who are reportedly, supporters of late Muammar Gaddafi and had been found guilty of killings during the uprising against his government in 2011. Another violent incident occurred when militias from a city to the south of Tripoli attacked southern areas which lead to clashes between them and the local militias that support the internationally recognized government. This has led to the government declaring a state of emergency. Human Rights Watch declared that at least 18 people have died, among them four children.  Ghassan Salame, UN envoy to Libya, said that it will be difficult to hold elections as hoped on December 10, due to violence and long overdue legislation. He added that there’s still a lot to do so it may not be possible to respect said date.

DRC  Efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak are still ongoing despite militia attacks that have occurred. The World Health Organization said that these attacks are making difficult to control the disease from spreading any further. This outbreak has occurred in the one of the most violent parts of DRC, a base for dozens of armed groups that contest government authority and exploit mineral resources in the region. These attacks are being blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has a history of targeting civilians and is considered one of the most active and violent of the armed groups operating in the region.

Somalia Somalia is scheduled to get grants from the World Bank since the latter cut ties with the country in 1991 at the beginning of a long civil war. The federal government will be granted $80 million. This is a sign that there have been improvements, however slow, by Somalia’s government in managing the economy and its institutions. The funds will go towards capacity building of the country’s financial institutions, as well as in education and energy projects to build the country back after years of chaos and corruption. This is does not change the fact that the country still has a long way to go in the fight against corruption.

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