Submission from Democratic Institutions
for Poverty Reduction in Africa
HUMAN RIGHTS (IN AFRICA) AND ITS IMPACT ON THE UK
SUMMARY
The BNP and human rights abuse in Africa
According to Article 25 of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), "(1) Everyone
has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health
and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the
right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control, and (ii) motherhood and childhood are entitled
to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in
or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
http://www.udhr.org/UDHR/default.htm
As you read these lines, hundreds of thousands of
men, women and especially children, are perishing in Darfur, Eastern
Congo, northern Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Zimbabwe due to
the lack of these basic human rights.
Thanks to globalisation and its impact on communication
and transportation systems, the consequence of human rights in
Africa is increasingly becoming a common subject of debate in
British homes, streets, press and parliament.
On 4 June 2009, the BNP took the debate to a new
height and gained two seats in the European Parliament. Instead
of demonising the BNP, the government and politicians have to
do much more to tackle human rights abuse in Africa if we are
to defeat the BNP.
INTRODUCTION
— The Democratic Institutions for Poverty
Reduction in Africa (DIPRA) is a novel UK based development organisation,
which campaigns for the development of independent state institution
as the primary vehicle for the delivery of real democracy, lasting
peace and sustainable development. — Although the UK
and other donor countries have given Africa over £400 billion
in development aid since independence, the continent has become
poorer, hungrier and angrier as the vicious cycle of self-destruct
civil wars, famine, diseases and refugee exodus testify. Therefore,
the lack of development funds cannot be the main cause of poverty
in Africa.
— Throughout Africa, save for the Republic
of South Africa and Ghana, institutions of state, including the
Constitution, the judiciary, the army, police, state security,
the civil service and the electoral Commission, are designed and
managed from the State House to serve the short-term interest
of the big man in power.
— The 2005 amendment of Uganda's 10
year-old constitution, and death in office of Gabon's president
Omar Bongo (9 June 2009); Guinea's president Lansana Conte (23
December 2005), Togo's President Gnassingbe Eyadema (5 February
2006), the Republic of Congo (Zaire) president Mobuto (7 September
1997) and the Ivory Cost president Felix Houphouet-Boigny (7 December
1993), are graphic testimonies to weak institutions of state.
— The unspeakable violence which followed
the recent elections in Zimbabwe (March 2008), Kenya (December
2007), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) August 2006), Uganda
(February 2006) and Ethiopia (2005), have convinced us that the
British government should put less emphasis on futile exercise
of exporting western liberal democracy to Africa. Instead, they
should do more to support the development of independent institutions
of state.
— It is only the independent institutions
of state that would manage and direct meagre local and foreign
resources to poverty reduction efforts, plan for and implement
the development of necessary social and economic infrastructure,
administer the rule of law without fear or favour, protect the
environment, fight corruption, and defend fundamental human rights.
AFRICA AND
THE UN UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
(UDHR)
— Africa may be the cradle of our human
race, but the UDHR, which became effective in 1949, has remained
an alien concept. — According to the preamble of the
UDHR, "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family
is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world;
and whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve,
in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal
respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
now, therefore the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration
of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples
and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ
of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall
strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these
rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective recognition
and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves
and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
SPECIFIC ARTICLES
AND AFRICA
With Zimbabwe, Darfur, Somalia, northern Uganda,
Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Chad and eastern Congo
in mind, consider the relevance of these articles to Africa:
— Article 3. Everyone has the
right to life, liberty and security of person;
— Article 4. No one shall be held
in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms;
— Article 5. No one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment;
— Article 6. Everyone has the
right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law;
— Article 7. All are equal before
the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection
of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination
in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to
such discrimination;
— Article 8. Everyone has the
right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals
for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution
or by law;
— Article 9. No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile;
— Article 10. Everyone is entitled
in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent
and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and
obligations and of any criminal charge against him;
— Article 11. (1) Everyone charged
with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has
had all the guarantees necessary for his defence;
— Article 18. Everyone has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private,
to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance;
— Article 19. Everyone has the
right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers;
— Article 20. (1) Everyone has
the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
— Article 21. (1) Everyone has
the right to take part in the government of his country, directly
or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the
right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The
will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;
this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections
which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held
by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures;
— Article 25. (1) Everyone has
the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the
right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled
to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in
or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection; and
— Article 26. (1) Everyone has
the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall
be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible
to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed
to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening
of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall
promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of
the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have
a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given
to their children.
http://www.udhr.org/UDHR/default.htm
SELECTIVE CONDEMNATION
OF HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSE
IN AFRICA
Listening to the Prime Minister Mr Gordon Brown,
one could be forgiven for thinking that, save for Zimbabwe under
Robert Mugabe, the rest of Africa was a Garden of Eden where total
peace prevailed, the streets were paved with gold, and milk and
honey was oozing from the skies.
From the House of Commons to the European Union,
the G8 and the United Nations, since he took office, Zimbabwe
has dominated the Prime Minister's statements.
The former Minister for Africa disagrees
In his contribution to the parliamentary debate
on Africa, held on 19 July 2007, the Labour Member of Parliament
for Sunderland said, "I spent two happy years as Africa Minister
at the Foreign Office even though there were many enormous African
issues to deal with—many of them bigger than Zimbabwe in
terms of scale of catastrophe and human suffering, such as events
in the Congo region, Angola, Sudan and Liberia. However, Zimbabwe
occupied more of my time than any other issue." (19 July
2007 : Column 507)
Uganda, the elephants in Whitehall
Three months before the February 2006 election, president
Museveni of Uganda arrested his most credible opponent Dr Kizza
Besigye, and charged with rape, terrorism and treason, punishable
by death.
Although he was elected as a presidential candidate
while in prison, and although he spent 27 of 50 campaign days
either in court or reporting to the police, Dr Besigye won an
impressive 37% vote share while president Museveni won 57%.
Damning reports on the elections
In their report, the Commonwealth Elections
Observer Group declared "So far as the electoral process
as a whole is concerned, it is clear that the environment in which
the elections were held had several negative features which meant
that the candidates were not competing on a level playing field:
the failure to ensure a clear distinction between the ruling party
and the State; the use of public resources to provide an advantage
to one particular political party; the lack of balance in media
coverage (especially on the part of the State-owned media); the
harassment of the main opposition Presidential candidate; the
creation of a climate of apprehension amongst the public and opposition
party supporters, as a result of the use of the security forces;
and the use of financial and material inducements"
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/190591/191180/176283/177357/149333/cogugandadepstate.htm
For their part, the European Union Election
observer Mission declared "Despite the adoption of a multi-party
system, the structures of the Movement system and its officially
sanctioned organs remained intact, active and funded by the state
throughout the election period, with the effect that the President
and his party enjoyed substantial advantages over their opponents,
which went further than the usual advantages of incumbency and
the existing legal presidential privileges. Further, the President
and his party the National Resistance Movement (NRM) utilised
state resources in support of their campaign, including use of
government cars, personnel and advertising, and received overwhelming
and positive coverage on state television and radio. In addition,
in a judgment on a petition brought by Dr. Besigye challenging
the result of the presidential election, and seeking to nullify
the election, the Supreme Court noted a number of serious irregularities
in the process. In a very close decision of four votes to three,
it ruled that, while not affecting the results of the presidential
election in a substantial manner, there was non-compliance with
electoral laws through the disenfranchisement of voters and in
counting and tallying of results and that the principle of free
and fair elections was compromised by bribery and intimidation
or violence in some areas of the country, and the principles of
equal suffrage, transparency of the vote, and secrecy of the ballot
were undermined by multiple voting, and ballet box stuffing in
some areas. The Supreme Court also expressed concern about the
continued involvement of the security forces in the conduct of
elections and the apparent partisan and partial conduct of some
election officials."
UGANDA, A
CONVICTED REGIME
On December 19th 2005, the International Court
of Justice ordered Uganda to pay $6-10 billion in compensation
for war crimes, crimes against humanity and for the illegal exploitation of
the natural resources of the DRC. The size of the compensation,
$6-10 billion, reflects the scale of the damages caused by
Uganda to the DRC. See: Armed Activities on the Territory of the
Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda)
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/116/10521.pdf
The Commonwealth meeting in Uganda
Despite these documented abuses by Uganda of
basic human rights within and across its borders, the Prime Minister,
Mr Brown and Foreign Secretary, Mr David Miliband still led Her
Majesty the Queen the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) held in Uganda and chaired by President Museveni.
"Colonialism" as deterrence against
the UK
Just as the United Kingdom uses its Trident nuclear
weapons system as a political weapon to "deter" any
potential aggressors, so are the Africans using "colonialism"
as an effective deterrence against Britain. The UK's focus on
Robert Mugabe has united the African Union and given them a perfect
opportunity to use the weapon.
In an interview recorded during the board meeting
of the African development bank, held in Shanghai in May 2007,
President Museveni of Uganda said:
"The Western ruling groups are conceited,
full of themselves, ignorant of our conditions, and they make
other people's business their business. Whereas the Chinese just
deal with you, you represent your country, they represent their
own interests, and you do business."
For his part, the former president of Botswana,
Festus Magoe said:
"I find that the Chinese treat us as equals.
The West treats us as former subjects. I prefer the attitude of
the Chinese to that of the West.
http://www.danwei.org/china_and_africa/china_and_africa_the_hypocrisy.php
THE UK PAYING
THE PRICE
FOR FAILURE
IN AFRICA
As China gives cheap loans to Africa and extracts
even cheaper raw materials without asking questions about human
rights, hundreds of thousands of African victims of human rights
abuse will not head to China, but to the UK; thus adding more
pressure on social services and race relations.
Desperate dreams
In BBC Radio 4 documentary, Desperate Dreams
aired on 8 and 13 January 2007, it was stated that "as Europe
wrestles with an influx of migrants from some of the poorest countries
in the world, Every year, thousands of young people from sub-Saharan
Africa set off across the desert dreaming of a better life in
Europe. Jenny Cuffe travels to Africa to examine the problem at
its roots and follows the personal journeys of some of those who
risk all in pursuit of a dream".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2008/01/080123_desperte_dreams_part_three.shtml
On 31 March 2009, the BBC reported that "More
than 200 African migrants are feared dead after their boat sank
off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) says. The boat carrying around 250 people is reported to
have capsized 50km (30 miles) north of the Libyan coast in stormy
seas and high winds. A second boat with around 350 migrants was
rescued, an official from the IOM told the Associated Press news
agency."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7973322.stm
CONCLUSION
For its own self interest, the United Kingdom
should recognise these facts in their formulation of Africa policy,
that:
— It took over 300 years for the UK
to develop the liberal democracy which we now enjoy;
— It would be unrealistic to expect Africa
which is barely 50 years old to suddenly adopt and practice a
perfect western liberal democracy;
— Mr Omar Bongo of Gabon is only the
latest but not the last African president to die in office. Other
candidates who will almost certainly die in office include Egypt's
Honsi Mubarak; Libya's Colonel Quadaffi; Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe;
Uganda's Yoweri Museveni; Rwanda's Paul Kagame; the Democratic
Republic of Congo's Joseph Kabila; Kenya's Mawi Kibaki or Raila
Oginga; Eritrea's Isaias Afeworki; the Sudan's Omar Bashir; the
Gambia's Yahya Jammeh and Congo Brazzaville's Denis Sassou-Nguesso;
— The UK should post at the centre
of its Africa policy, the development of independent state institutions;
— It is only independent institutions
of state that would manage and direct meagre local and foreign
resources to poverty reduction efforts, plan for and implement
the development of necessary social and economic infrastructure,
administer the rule of law without fear or favour, protect the
environment, fight corruption, and defend fundamental human rights;
— No legal or physical barrier would
stop African asylum seekers from reaching the UK as long as poverty
and human rights abuse prevail in the continent; and
— The more population and man-made
poverty increases in Africa, the more asylum seekers will break
through any barrier; and the more the BNP will grow, in direct
proportion.
28 June 2009
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