Peace and security should focus on human security

During the Pan African Parliament (PAP) deliberations, which concluded this week, Fatima Hajale, a South African parliamentarian, argued that PAP’s peace and security policies should focus on human rather than state security. During PAP’s consideration of the report of the electoral observer mission to Zimbabwe, the leader of the mission, Swaziland parliamentarian Marwick Khumalo, stated that power-sharing between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai may be the only solution to curb human rights violations in the country. As Zimbabwe prepares for a runoff election on June 27th, Human Rights Watch has echoed the call of African civil society organisations for the African Union (AU) to send election observers and human rights monitors to promote free and fair voting during the election and to publicly call for an immediate end to all forms of violence.

In further peace and security news, the AU praised, this week, the progress made in Comoros since the successful military intervention of the Union army with the support of the AU on the island of Anjouan to oust Colonel Bacar. The AU’s longer term peacekeeping aspirations will depend largely on regional contributions toward the African Standby Forces, which are due to be active by 2010. However, in the southern African region (SADC), the contribution will depend largely on South Africa, yet “the clash between the over-deployment of SANDF [South African National Defence Force] and the reality of its funding and capabilities means that troops committed to the SADC brigade might not be available”.

In regional news, Erastus Mwencha, secretary general of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), announced this week that COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and SADC would meet later this year to attempt to harmonize trade policies so that “Africa can compete more effectively on world markets”. In West Africa, representatives of international organizations involved in agricultural development and water resource management have been invited to a one-day extraordinary meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ministers of trade, agriculture and finance to discuss and propose solutions to mitigate the effects of soaring food costs.

Further, in East Africa, the heads of electoral commissions met to discuss the harmonization of electoral processes throughout the region. The meeting recommended the formation of a forum of electoral commissions to “initiate development of policies, strategies and programmes that promote the culture of democracy and adherence to the rule of law in East Africa; to harmonize the laws, policies and strategies of National Electoral Commissions with a view to sharing information, expertise and election materials; and to share and harmonize their electoral calendars and road maps”. The heads of electoral commissions further recommended that a study be commissioned on the cost of conducting elections, with a view to reducing costs, and the initiation and implementation of a regional capacity building project for strengthening political and governance institutions in the region. In addition, East African ministers recently concluded a visit to China “to learn from the Chinese experience in infrastructure development and to garner support and partnership in developing the region’s infrastructures”. The outcomes of the visit will feed into the EAC Infrastructure Development Plan. While, at present, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is holding its sixth sitting in Nairobi this week. The Assembly will debate and approve the budget estimates and the appropriation bill 2007. A seminar for legislators on “aid effectiveness, political parties and media” organized by the Association of Western European Parliamentarians for Africa will follow the EALA sitting on May 24.

Meanwhile, as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) will conclude its session in Swaziland on May 22, the Forum on NGO participation has issued its report and resolutions. The Forum highlighted the state of human rights and democracy in Africa as well as the rights of specific groups. During the Forum, strategies to strengthen collaboration between the mandates of the United Nations and ACHPR were developed. Similarly, strategies for the ratification and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa were shared. Thematic special interest groups sessions were also held relating to refugees and internally displaced persons; minorities and indigenous peoples’; human rights defenders; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex peoples’; impunity for violence against women and girls; among many others. An overarching theme during the Forum was the need for civil society to work together, and with the ACHPR, between sessions of the Commission to make activities more effective.

With civil society preparing for the Egypt summit of the AU, the 15% Now campaign has launched a countdown aimed at mobilising national and continental support to urge African leaders to restate their commitment to and urgently implement the Abuja 2001 pledge to allocate 15% of national budgets to health. Civil society organisations will also participate in a parallel forum on aid effectiveness during the Accra high-level summit in September. Pre-registration for the forum is required before June 15.