On June 5 and 6, the CCP-AU held its Fifth Citizens’ Continental Conference on the AU Summit ,in which over 60 participants from different CSOs/NGOs had taken part.
During the Conference, two main issues on the agenda were deliberated upon, namely; “Agriculture, Food Security and Financing for Development in Africa” and “Peace, Security and Human Rights in Africa”. At its completion, a communique containing recommendations on the issues discussed has been adopted.
Agriculture, food security and financing for development in Africa
The participating Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) noted the possible adverse impacts of the global financial crisis, the food crisis, the fuel crisis and climate crisis on the effort of African countries to achieve food self-sufficiency through agricultural development. In addition, they recognized that the falling commodity prices, declining export revenue, contracting aid flows and significantly reduced private capital inflows into Africa translate into reduced public as well as private funding for investment in agriculture and related infrastructure. Hence, they made the following recommendations to the Heads of State and Government of Africa on the following issues: “Agricultural Financing”, “Food Security and Land Management”, “Climate Change, Agrofuels and Agriculture”, and “Land and Vulnerable groups”:
1. To domesticate and implement the Maputo Declaration and make public a timetable with specific timeframes showing clear targets and benchmarks towards realising your commitments to spending at least 10 per cent of national budgets on agriculture as well as other CAADP commitments
2. To invest more in rural infrastructure, rural education, public extension and training services for farmers, as well as taking greater steps to secure more equitable access to land and water, paying particular attention to the needs of women small scale farmers and to address the underlying causes of food crisis by addressing distributional issues and protect farmers from unfair pricing practices
3. To develop flexible legal instruments to simplify complex traditional or cultural laws, which recognise, reconcile, and reform gendered rights to use land, forests and their products
4. To protect African markets by enabling free circulation of local products within all the regions of Africa and integrate small farmers in regional value chains
5. To guarantee an adequate support mechanism of social protection programmes for farmers and vulnerable groups through subsidies, input schemes, access to affordable and accessible finance, access to expanded markets, sound infrastructure, value addition, agribusiness product upgrading, and post-harvest storage
6. To seek international compensation for the negative impact caused by climate change to Africa for a fair and effective climate adaptation. A significant portion of such funds should be specifically dedicated to support rural livelihoods, food security, and sustainable development
7. To look for mechanisms to compensate African farmers who have been affected by natural disaster or man-made disasters including price volatility
8. To stop supply-driven agricultural development on the continent that are not targeted at small-scale farmers and in turn promote effective farmer driven sustainable agro-ecological and distributive approaches
9. To stop policies that facilitate access and control over African natural resources and in particular land by multinational corporations and develop comprehensive national plans on bio-fuel production that reflect the interests of African people, as well as guarantee sustainable development and national sovereignty
10. To deliver a strong statement on the need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to reduce under nutrition and ensuring food security ahead of the proposed world summit on food security in November 2009, and the standing Committee on Nutrition High level Meeting on Recapturing Malnutrition Reduction in September 2009
11. To protect the land of local communities and develop a system that will protect the environmental ecosystem against desertification including soil and water management to ensure food security
12. To ensure equity in distribution of land, small holder farming, market access in order to improve the product value chains
13. To set up mechanisms for the harmonisation of national, regional and continental agricultural frameworks as a starting point to establishing strong sectoral linkages with up-stream and down-stream industries
14. To address to the overall constraints to agricultural development at the national and regional level, including economic policy direction, inadequate investment in smallholder agriculture and absence of post-harvest support, markets and intra-regional trade
15. To ensure that agricultural policy is driven by critical stakeholders such as farmer organisations, civil society organisations and other disadvantaged groups
Peace, Security and Human Rights in Africa
Peace and Security
The following recommendations were made:
1. AU needs to strengthen the mechanisms to deal with Military Coup d’ Etats in the continent beyond a simple suspension of Member States
2. The AU and its Peace and Security Council (PSC) should hold a special session to discuss the issue of human rights defenders in the continent
3. AU Member States should to allow Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to carry out their activities freely without any interference from states as guaranteed under the Constitutive Act and the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
4. The AU needs to ensure that Member States open up space and opportunity for CSOs to provide early warning of impending crisis as provided for in the Peace and Security Council Protocol under the CEWARN and the Livingstone Formula
5. Guarantee the right for victims of human rights violations to have access to redress at the highest level as they deem it necessary
6. Victims’ rights to Justice and reparation should be fully respected and guaranteed and those victims’ interests are fully taken into account
General Recommendations
Fight against Impunity
The participating CSOs recalled that African countries have been actively involved in the drafting of the Rome Statute and the establishment of the International Criminal Court, hence, they recommend that:
1. AU Member States respect the independence of the ICC and its judicial processes, as well as that of national courts
2. Conclusions should be made by the AU on a cooperation agreement and an MOU with the ICC should be signed
3. The AU Commission should facilitate the opening of an ICC liaison office in Addis Ababa
4. The AU needs to operationalize the African Human Rights and Justice Court in order to fight impunity in Africa
5. A clear distinction should be made between the principle of universal jurisdiction and the ICC
6. Transitional justice initiatives should be supported by the AU Commission
7. African Heads of State and Government need to ensure the protection of human rights defenders relating to their work in fighting impunity
8. The AU to should urge Member States to cooperate with ICC by enforcing the ICC warrants of arrest
Country specific Recommendations
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
1. The AU needs to ensure accountability for the heinous human rights violations that are still being committed in DRC
2. The AU should encourage the continuation of President Obasanjo’s mediation efforts with the different parties (LRA, FDLR) and call on the PSC to monitor the process
3. AU Member States should contribute to the strengthening of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC)
4. The AU needs to request for the reinforcement of the mandate of MONUC to protect civilians
5. The AU should urge the DRC government to enforce the ICC’s warrant of arrest issued against Bosco Ntanganda
Mauritania
1. The AU needs to strongly condemn any violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, notably the freedom of expression and the right to assemble
2. The AU should urge the military junta to ensure that all political opponents currently arbitrarily dentained be released immediately
3. The AU should urge for free and fair elections in respect of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to which Mauritania is a party
Guinea
1. The AU needs to urge the Guinean military Junta to respect the independence of the judiciary
2. The AU should urge the Junta to respect the agreed raod map towards a civlian government to prepare for free and fair elections
Guinea Bissau
1. AU should condemn the recent killings of presedential candidates in Guinea Bissau
2. The AU needs to be fully involved in the resolution of the crisis in the country
Somalia
1. AU should increase the number of the AMISOM troops and strengthen its logistical capacity as well as its mandate regarding the protection of civilians
2. AU needs to enlarge the humanitarian space in order to assist the numerous internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Somali refugees who are living in a very precarious humanitarian condition
3. The AU should enforce the UN Arms Embargo and to impose targeted sanctions against those who are providing arms to the parties in Somalia
4. The AU condemn the ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in Somalia by all parties in conflict
Sudan
1. AU condemn the recent expulsion of international humanitarian NGOs and the closing down of three independent Sudanese human rights NGOs
2. The AU should ensure that the humanitarian aid gap in Darfur left by the expulsion of the humanitarian aid agencies is filled
3. The AU needs to ensure that the Sudanese government respects local human rights organizations and allows them to operate in Sudan
4. AU condemn the ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in Darfur by all parties in conflict
Zimbabwe
1. The AU should urge the Government of Zimbabwe to guarantee independence of the Judiciary, respect the rule of law, and guarantee the security of human rights defenders
2. The Peace and Security Council should monitor the implementation of the Global Political Agreement
Kenya
1. The AU needs to closely follow up on the implementation of the agreement that lead to the government of national unity
2. The AU closely monitor developments in preparation of the 2012 elections
3. The AU supports transitional justice mechanisms in Kenya as well as the establishment of the special tribunal with the mandate to prosecute crimes committed during the post-election violence
