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POLITICS-AFRICA: Mixed Reviews From Civil Society

Aya Batrawy

CAIRO, Jul 3 2008 (IPS) - Civil society organisations (CSOs) have mixed feelings about the outcomes of the latest African Union Summit, which concluded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh earlier this week. The summit meeting of African heads of state and officials was largely dominated by debate – or lack thereof – over the crisis in Zimbabwe and the participation of the controversial president, Robert Mugabe.

But some civil society groups felt that the AU Summit lacked the critical analysis and genuine commitment to action needed to bring forth positive interventions in conflicts such as that in Zimbabwe or on other critical issues in Africa.

Over 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) met in Sharm El Sheikh ahead of the Summit itself to prepare for the AU's official meetings, but according to Ziad Abdel Tawab of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, their participation was limited by an overly-complicated system for accreditation.

"We see the AU summit as a forum for talk, not a forum for change, because CSOs did not play a real role in the summit," said Abdel Tawab. He said that the process for approval of organisations to attend the Summit as observers lacked transparency – groups were not sure whether they were rejected due to Egypt's security measures or other factors. He also said there was no mechanism to appeal. The result was that many organizations were prevented from participating in the summit.

Members of the NGO community criticised the summit for not devoting enough time to pressing issues such as the ongoing food and health crisis in Africa. Other major demands from civil society were similarly ignored, such as implementation and acceleration of a pledge by African governments made in Abuja seven years ago to move towards spending at least 15 percent of their total budget on health.

Abdel Tawab further explained that the effectiveness of the summit depended heavily on the participation of NGOs. "The CSOs are the only way to hear the voice of the people. They put forth recommendations that are closest to the opinions and voice of the people and so if there is no sense of ownership for NGO's in summits there is a large gap between the summit and citizens."

In contrast, Dr. Amany Asfour, president of the Egyptian Business Women Association and host of the pre-summit conference that brought together dozens of civil society groups – including Abdel Tawab's NGO – was satisfied with her group's involvement.

Dr. Asfour explained that the AU Summit theme of this year's summit theme, "Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation," is at the heart of women's needs in Africa. She said raising such issues is crucial to many women in rural areas who presently lack access to clean water and proper sewage systems.

Dr. Asfour said that her group met with world leaders and first ladies from all over Africa. They also discussed ways to combat violence against women, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

She noted that women in Africa continue to suffer high rates of maternal mortality. Figures from 2005 indicate that Africa is the only region where maternal deaths have increased since 1990 and that about half of all maternal deaths worldwide are African women.

In a letter to AU leaders, NGOs urged governments to respect their commitment to increased health spending. "The non-implementation of the 15 percent pledge is rapidly devastating our populations and countries through the deaths of fellow Africans on such a scale that annual deaths from both disease and non-disease related health issues now exceed the populations of many African countries combined."

African leaders agreed, blandly, to put forth national strategies and action plans for achieving the Millennium Development Goals' target for water and sanitation over the next seven years.

Disappointment over Zimbabwe

Many NGOs were also disappointed that Mugabe's appearance took centre-stage in media coverage of the Summit.

"It is very disappointing that Zimbabwe took the headlines because Mr. Mugabe was there. There was not enough strong action from the AU. There are still major concerns in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Kenya that the AU is failing to address properly," said Abdel Tawab.

While leaders in the United States have referred to the killings in Darfur as genocide and the UN continues to report on massive human rights violations there, AU leaders at the Summit refrained from outright condemnation of the violations in Sudan.

The AU has deployed peacekeeping troops to Darfur, but has not threatened to impose sanctions on Sudanese leaders as the European Union has, added Abdel Tawab.

And while the EU called Mr. Mugabe's election an "exercise in power-grabbing," the AU took a softer line.

In a communiqué, the AU said it was "deeply concerned about the violence and the loss of life that has occurred in Zimbabwe" and encouraged the president to move ahead with a government of national unity.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Wednesday that he would not consider joining a unity government as a junior partner to Mr. Mugabe, who he has accused of killing his way to re-election last week. Nine more opposition party activists were reported killed since Friday's election, bringing the reported death toll to at least 95.

On the other hand, civil society groups strongly condemned the situation in Zimbabwe, bringing forth another example of sharp differences between most of the NGO community and the African leaders at the Summit.

The Secretary General of Dakar-based human rights group Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme, Alioune Tine, said, "The election situation in Zimbabwe is unacceptable. What is the point of having elections in Africa, if it will always end up by power a sharing system? The Kenyan example should not be a model for Africa."