Civil society wants peoples’ voices to be heard
Civil society organisations are calling for greater access to continental institutions such as the African Union and regional economic communities.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) across the continent are calling for greater access to continental institutions such as the African Union (AU) and regional economic communities (RECs).
The call comes as many civil society actors become increasingly apprehensive about what they see as a shrinking space for civil society. In countries such as Burundi and Tanzania, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are regulated through strict new laws and there are growing concerns about restrictions against the media. Elsewhere, such as in Uganda and Rwanda, freedom of speech and of association have been under threat for some time.
In countries such as Burundi and Tanzania, non-governmental organisations are regulated through strict new laws
Many believe therefore that CSOs in Africa will have a stronger voice by reaching across borders and supporting one another when engaging with issues such as democracy and good governance on a continental level. To do this, they need functioning channels through which to engage with institutions such as the AU and RECs. Yet these channels are not always available.
While the AU aspires to transform itself into a people-centred organisation – a principle contained in Agenda 2063 – civil society is often relegated to a secondary role.
At the same time, CSOs can find it difficult to collaborate with each other because of the vast diversity of organisations in terms of areas of focus, capacity, credibility and representivity. Working together across borders is not always easy – especially for those with limited funding.
Still, a number of suggestions are on the table to amplify civil society’s contribution. This includes pushing for stronger institutional structures, ensuring regular engagements with high-ranking officials, participating in drawing up continental protocols and action plans, and assisting with the sourcing of funding for some activities. In some instances, African institutions collaborate with NGOs on programmatic issues if funding is available.
In some instances, African institutions collaborate with NGOs on programmatic issues if funding is available
Ironically, while the main accusation against many CSOs is that they are foreign funded, most pan-African institutions such as the AU and RECs also receive considerable outside funding.
Institutional arrangements at the AU level
Several institutional models exist for engagement between civil society and continental institutions. The AU’s Economic Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), for example, is its civil society policy organ. Yet its work has limited capacity and visibility.
When it comes to CSOs working in the area of peace and security, there are regular interactions between many of them and the AU Commission.
During a retreat of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) in Lesotho in February 2014, CSOs again recommended the proper operationalisation of ECOSOCC, as well as greater collaboration with the PSC through, for example, assistance with mediation, training and input into the biannual reports to the AU on the state of peace and security in Africa.
They also called for the implementation of the 2008 Livingston formula on cooperation between the PSC and CSOs. The formula calls for, among others, an annual meeting between ECOSOCC and the PSC.
Unequal access to regional economic communities
CSOs are also finding it difficult to engage with their respective RECs.
Institutionally, engagement between civil society and regional institutions on the continent is progressing in asymmetrical ways. While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) CSO Forum, created in 2012, is not a statutory body of SADC, it is recognised by the SADC Secretariat and has regular interactions with it. In East Africa, the East African CSO Forum, created in 2007, is an autonomous body of NGOs and CSOs engaging with the East African Community (EAC).
Citizens in East Africa do have indirect access to the EAC through the East African Parliament, something that does not exist in SADC. NGOs and other organisations have called for years for the SADC Parliamentary Forum to be transformed into a proper parliament where citizens’ issues can be debated, but this has yet to happen.
The case of SADC
On the margins of SADC’s annual summit in Dar es Salaam in August 2019, CSOs attending the 15th SADC-CSO Forum expressed concern about the lack of access to the SADC Secretariat and the summit of leaders taking place on 17 and 18 August.
The CSO Forum handed a memorandum of understanding to a representative of the Tanzanian government, the host of the SADC summit, calling on leaders to take drastic steps to improve people’s socio-economic situation. Calls were also made for the reinstatement of the SADC Tribunal – a crucial institution that could give citizens in SADC recourse if their rights are violated, but which was scrapped in 2014.
CSOs also called on SADC to ensure the free movement of people in the region and to condemn acts of xenophobia in South Africa.
No proper, recognised channels exist for regular engagement with SADC
Yet no proper, recognised channels exist for regular engagement with SADC – either at the summit level and ministerial meetings or at the secretariat in Gaborone. SADC is currently revising its two key development frameworks – the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security – which are expiring in 2020. Some CSOs have been consulted in this process, but there is no plan on the table to include the institutionalisation of civil society engagement in these strategies.
As many doors close for civil society on a national level, these regional and continental structures can provide much-needed solidarity and support for efforts to ensure accountability and good governance by African leadership.
