The Horn of Africa should improve citizen engagement
Special focus on regional economic communities: In the run-up to the Niamey summit, the AU should improve its relations with civil society.
In July 2019 the African Union (AU) will discuss its relations with regional economic communities (RECs) at its first Coordination Summit in Niamey, Niger. In addition to deliberating on the division of labour between the AU and RECs, it should also focus on ways to include civil society in formulating policy and making decisions. This applies to all the RECs, especially those such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that have minimal interaction with civil society.
The inclusion of civil society would make the AU more relevant and responsive to the real needs of citizens. Civil society can also provide oversight of decisions and spending by the AU Commission. In addition, civil society organisations (CSOs) should be included in briefings to the AU continental early warning mechanisms and discussions by the Peace and Security Council (PSC). This would help the AU to get a real understanding of what is happening on the ground and how to respond.
The inclusion of civil society would make the AU more relevant and responsive to the real needs of citizens
A disconnect with citizens
When the Organization for African Unity (OAU) became the AU in 2002, there were expectations that the organisation would transform into a union of Africans rather than a union of African leaders. Yet almost 20 years later, there is still a disconnect between the AU and ordinary citizens. The AU reform process that began in 2016 emphasised that connecting the AU with the African citizenry was one of five key areas requiring urgent action.
RECs benefit from proximity to their citizens and should, in theory, play a critical role in addressing the gap between the AU and citizens. Some RECs are more advanced in engaging citizens than others. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have regional parliaments, forums for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or regional tribunals where citizens should be able to participate or raise their grievances.
However, other RECs, such as IGAD, are struggling to implement their own policies when it comes to citizen engagement.
The AU is aware of citizens’ demand for greater inclusion. The need to involve CSOs in AU–REC coordination was highlighted by the decision of the 11th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in November 2017. This decision stated that ‘the involvement of key non-state actors such as the private sector, civil society, academia and the public at large is limited’ in harmonising integration between the AU and RECs.
The AU is aware of citizens’ demand for greater inclusion
Besides vertical coordination between the AU and IGAD, horizontal coordination should also be emphasised. This will enable ECOWAS, the EAC, SADC and IGAD to share experiences and best practices.
Suspicion of CSOs hamper their inclusion
The AU and IGAD have collaborated on various issues, particularly peace mediation and conflict resolution in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, as stipulated in the AU–REC Memorandum of Understanding. However, other than cursory inclusiveness, especially during the South Sudan peace process, AU–IGAD collaboration has by and large been devoid of any citizen participation.
AU–IGAD collaboration has by and large been devoid of any citizen participation
The AU and IGAD do have legal provisions and structures to include civil society, such as the IGAD NGO/CSO forum, but these structures are generally not functional. Member states have insisted on only including CSOs that are government-affiliated in the CSO forum. This is mostly because of a bias against civil society’s participation in decision-making.
The viewpoint that policy formulation and decision-making are the prerogatives of states is at the heart of civil society’s exclusion. Policy actors at both the AU and IGAD believe they are doing civil society actors a favour by occasionally including them, rather than respecting their fundamental rights as set out in the legal provisions of the founding documents of these institutions.
The viewpoint that decision-making are the prerogatives of states is at the heart of civil society’s exclusion
The participation of pan-African CSOs is also sometimes hindered by suspicions over their sources of funding, even though both the AU and IGAD also receive funding from external sources. As a result, citizens find it difficult to access organisations such as the AU and IGAD.
Dysfunctional ECOSOCC a major obstacle
Within the AU, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is mandated to coordinate CSO engagement with the PSC, at least once a year under a specific theme. At other times, CSOs may address the PSC when invited to do so by the PSC chairperson or members of the PSC. CSOs may also submit reports to the AU Commission for its consideration during PSC meetings, but only through ECOSOCC.
However, ECOSOCC is currently not functioning as it should. As such, CSO access to the PSC is limited.
CSOs may address the PSC when invited to do so by the PSC chairperson or members of the PSC.
IGAD’s forum for CSOs also dysfunctional
Within IGAD, the NGO/CSO Forum was mandated by the eighth Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government in 2002 to provide a framework for CSO cooperation with IGAD. Although the forum was established in 2003, it has not been functional for many years. It was also never able to create a platform for policy engagement at any level. ECOSOCC was mandated by the 2008 protocol to create linkages at the REC level, but this has been impossible given that both ECOSOCC and the IGAD NGO/CSO Forum are inactive.
]The PSC Protocol (Article 8 (10)) allows for ‘any international organisation or civil society organisation involved and/or interested in a conflict or a situation under consideration by the PSC, to be invited to participate, without the right to vote, in the discussion’. Therefore, CSOs should be given more opportunities to be including in the PSC discussions.
Pan-African CSOs should be able to apply directly to the PSC Secretariat or chairperson to put items on the agenda, until ECOSOCC is fully functional. This broadens the continental policy arena and makes it more inclusive.
CSOs should be involved in early warning
Another mechanism that might help to amplify the concerns of African citizens and table them for decision-making is the early warning mechanisms: the AU’s Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) and IGAD’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN). Civil societies make significant contributions to CEWS and CEWARN.
The framework for the operationalisation of CEWS stresses the need for collaboration with CSOs in conflict prevention as a prerequisite for achieving peace, security and stability in Africa.
Within the CEWARN structure, CSOs are both early warning and response partners in pastoral conflicts. If CEWARN’s mandate is expanded beyond pastoral conflicts, it has the potential to collaborate with CEWS in highlighting all conflicts that affect citizens in the Horn of Africa.
Formalising technical-level CSO engagement
Meanwhile, technical-level cooperation between the AU and IGAD can be a mechanism for citizen participation in policy formulation and decision-making. At the technical level, both the AU and IGAD work towards improving African peace and security. Specialised offices implementing specific programmes involve CSOs through technical expert consultations and information exchanges, joint planning, coordination, analysis, implementation, evaluation, and capacity enhancement.
Involving CSOs at such technical levels allows them to contribute to policies and frameworks at a formative stage. This has the benefit of nuancing and contextualising an understanding of issues with CSO perspectives. CSOs can also contribute to translating AU and IGAD policies and legal frameworks into effective implementation plans and actions by giving processes legitimacy and getting citizen buy-in. In addition, they can monitor the implementation and impact of policies.
These technical-level engagements should be mainstreamed and formalised, by developing a roster of expert pan-African CSOs that should be engaged in different thematic areas. CSO desks or focal points could be set up within AU and IGAD departments and divisions, to continually follow up on and ensure CSOs’ inclusion.
Thus, if the AU and RECs are to remain relevant to citizens, the upcoming AU–REC Coordination Summit should address how the AU can coordinate civil society engagement with RECs, in a bid to transform these intergovernmental organisations into citizen-centred organisations.
This article is part of a special PSC Report focus on regional economic communities in the run-up to the AU Coordination Summit on 7 – 8 July 2019.
