Great powers of the world have done wonders in giving the world an industrial look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa — giving the world a more human face. — Steve Biko
Since time immemorial the most basic pillar of existence among Africans has been the respect of people for one another. Umuntu ngamuntu ngabantu is the well-known Nguni adage that sets out the values of ubuntu — that a person is a person only through other people.
An essentially communal modus vivendi across Africa traditionally placed an obligation upon society to provide each citizen with basic needs such as food, care and shelter. The practice that family relationships are based on clan and village, rather than blood ties, is still valued today, albeit mostly among elderly Africans. The nature of assembly and the structures of association are innate in many parts of African culture where the concepts associated with a modern human rights discourse were intrinsic.
Slavery, colonisation, neo-colonialism and racial and political subjugation have, however, damaged these cornerstones, thereby allowing the core values of a magnificent black Africa rooted in rights and duties, dignity and respect to fade away.
On October 21 we commemorated another African human rights day; an opportunity to reflect upon Biko’s powerful words and rise to the challenge to give the world a more human face, a foundation of human solidarity.
Twenty-three years ago the Organisation of African Unity met in Banjul, Gambia, and took the initiative to contextualise ubuntu as the seminal spirit of peoples’ rights: human rights. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights came into force on October 21 1986, at the height of the post-colonial uhuru in Africa. Julius Nyerere’s socialism and Kenneth Kaunda’s humanism were the vanguard of this ideological renaissance and a rallying point for the birth of a communal consciousness of the fundamental rights of the people of Africa.
The charter highlights rights and corresponding responsibilities for individuals and groups alike — family, society, the nation and the state — a truly ground-breaking approach found in no other international human rights instrument. In addition to civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights, a third generation of human rights is also reflected — the right to peace, the right to a safe and healthy environment, the right to development and the right to share in the common heritage of humankind. It also considers the nature and the corporate existence and working of society.
Civil society, through both organisations and individuals, was a key driver of the process leading to the adoption of this pioneering charter. Now it faces new challenges: to create awareness of the charter as an instrument of human and civil rights, thereby helping to prevent and put an end to gross violations of people’s fundamental rights, and to promote the establishment of fair and safe societies. Civil society must be an active partner in developing and implementing the charter and upholding the values enshrined therein. It is also time for civil society to challenge African governments to ratify the protocol establishing the African Court on Human Rights, set out in the charter.
Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is particularly concerned about the repressive legislative architecture that many African governments have introduced, or are considering, to increase state control and maintain political dominance. A case in point is Zimbabwe, where a carefully crafted package of restrictive legislation that constrains civic freedoms has been developed. These laws amount to a deliberate and formal attack on the core freedoms of a democratic society: assembly, expression and movement. In many other African countries civil society organisations are required to register through restrictive legal mechanisms that make it increasingly difficult for citizen groups to establish themselves.
Civicus recently commissioned a comparative study and analysis of different African laws, policies and practices that regulate rights and/or completely ignore citizens’ rights to express, associate and organise.
One example is the Public Order and Security Act of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs continual and urgent, yet thoughtful, attention. It is unfortunate that those closest to the situation, who might wield the greater influence, including South Africa, have chosen to remain silent.
The situation in Swaziland is also a case in point where the government has made it difficult for civil society to make any meaningful contribution to the constitutional reform process, unless those civil society organisations are seen to visibly support the government’s programme and agenda.
The Civicus study also points to the constantly shifting relationships between civil society and governments, international institutions and the private sector, with many of these other institutions beginning to challenge civil society’s existence and mandate.
We need to agree that civil society organisations do not simply play a role filling the gaps left by governments and other actors. Civil society organisations have a proactive role to play on the broader global stage, whether through local action initiatives or participation in national, regional or global policy-making. Development is about human rights and fundamental freedoms, just as it is about the delivery of services.
The new African Union has an appropriate role to play in setting down clear markers of how African governments and heads of state will relate to each other on issues of governance. It is vital that civil society takes an active interest in the events in Zimbabwe and in their own countries, many of which continue to restrict the space allowing civil society and alternative political voices to express themselves.
As Africa embarks upon relaunching itself through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and other regional institutions, civil society should play a prominent role in realising a brighter, freer future for this proud continent.
Civicus is a global network of civil society organisations. David Kalete is Civicus director of programmes.