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USA/Africa: A Dubious Summit
AfricaFocus Bulletin
July 29, 2014 (140729)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"Starting August 4, the Obama Administration will host a mini replica
of an African Union (AU) summit. As many as 40 heads of state from
the continent will be on hand for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a
conference that will look at ways to boost trade and investment in
the continent, tap into Africa's burgeoning youth population, and
promote good governance. ... Unfortunately, unless a major change is
made, the summit risks simply becoming an AU heads of state road trip
with a photo-op at the end to confirm that they visited Washington
before returning home." - Adotei Akwei, Amnesty International
With less than a week before the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit convenes,
it is still not clear how many of the 50 invited leaders will decide
to attend. The primary emphasis of both the Summit and side events,
it is clear from pre-summit publicity, will be on trade and
investment, although civil society groups have won inclusion of a
Civil Society Forum which will highlight some other issues. And, on
economic issues, it is possible that discussion of the "Power Africa"
initiative will allow for greater emphasis on clean energy off-thegrid
power solutions as well as the big fossil-fuel and hydroelectric
projects of primary interest to large American companies (see
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/ces1406.php).
Many civil society groups, including Amnesty International as well as
many African human rights groups, are focusing on the dubious records
of many of the heads of state invited and on calling for human rights
accountability. Particularly noticeable as missing, as well, are
likely to be global issues on which both the United States and
African countries are falling far short of their obligations - global
challenges such as climate change and tax evasion though financial
flows across borders, and failures of countries such as the United
States, South Africa, Kenya, and many others to respect refugee
rights.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is a co-sponsor of the Empowered Africa
Dialogue, initiated by the US-Africa Network (USAN;
(http://usafricanetwork.org/empowered-africa/). This dialogue will
specifically feature such vital but marginalized issues, in a
gathering of progressive activists, to be held at Howard University
on August 4.
There are still spaces open for registration: if you are in
Washington, DC or close enough to come for the day, please register
at http://tinyurl.com/ea-dialogue
If you are not able to participate, please consider supporting the
event by making a contribution to the Indiegogo campaign
(http://tinyurl.com/ea-indiegogo) to cover the costs of bringing key
activists from Africa, such as Mithika Mwenda of the Pan African
Climate Justice Alliance, Alvin Mosioma of Tax Justice Network -
Africa, and Brenda Mofya from the Oxfam International Liaison Office
with the African Union.
As its contribution to the US-Africa Network dialogue, AfricaFocus
has prepared a set of talking points, with links to relevant
AfricaFocus Bulletins, on critical issues marginalized at the Leaders
Summit and featured in the USAN Dialogue
(http://www.africafocus.org/intro-gen.php).
Today's AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the talking points and recent
AfricaFocus Bulletins on economy and development, as well as two
commentaries, by Adotei Akwei of Amnesty International and Ian Gary
of Oxfam America, calling for inclusion of African civil society in
the official U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, and stressing the need to
highlight human rights and democratic participation in contrast to
the overwhelming emphasis on trade and investment.
For official information on the Leaders Summit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/us-africa-leaders-summit
Note that the official Summit twitter hashtag is #AfricaSummit. Some
are also using #USAfricaSummit. The US-Africa Network, AfricaFocus
Bulletin, and other groups (see links below for more resources) are
encouraging the widest possible expression of alternative views in
social media, particularly in the period immediately around the
Summit (August 1-7). By using #AfricaSummit or #USAfricaSummit in
addition to other relevant hashtags and links to your own blog or
website, you can ensure that your input is included in the same
twitter stream as official releases from the U.S. government.
For AfricaFocus talking points and references on critical issues
marginalized at the official summit, visit
http://www.africafocus.org/intro-gen.php
Additional commentaries and social media opportunities
AllAfrica.com, "How to get the U.S.-Africa Summit Right"
http://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00031467.html
Compilation of non-official commentaries
J. Brooks Spector, "US-Africa Summit: Big opportunity or just another
talk-shop?" Daily Maverick, July 28, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nydxpzq
Useful summary including official details and additional comment
Alemayehu G. Mariam, "Cirque d'Afrique: 2014 U.S-Africa Leaders
Summit," July 28, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/qge5cs5
Scathing critique by Ethiopian-American blogger and human rights
activist Al Mariam.
Diaspora African Womens Network (DAWN), with FEMNET and Oxfam
America, "U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Social Media Guide"
http://dawners.org / direct URL: http://tinyurl.com/qdxp3pe
Detailed social media guide with sample tweets & other resources.
Suggested hashtag #TheAfricaWeWant
U.S.-Africa Civil Society Forum, "Recommendations," June 18-20, 2014
http://www.we-are-africa.org/rec.html
Call for inclusion of African Civil Society. Plus recommendations on
the rule of rule, corruption and transparency, and discrimination
against marginalized groups. Suggested hashtag #WeAreAfrica
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++
Missing Guests - The U.S. Africa Summit
By Adotei Akwei
June 30, 2014
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/africa/ direct URL
http://tinyurl.com/lkw38k2
Adotei Akwei is Managing Director, Government Relations for Amnesty
International US
Starting August 4, the Obama Administration will host a mini replica
of an African Union (AU) summit. As many as 40 heads of state from
the continent will be on hand for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a
conference that will look at ways to boost trade and investment in
the continent, tap into Africa's burgeoning youth population, and
promote good governance.
The idea for such a summit is laudable, considering the critical
issues that will be discussed - issues that will continue to be key
challenges for both Africa and U.S. policy towards the continent and
as part of addressing the chronic need to raise educate the public
about the realities of the different countries that make up Africa,
unknown success stories and it's untapped economic potential.
Unfortunately, unless a major change is made, the summit risks simply
becoming an AU heads of state road trip with a photo-op at the end to
confirm that they visited Washington before returning home.
One reason for this concern is the absence of the voices of ordinary
Africans in what could be critical debates and goal-setting
opportunities for the African governments, as well as for the United
States on issues that will impact the lives of millions of ordinary
Africans.
Let's start with who is on the possible guest list:
There's Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been President of Angola
since 1979. Who wouldn't want to invite a man who continues to
suppress the press, attempting to prevent the publication of
newspapers or articles potentially critical of the government?
There's Denis Sassou Nguesso, who served as President of the Republic
of the Congo twice - once from 1979 until 1992, and again since 1997.
Under Nguesso's administration, nearly 300 Congolese refugees were
forcibly returned from Gabon, being left vulnerable to ill-treatment
by Gabonese authorities. Now that would make for interesting dinner
conversation!
There's also Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia since
2012. Under his authority, prisoners are often tortured, being
punched, slapped, beaten with sticks, handcuffed and suspended from
the wall or ceiling, deprived of sleep, electrocuted, and mockdrowned,
among other methods of torture. With such evident
creativity, Desalegn will assuredly be a great conversationalist.
Paul Biya, the President of Cameroon since 1982, would also surely
make great dinner company. Security forces under Biya's
administration threatened human rights defender Maximilienne Ngo Mbe
with rape, and then abducted and raped her niece due to Mbe's antigovernment
activities.
How about Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda since 2000? Kagame is a
role model in disabling civil society by prohibiting the registration
of some political parties, harassing, intimidating, and imprisoning
members of political opposition and clamping down on the activities
of human rights advocates.
Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda since 1986, is also currently on
the guest list. Museveni's has been leading the way in discriminating
against and otherwise violating the human rights of LGBTI people and
trampling other fundamental rights in the process. One of his recent
innovations is the 2014 Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, a law that
toughens penalties against LGBTI people, including life prison
sentences for designated homosexual acts.
Another member of the guest list is Mswati III, King of Swaziland
since 1986. Under Mswati, Swaziland has reconfirmed its rejection of
U.N. recommendations to allow political parties to participate in
elections and refuses to ratify the Optional Protocol to the U.N.
Convention against Torture.
Last but not least, there's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President
of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. Over the past decade, more than
1,000 families in Equatorial Guinea have been forcibly evicted from
their homes. President Obiang and his family have presided over a
country that is ranked in the top 12 of the world's most corrupt
states by Transparency International while his administration is
regularly called out for systemic human rights violations by the U.S.
Department of State.
It is safe to question the likelihood that any of these potential
guests to the White House "dinner" either make new commitments to the
rule of law and human rights or report back to their citizens on any
commitments made at these meetings. This is even more worrisome
because of the fact that there will be no independent eye and ears to
even take note of any commitments they make.
Last month, over 100 hundred democracy and human rights groups wrote
to the Obama administration urging that civil society groups be
officially part of the summit agenda. Currently, civil society
organizations in several African countries are seeing the political
space for them to operate freely severely undermined and restricted
while others are facing questions about their legitimacy to exist.
However, addressing Africa's challenges and unlocking its full
potential will benefit from input from all segments of the
populations of these countries - government and civil society alike.
Modeling civil interaction with civil society advocates as legitimate
and valuable partners during the official conference as opposed to at
side events may be the most powerful step the Obama administration
can take. It could be the difference between adopting sustainable
initiatives that benefit the ruling elite or their surrogates and
initiatives that will strengthen the independence of political
institutions and the rule of law.
The summit must forcefully address corruption and build transparency
and force African governments to move beyond lip service to take
measurable, accountable actions to end discrimination against
marginalized groups. If the summit does this, it could be the
difference in hosting a one-time photo op and the start of an ongoing
dialogue committed to genuine change and improvement between the
United States and Africa that must continue.
There is a saying that politics makes strange bedfellows. President
Obama may not have much leeway in who he dines with when it comes to
official engagements, but he can decide what his guests should talk
about.
For the 1.1 billion people in Africa who will not be coming to
Washington, let's seriously hope that the deliverables of the
conference are not who sat at which table and who wore what. The
African people deserve better than that.
A tale of two summits: African civil society at the AU and US-Africa
summits
Ian Gary
Oxfam America, June 26, 2014
Shut out of Malabo this week and Washington DC in August?
http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org / direct URL:
http://tinyurl.com/k9bna5s
African heads of state are participating in the African Union (AU)
Summit this week in the capital of the oil-rich dictatorship of
Equatorial Guinea. At a controversial $830 million complex built
outside Malabo replete with beach front villas and an 18-hole golf
course, these heads of state will be discussing "food security" and
other important themes. All this is taking place in a country of less
than 1 million people, most of whom are dirt poor despite a per
capita income - thanks to oil wealth - higher than that of Portugal.
Equatorial Guinea as the host, really AU?
As a place to showcase political, human rights, and broad-based
economic progress in Africa, Equatorial Guinea is an awful choice.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has been in power for 35 years,
elections are a farce, and the press and local civil society groups
are severely restricted. The State Department describes "disregard
for the rule of law � denial of freedom of speech, press, assembly,
and association; and widespread official corruption." President
Obiang's son is under investigation in France for money laundering
and the US has seized a luxury jet and other assets as part of a
corruption investigation. To top it off, Equatorial Guinea is one of
the few countries ever to have been dropped from the voluntary
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
At a time when donors and the AU are focused on converting Africa's
natural resources into economic development and progress against
poverty, Equatorial Guinea is basically the poster child for
everything that can go wrong with sudden resource wealth.
Ensuring space for civil society engagement
Civil society groups in Equatorial Guinea operate under severe
restrictions and the government has made it difficult for CSOs from
the rest of Africa to visit the country during the Summit. When the
AU held its summit in Equatorial Guinea in 2011, it did not include a
parallel gathering of civil society groups and no explanation for
this was given. This is exactly the wrong signal that the AU should
be sending regarding the importance of citizen participation and
engagement in important public policy decisions.
The Obama administration has frequently spoken out about the
importance of governments engaging with their own citizens and civil
society groups. President Obama, in his landmark 2009 speech in front
of the Ghanaian parliament, said:
"In the 21st century, capable, reliable and transparent institutions
are the key to success - strong parliaments and honest police forces;
independent judges and journalists; a vibrant private sector and
civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy,
because that is what matters in peoples' lives."
Since that speech, there's been a growing clamp down on civil society
space across Africa as noted by USAID, watchdogs such as the
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, the International NGO
Training and Research Centre, and others.
Will civil society at the US-Africa Leaders Summit have it any
better?
Obama will have a chance to put 2009 rhetoric into practice. The USAfrica
Leaders Summit will virtually shut down Washington DC the week
of August 4 with more than 40 African heads of state in town. To get
invited was relatively easy as long as you're in power, you're a
member of the AU in good standing, and you aren't subject to US
sanctions. Congratulations, President Obiang - you're in! And so are
many other countries with atrocious human rights records.
Initial signs that African CSOs will have any more luck getting a
seat in the table when they come to Washington than in Malabo are not
encouraging. The State Department is planning a side event with
African and US civil society groups with Secretary Kerry on August 4.
However, there is no indication that African CSOs will be allowed to
participate in the official heads of state summit on August 6 in any
way, nor in the planned US-Africa Business Forum being organized by
the Department of Commerce, which will feature a keynote by President
Obama.
At a recent event at the National Endowment for Democracy, White
House officials refused to commit to including African civil society
groups in these events. Capacity is not the issue. To note, the US
will be hosting 500 young people from Africa in the US as part of the
State Department's laudable Young African Leaders Initiative the week
before the summit.
Grab the chance, White House
It's no surprise that trade and investment will likely dominate the
US-Africa Leaders Summit, to the detriment of human rights and
democratic participation. But it would be a huge missed opportunity
if the White House doesn't demonstrate what citizens engaging with
their leaders looks like in practice. The White House should include
select African civil society leaders in both the official summit on
August 6 and the business forum on August 5.
Meanwhile, President Obiang has more than a group photo opportunity
to look forward to when he visits Washington. He'll be "honored" at a
gala dinner being organized by the Corporate Council on Africa on
August 7.
I'm sure the Equatorial Guinean human rights group EG Justice - whose
leader is exiled in the US - is still awaiting his invitation.
AfricaFocus Bulletin, July 29, 2014
Economy and Development
http://www.africafocus.org/intro-econ.php
Talking Points
- Politicians and investors speak of creating good jobs. In practice,
they most often promote a market-fundamentalist development model
that sheds jobs while increasing profits for the 1%.
- The "Africa Rising" narrative celebrating rapid economic growth in
many African countries contains a partial truth. New investment in
extractive industries to serve world markets is growing, and there is
rapid growth in information and communication technology as well.
- But most Africans, whether in the rural areas or the burgeoning
cities, have little access to the wealth created. Jobs in the formal
sector do not come close to keeping up with expansion of the labor
force. And government policies marginalize the interests of workers
and small farmers.
- Sustainable development depends on public investment in health,
education, and infrastructure, but these investments fall far short
of what is needed.
- Significant change in economic policies, in Africa and around the
world, will only come if there is active transnational mobilization
for economic justice for the 99%. Such action must include not only
political groups, but also unions, farmers' organizations, human
rights groups, churches, and others in all sectors of society.
Recent bulletins
July 14, 2014 Africa: Understanding Organized Crime
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/oc1407.php
"We have concluded that drug use must be regarded primarily as a
public health problem. Drug users need help, not punishment. We
believe that the consumption and possession for personal use of drugs
should not be criminalised. Experience shows that criminalisation of
drug use worsens health and social problems, puts huge pressures on
the criminal justice system and incites corruption. ... We caution
that West Africa must not become a new front line in the failed "war
on drugs," which has neither reduced drug consumption nor put
traffickers out of business." - West Africa Commission on Drugs
July 10, 2014 Africa: Rapid Growth in Mobile Money
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/mob1407.php
"The mobile money landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, and
this is especially true in Sub-Saharan Africa where mobile money is
already available in 36 of 47 countries in the region. ... [For one
example], Tanzania has witnessed unprecedented uptake of mobile
financial services (MFS) in the span of five years. After a humble
beginning, when less than 1% of the adult population had access to
mobile financial services in 2008, 90% had access by September 2013 -
an exponential increase. Likewise, active usage has shown similar
improvement, with 43% of the adult population actively using this
service in September 2013." - GSM Association reports
July 7, 2014 Africa: Trade Union Perspectives
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/trad1407.php
"Almost all interviewees who responded to the Solidarity Center
survey, when asked about the general economic situation, noted some
economic growth. But they also were emphatic that the growth was not
accompanied by good jobs and did not trickle down or benefit the
majority of the population. ... The message that quantitative
macroeconomic growth is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty
or improve lives has [also] been a prominent theme in reports by
multilateral agencies in recent years." - Solidarity Center report,
April 2014
June 30, 2014 Africa: Clean Energy Most Cost-Effective
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/ces1406.php
"From off-grid LED lighting to 'Skinny Grids,' we can now provide
energy access with a fraction of the amount of power we used to need.
More importantly, we can unlock affordable initial interventions --
like lighting, mobile phone charging, fans, and TVs plus a small
amount of agro processing -- to help people get onto the energy
ladder today rather than forcing them to wait decades for a grid
extension that may never come. ... It's important to understand that
we aren't just imagining this clean energy market growth -- it's
already happening." -- Justin Guay, Sierra Club
June 16, 2014 Africa: Investor Perspectives
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/inv1406.php
"Among our survey results, what really stands out is the perception
of Africa's attractiveness as an investment destination relative to
other regions: from being ranked 8th out of 10 regions in our first
survey [2011], to 5th in each of the last two years, Africa ranked
2nd overall this year. This remarkable progress in a short space of
time shows how the image of Africa has begun to change." - Ernest &
Young
June 1, 2014 South Africa: Disappearing Diamond Revenue
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/dia1406.php
"In 2011, South Africa produced diamonds whose uncut, or rough, value
was $1.73 billion, or 12 percent of global production, according to
the most recent government data available. Yet from 2010 to 2011,
diamond-producing companies paid South Africa's government just $11
million in mining royalties, according to the latest Tax Statistics
report, produced by the South African Treasury and the South African
Revenue Service." - Khadija Sharife
May 26, 2014 Africa: Fraudulent Trade & Tax Evasion
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/iff1405.php
"The fraudulent misinvoicing of trade is hampering economic growth
and potentially resulting in billions of U.S. dollars in lost tax
revenue in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, according
to a new report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DCbased
research and advocacy organization. The study -- funded by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark -- finds that the over- and
under-invoicing of trade transactions facilitated at least US$60.8
billion in illicit financial flows into or out of the five African
countries between 2002 and 2011."
May 12, 2014 Africa: Report Highlights Resource Plunder
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/app1405.php
"Take the profit out of plunder: Africa's resources should be
sustainably managed for the benefit of Africa's peoples. National and
regional action alone will not be enough. The international community
must develop multilateral systems that prevent the plunder of
Africa's resources [of fisheries and forests]." - Africa Progress
Panel, 2014
May 5, 2014 South Africa: Views from the Left
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/sa1405.php
No one doubts that the ANC will win this week's election in South
Africa, as it has the four previous democratic elections beginning in
1994. But it is also clear that disillusionment with the liberation
movement turned incumbent ruling party has reached high levels, not
least with many South Africans who supported the ANC's liberation
struggle and share its proclaimed goals of a more just South Africa.
April 30, 2014 Africa: Taxation Key to Fighting Inequality
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/tax1404.php
'In many countries, it is the poor who end up paying more tax as a
proportion of their income and this is just not right. When the rich
are able to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, a government must
rely on the rest of its citizens to fill its coffers. While tax
dodging goes unchecked, governments are severely hampered from
putting in place progressive tax systems - so fairer domestic tax
systems depend on global transparency measures' - Alvin Mosioma,
Director, Tax Justice Network - Africa
April 24, 2014 Africa: The High Cost of Remittances
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/remi1404.php
"Remittances from African migrants play a vital role in supporting
health, education, food security and productive investment in
agriculture. Yet many of the benefits of remittance transfers are
lost in intermediation as a result of high charges. Africa's diaspora
pays 12% to send $200 - almost double the global average." - Overseas
Development Institute
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a
particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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