Four African democracy activists from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zimbabwe have been chosen to receive the 2006 Democracy Award of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which will be presented on Tuesday, June 27 at an event in the U.S. Congress. The four honorees are leaders of civil society organizations that are responsible for important advances in the fields of human rights, women’s rights, government transparency, independent media and free and fair elections.
“Africa has been witness to more protracted conflicts than any region of the world,” said NED Chairman Vin Weber. “The individuals NED honors this year have demonstrated enormous personal courage and optimism, facing down brutal regimes and working in some of the most harrowing circumstances imaginable. If democracy continues to advance in Africa, it will be due to the dedication of activists like these.”
The four recipients of the 2006 Democracy Award are:
- Zainab Bangura, a seasoned activist for good governance, human rights, and accountability in her native Sierra Leone, who was recently chosen to serve as Chief Civil Affairs Officer to the UN Mission in Liberia.
- Alfred Taban, who has served as the courageous publisher and chairman of the board of directors of the Khartoum Monitor, Sudan’s only independent English-language daily newspaper, since it began publication in September 2000.
- Immaculée Birhaheka, the co-founder and president of the organization Promotion and Support of Women’s Initiatives (PAIF), created in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1995, who is one of the Congo’s leading human rights activists.
- Reginald Matchaba-Hove, a leading human rights activist in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, who currently serves as the chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). Prior to 1999, he was the chairman of Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights).
The Democracy Award presentation and reception will be preceded by a roundtable discussion addressing the topic “Africa’s Democratic Prospect.” Panelists will include the four honorees, as well as several regional experts and members of Congress.
The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, nonprofit, bipartisan grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world. It is active in more than 90 countries, supporting grassroots, democratic initiatives. More information about NED and the Democracy Award can be found at www.ned.org.
What: 2006 Democracy Award of National Endowment for Democracy
When: June 27, 2006 3:30 – 5:30 Roundtable Discussion, 5:30 – 7:30 Reception and Award presentation
Where: 345 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Contact: Jane Riley Jacobsen (202) 293-9072 or jane@ned.org.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY 2006 DEMOCRACY AWARD HONOREES
ZAINAB HAWA BANGURA – Sierra Leone
Zainab Bangura, a seasoned activist for good governance, human rights, and accountability in her native Sierra Leone, was recently chosen to serve as Chief Civil Affairs Officer to the UN Mission in Liberia. In 1995, she founded the Women Organized for a Morally Enlightened Nation (W.O.M.E.N), Sierra Leone’s first non-partisan women’s political rights organization, which played a vital role in the campaign against the military junta, the 1996 elections and peace accord. In 1996, she co-founded the Campaign for Good Governance, Sierra Leone’s largest indigenous NGO, and in 2001, founded the National Accountability Group to foster greater transparency in public affairs and curb corruption. In 2002, Ms. Bangura co-founded the Movement for Progress, a political party promoting good governance and the empowerment of women, youth, and the disabled in Sierra Leone. Nominated as the party’s chairperson, Ms. Bangura ran as the only female candidate in Sierra Leone’s May 2002 presidential elections. A former Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at NED, Ms. Bangura serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy.
ALFRED TABAN – Sudan
Alfred Taban has served as the publisher and chairman of the board of directors of the Khartoum Monitor, Sudan’s only independent English-language daily newspaper, since it began publication in September 2000. The Monitor has been repeatedly closed and harassed by the authorities, and Mr. Taban has demonstrated extraordinary personal courage in persevering despite detention, threats, and financial hardship. In 2005, Mr. Taban received the Speaker Abbot Award from the House of Commons’ Parliamentary Press Gallery for exposing the scale of the killing in Sudan.
IMMACULÉE BIRHAHEKA – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Immaculée Birhaheka is the co-founder and president of the organization Promotion and Support of Women’s Initiatives (PAIF), created in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1995, and is one of the Congo’s leading human rights activists. In a country in which the basic infrastructure of a civil society – government, police, and hospitals – have all been either destroyed or weakened past all recognition, Ms. Birhaheka has effectively built an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting women’s rights. She is able to visit political prisoners in military or paramilitary encampments and successfully negotiate for the release of the prisoners or improvements in the conditions of their detention, because of her reputation as a balanced but uncompromising critic of all perpetrators of injustice in her homeland. Ms. Birhaheka has been honored for her human rights work by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Community.
DR. REGINALD MATCHABA-HOVE
Reginald Matchaba-Hove is the one of the leading human rights activists in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. His human rights career has focused on empowering Zimbabweans to protect fundamental civil rights, ensuring free, fair, and transparent democratic processes, and facilitating the provision of basic social services. He currently serves as the chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). Prior to 1999, he was the chairman of Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights). Dr. Matchaba-Hove, who has a private medical practice, is on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Zimbabwe.
