Africa Program Highlights (2008)

The year 2008 began with violence following disputed elections in Kenya and ended with Ghana’s even closer, but peaceful, democratic elections. The rest of the year was likewise marked with various gains and retreats for democracy. Soldiers overthrew the democratically-elected government of Mauritania and seized power in Guinea after the death of Lansana Conté, the country’s long-time dictator.

Legislative elections in Angola were peaceful, but simply consolidated the power of the ruling party. And in the end, two rounds of elections in Zimbabwe only deepened the political, economic, and social crisis overwhelming that nation. The Ethiopian government imposed legislation that will severely restrict the work of nongovernmental organizations; its intervention in Somalia failed while anarchy, famine, and piracy only grew worse.

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo flared up, but seemed to subside in Darfur, Sudan, while the Lord’s Resistance Army renewed its depredations in DRC, Sudan, and Uganda. Elections were postponed once again in Cote d’Ivoire, but the peace agreement is holding.

In 2008, NED made 260 grants for programs in more than 30 African countries that contributed to many democratic gains and resisted some of democracy’s reversals.

The Endowment continued to support Sudan’s halting, fragile progress. The stakes are high; if the process outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement fails, there could be a catastrophic return to civil war. NED made grants to 25 organizations working in both northern and southern Sudan, many of which were focused on critical national elections scheduled for 2009.

NED partners produced voter education manuals and trained local leaders, youth, and women on elections in Khartoum, Gedaref, Jongle, Southern Kordofan, Upper Nile, and Equatoria states. Complementing these efforts, the Endowment organized a conference in Washington “Towards Democratic Elections in Sudan,” which has been transcribed and published as a report.

Somalia is a humanitarian and political nightmare, but NED’s 20 partners, spread throughout the country, preserved the hope for human rights, peace and democracy, and fought valiantly for the cause of press freedom. In Mogadishu, despite constant fighting between Ethiopian troops, government forces, and Islamic militia, NED partners documented abuses, held workshops, and broadcast radio programs promoting human rights and democracy.

Somali journalists were frequent targets of assassination and other forms of harassment, but NED support to the National Union of Somali Journalists, both directly and through the Solidarity Center provided significant protection, including refuge in other countries; while direct support to five radio stations insured that Somalis stayed informed of their rights and the latest political developments.

Although by the end of the year the Ethiopian government had imposed severe restrictions on organizations advocating for human rights and democracy, NED’s eight Ethiopian partners resolved to continue their efforts, while the Center for International Private Enterprise strengthened the Ethiopian business community to engage the government on economic reform. In Kenya and Uganda, both the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute strengthened the independence of the legislatures and the capacity of the political parties.

The hope inspired by Zimbabwe’s first round of elections in March was crushed in the ensuing state-sponsored violence, spiraling economic crisis, and social collapse. Many NED partners were detained, beaten, and harassed in the government campaign of political repression. NED focused its support on youth groups promoting participation, reconciliation, human rights and an end to violence, while the Solidarity Center continued its vital support to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

NED provided assistance to 38 partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two years after democratic elections, poor governance and insecurity prevail throughout much of the country. Turmoil in the east continues to generate enormous human suffering, including the movement of hundreds of thousands of refugees, widespread massacres, and an epidemic of sexual violence. Yet islands of democratic governance have emerged, and NED’s Congolese partners in civil society have increasingly engaged newly elected officials in denouncing human rights abuses, improving government accountability, and raising citizen awareness.

In North Kivu, despite attacks on activists, NED partners campaigned against torture, monitored human rights violations, trained para-jurists, and worked to improve the local judiciary. They also campaigned for women’s political participation, brought local officials and communities together to implement development plans and resolve land disputes, and monitored and combated sexual violence.

NED support to new partners in Bas-Congo sought to arrest the rise in insecurity in this relatively democratic enclave. Partners engaged the rebellious Bunda Dia Kongo movement to adopt democratic and non-violent methods, conducted civic education in rural areas of the province, promoted the political participation of rural women, advocated for accountability in the management of natural resources, and encouraged non-violence and democracy among youth.

Decades of neglect, oil-induced corruption, and the trampling of democratic rights in the Niger Delta and other parts of southeastern Nigeria have intensified the violence and instability of the region. With enormous courage, NED partners such as:

• the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD),
• the Center for Human Empowerment, Advancement and Development (CHEAD),
• Environmental Rights Action (ERA), • the Human Rights Justice and Peace Foundation (HRJPF),
• the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL),
• Niger Delta Environment and Relief Foundation (NIDEREF), and
• Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC)

have fearlessly documented human rights abuses; environmental destruction and corruption; raised community awareness and advocated for reform; and increased government accountability to Nigerian citizens.

Elsewhere in West Africa, most countries enjoyed steady democratic progress throughout the year. NED’s 22 partners in Liberia and 8 partners in Sierra Leone maintained their watchdog role, but increasingly engaged their governments in policy issues such as: freedom of information laws; security sector reform; prison reform; judicial and legislative strengthening; and economic reform. In Ghana, CIPE supported local partners to hold the country’s first-ever presidential debates.

In Cote d’Ivoire, NDI held forums around the country fostering greater collaboration among rival political parties in preparation for crucial elections scheduled for 2009. NED’s civil society partners in Cote d’Ivoire complemented these efforts with campaigns promoting the peace process and democratic elections.

Exceptions to the progress in West Africa were the coups in Guinea and Mauritania, but a renewed democratic transition in both situations is feasible. NED’s efforts to support human rights in Guinea included a grant to the Senegalese-based network Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme that helped galvanize the human rights movement in the country prior to the death of Conté and the military coup. Both CIPE and NDI remained engaged in Mauritania, quickly adapting their programs to the evolving political environment.