The General Assembly will begin discussion today of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The first development program to be fully conceived and designed by Africans themselves, NEPAD recognizes the centrality of good governance, democracy and human rights in the quest for development, but then does little to elaborate what that means in practice.
“It is tempting for member states to want to focus on traditional development projects,” said Peter Takirambudde, director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division. “Such projects are less controversial and provide measurable results. But, NEPAD’s success hinges upon the political reforms that are more difficult and that need international support. These are the initiatives that can really transform Africa.”
NEPAD addresses political governance and human rights primarily through the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic, and Corporate Governance and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which were officially adopted by the African Union (AU) at the Durban Summit (July 8-10). The Declaration seeks to codify a set of standards and practices that AU members will uphold. The reforms outlined in the Declaration on Democracy include the rule of law, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to association and peaceful assembly, and the right to vote and be elected.
The APRM states that the particular circumstances and different levels of development of countries in the APRM will be taken into consideration during evaluations. While acknowledging that the APRM must consider a nation’s particular macroeconomic conditions in assessing compliance with economic and corporate governance standards, Human Rights Watch said that the APRM should not endorse varying standards of good governance, respect for human rights and democracy under any circumstances.
“The standards articulated in the Declaration must be applied uniformly. The commitments expressly outlined in the Declaration constitute a minimum set of human rights and political reforms,” said Takirambudde.
Takirambudde urged that member states should be certain to emphasize the importance of involving non-governmental actors in NEPAD’s development to help address NEPAD’s apparently weak efforts on behalf of Africa’s most marginalized and vulnerable people—women, children, refugees, the internally displaced and those affected by HIV/AIDS. “The non-governmental community will have to play an active role in holding governments accountable,” said Takirambudde
