WELCOME STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. AISHA L. ABDULLAHI
COMMISSIONER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AU)AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 2014 HIGH LEVEL DIALOGUE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA

DAKAR, SENEGAL

30 OCTOBER 2014

SALUTATIONS HERE

It is my pleasure and singular honour to be with you again here in Dakar. Let me, from the outset, extend my gratitude to the people and the Government of Senegal for hosting the Third High level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. They have hosted this dialogue forum every year since 2011 for which we are profoundly grateful. The focus of the Third High Level Dialogue is “Silencing the Guns: Strengthening Governance to Prevent, Manage and Resolve Conflicts in Africa”. This theme is inspired by the 50th Anniversary Declaration adopted by African leaders in May 2013 when the African Union kicked off the OAU/AU Golden Jubilee celebrations under the theme: Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance. Whereas the celebrations lasted for one year until May 2014, the mood of celebration and revisioning of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance continues. The Africa Agenda 2063, which is a long-term development vision of the African continent, is a clear demonstration of continuing celebration as we envision our continent over the next fifty years. The Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda is also part of this sense of optimism for our continent as we chart a new social contract for an inclusive, equitable and participatory economic development for Africa over the next fifteen years.
In view of the agenda and development roadmap that African leaders have proposed in the medium-term and long-term through the Post-2015 Development agenda and the Africa Agenda 2063, we all agree that wars and violent conflicts constitute a major barrier for progress on our continent. It is, therefore, befitting that as part of the 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration, Africa leaders unanimously agreed to end all wars and silence guns in Africa by the year 2020. This is a noble goal; it is a clarion call for mass action against violence; it is an inspiration to embrace non-violence; it is an aspiration towards a united, integrated, prosperous Africa driven by its people and representing a dynamic force in international arena. It is the quest for durable peace and sustainable democratic governance anchored on the spirit of Pan-Africanism and inspired by the Africa Agenda 2063.
Africa has surmounted numerous challenges in the past from which the continent can glean lessons as it gears up to silence guns by 2020. We have overcome slavery; we silenced colonial guns through decolonization; we survived the brutal bi-polar ideological divide in the form of the Cold War, which in Africa became a hot war; we have less inter-state wars and military coups. By all indications, Africa has made progress. In fact, even the most ardent critics of our continent have accepted this progress. It is not surprising that in 2001, the Economist perceived Africa as a hopeless continent marred by violence, death and disease. Ten years later (2011), the Economist proclaimed Africa as hopeful and rising continent. Silencing the guns and ending wars in Africa is bound to reinforce the general optimism about Africa’s development prospects over the next fifty years.
Today, I would like to focus less on the root causes of violent conflicts in Africa beyond observing that broadly three major factors account for the wars, instability and violence on our continent: (a) contestation over power; (b) contestation over resources; and (c) identity cleavages. It is evident that at the heart of our conflicts lies development failure and governance deficit. This is the case everywhere including in Somalia, Libya, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I will leave the details of this discussion to the experts in this room. I will focus more on what I consider possible policy interventions to redress this situation as we all strive towards a conflict-free, gun-free, peaceful and democratic Africa.I propose to put forward ten (10) proposals in this regard.
First, there is need to build the institutional and administrative capacity of the state in African countries, so that the state has the requisite authority and leaves less room for rebellions, such as in the DRC and Central African Republic.Effective state capacity is also related to the ability of the government to deliver services to its people. Effective service delivery, combined with decentralization and local democracy will go a long way in silencing guns.
Second, it is imperative that Africa’s socio-cultural diversity is considered a continental resource for greater unity and integration premised upon Pan-Africanism and Africa Renaissance, rather than a curse. It is evident that Africa’s diversity does not necessarily translate into adversity per se. The main problem is the politicization of diversity for political ends as we are witnessing in both Central African Republic and South Sudan. Mismanagement of diversity has been more costly during electoral contests where elections have ignited identity-based violence as witnessed in Kenya in 2007/08. Addressing this problem calls for a greater culture of tolerance and constructive management of diversity. It also calls for entrenchment of the practice of democratic, credible and transparent elections across the continent.
Third,in silencing the guns, Africa still needs to do much more in the area of expanding the frontiers of a human rights culture. Human rights, especially the rights of women and girls must be protected and promoted. It is largely deficiencies in embracing a culture of human rights that has led to some of the tragic cases of mass atrocities and genocide as we witnessed in Rwanda in 1994. Silencing guns in Africa entails committing to eradicating conditions that lead to genocide, such as impunity, among others. The transformation of the OAU to the AU has brought about a leap forward from the old doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states to the new doctrine of non-indifference to human rights violations, crimes against humanity and mass atrocities within member states. This is a positive step towards deeper integration in Africa within the framework of the African Economic Community premised on the notion of pooled sovereignty.
Fourth, ending wars and silencing guns in Africa is not the sole responsibility of African governments. It is equally the responsibility of all non-state actors including civil society organisations, the private sector, the faith-based organisations, the academic community, the women movement, the youth movement, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the international community. It is imperative that all these actors join hands in our quest for peace, democracy and development on our continent. It is encouraging that we already have in place continental mechanisms such the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) which aim to strengthen governance in Africa for peace and development bringing together these actors (both state and non-state).
Fifth, mismanagement of Africa’s natural resources has resulted in massive corruption that has left the African economy bleeding as clearly demonstrated by the Thabo Mbeki Panel Report and the Kofi Annan Africa Progress Report on illicit resource outflows and exploitation of Africa’s natural resources respectively.
Sixth, in our efforts to silence the guns, policy interventions will need to address the specific circumstances and situations of women and the youth. These are not only two of the most marginalized social groups on our continent, but they are also the largest sections of our populations. It is imperative that women empowerment and youth empowerment constitute the broader package for silencing guns.
Seventh, demilitarization of African politics is a crucial step in silencing guns. Part of our problem is the politiciztion of the security establishment and securitization of politics. This creates a potent mix where the political elite has a tight grip over the military and the military tends to cross boundaries into politics either covertly or overtly as we are witnessing in the Kingdom of Lesotho today. We need professional security establishments answerable and accountable not to political barons, but to parliament.
Eight, African Union States have already managed to do the difficult part towards silencing the guns. They have developed a robust normative framework in this regard. All that remains now to effectively implement this rich Shared Values Agenda of our Union. The AU Constitutive Act is the main treaty anchoring specific others including the 2003 Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council and the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Thus, the gap between norm-setting and norm implementation at national level remains a challenge.
Nine, violent conflicts on our continent have also led to massive forced displacement of our people in the form of internally displaced people, refugees, stateless people or irregular migrants especially across the high seas to Europe. We are dealing with massive displacement and refugee populations in most conflict zones in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel region, the Great lakes region, Central Africa region and parts of North Africa especially Libya. The November issue of the NewAfrican Magazine reports that 43 000 young Africans have died since the year 2000 trying to cross high seas to seek perceived better opportunities in Europe. While some of these are truly economic migrants, others are political refugees fleeing violence in their own countries. These are some of the costs of war in Africa.
Ten, African states and governments, working closely with their citizens must prioritise establishment and effective functioning of national infrastructures for peace which allow early detection, prevention, management and resolution of violent conflicts, at all levels of the nation-state, drawing lessons of experience from some best practices in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya for instance. These national peace architectures are essential if Africa is to play a key role transforming its violent conflicts into durable peace and sustainable democracy. This is where Africa-specific methodologies and culturally embedded strategies for transitional justice and conflict transformation, such as the Gacaca courts in Rwanda, the Ubuntu system in South Africa and Mato-put in Northern Uganda become extremely useful and these should be strengthened and reinforced.
As I conclude my remarks, allow me to also express a special word of appreciation to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their unwavering support to this Dialogue and its preparatory processes. Also, I want to extend our warm appreciation to the Government of Germany which has significantly supported these processes through GIZ and the Institute of Peace and Security Studies. Of equal mention are International IDEA, Africa Governance Institute and Infonet Africa, among others, who have remained committed partners in our campaign to silence guns and end wars through strengthening democratic and participatory governance in Africa.

As a final word of welcome, allow me also to remind you that this event is accessible to a wider audience through live streams and you may well also want to follow discussion throughout the event through twitter and Facebook accounts. Yes indeed, we have to keep up with the realities of globalization and the opportunities it offers for wider participation.

I thank you for your attention.