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Preparations for the 14th African Union Summit
The 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the African Union will be taking place in Addis
Ababa from Sunday to Tuesday, January 31st to February 2nd. The
Summit has been preceded this week by the Session of the
Executive Council, and 19th Ordinary Session of the meeting of
the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) which took place
on Monday and Tuesday. The Permanent Representatives Committee
deliberated in detail on administrative and financial matters,
the implementation of previous decisions of the Executive
Council and of the Assembly, and on various legal,
institutional, political, economic, social and cultural
matters. The Committee adopted a report of the outcome of its
meeting for submission to the Executive Council for
consideration and adoption.
The Sixteenth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, the
Council of Foreign Ministers, took place on Thursday and Friday
this week. The peace and security situation in Africa, and
unconstitutional changes of government were some of the issues
that the Council discussed in detail. On conflict situations in
the continent, the problems of Somalia and Madagascar received
the most attention. In his opening speech, the Chairman of the
AU Commission, Dr. Jean Ping said Somalia required special
attention from the African Union, stressing the need to support
the achievements of “a fragile peace and national
reconciliation”. Africa and the international community must not
leave Somalia to a harmful doom, he said. Dr. Ping welcomed the
role of AMISOM and commended the sacrifices made by Burundi and
Uganda. On Madagascar, Dr. Ping said the two parties had failed
to agree on an AU-brokered settlement, and they had been given
15 days to come to an agreement. He welcomed the cancellation of
the unilaterally called elections which would have affected the
AU’s mediation efforts. Madagascar’s AU membership is still
suspended. On Guinea, Dr. Ping said the military’s grip appeared
to be loosening, and the AU Commission would remain engaged to
encourage a return to constitutional rule. The mandate of all
the present members of the Peace and Security Council is due to
expire in March, and the Executive Council will be electing
fifteen members of the Peace and Security Council of the Union.
A
minute’s silence was observed at the opening sessions of the
Permanent Representative Committee and of the Executive Council
in memory of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash on
Monday. Council members expressed their deep sympathy and
solidarity to the people and Government of Ethiopia in this time
of grief. Foreign Minister Seyoum, who briefed the Council about
the incident, expressed his thanks to Council members for their
support.
The Council is responsible for the finalization of the agenda
for the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the
African Union which will convene on Sunday for its14th session,
from 31 January to 2 February. Among other business, the
Assembly will elect the Chairperson of the African Union to
replace Colonel Gadhafi whose term of office ends with this
Summit. The chairmanship goes in geographic rotation among the
five regions. Last year, North African states nominated Colonel
Gadhafi. This year it is Southern Africa’s turn and they have
nominated Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutarika. The Assembly
will also adopt the draft budget for 2010 and the appointment of
members of the Peace and Security Council, as well as consider
reports on peace and security and on the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court. The theme of the summit is
"Information and Communication Technologies in Africa:
Challenges and Prospects for Development". Representatives from
the UN, the International Telecommunications Union and the World
Bank are expected to provide input. The Summit will also launch
the AU flag and present awards to the winners of two African
science prizes.
In
addition to the African Union Summit, other meetings held over
the weekend will include an IGAD Council of Ministers meeting,
and the 22nd Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government
Implementation Committee.
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Foreign Minister Seyoum meets U.S., UK, and Portuguese officials
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Seyoum met and held
discussions with U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for
International Security, Alexander Vershbow, on a wide range of
bilateral and regional issues. On Somalia, they agreed that the
nature of the conflict had been transformed from a domestic to
an international conflict with foreign terrorists taking the
leading role in Al-Shabaab. The need to step up efforts to
strengthen the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as well as
increase support to AMISOM was underlined. On Sudan, the two
sides agreed on the importance of stepping up efforts to
implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and engage in
discussions to ensure the necessary mutual confidence and trust
for the difficult challenges ahead.
Minister Seyoum also held bilateral talks with Baroness Kinnock,
the UK Minister for African Affairs, and Portuguese Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Professor Joao
Cravinho, on the margins of the AU Executive Council meeting
this week. In his discussions with Baroness Kinnock, Minister
Seyoum, who commended the Government of the United Kingdom as
Ethiopia's most important development partner, noted that
Ethiopia was making major headway towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, with particular emphasis on health
and education. He indicated that the goals in other sectors were
also within reasonable reach. Baroness Kinnock assured Minister
Seyoum of her government's continued economic support. Minister
Seyoum also briefed Baroness Kinnock on current political and
security developments in the region. He noted that the conflict
in Somalia has been hijacked by Al-Shabaab extremists who owed
allegiance to Al-Qaeda. They were aiming not just to control
Somalia but to use it as a springboard to destabilize the entire
region. Following an extensive exchange of views, the ministers
agreed on the need for the international community to assist the
Somali Government. Minister Seyoum also briefed Baroness Kinnock
on Sudan. The discussion covered the peace process in Darfur,
the positive as well as the negative tendencies in
implementation of the CPA, the up coming national election and
possible scenarios following the 2011 referendum. Both Ministers
called on all Sudanese to commit themselves to settle their
differences through peaceful means and dialogue.
Foreign Minster Seyoum and the Portuguese Secretary of State,
Professor Cravinho, also held similar discussions, exchanging
views on bilateral relations as well as regional issues, with
special emphasis on Somalia and the Sudan. Both sides expressed
satisfaction with existing bilateral relations and agreed to
further consolidate their relationship in the years ahead.
Minister Seyoum gave Professor Cravinho an extensive briefing on
the ongoing preparations for the upcoming national elections in
Ethiopia. Discussions reflected similar views on the nature of
the conflict in Somalia, and they agreed that the imminent
danger posed by extremists in Somalia must be stopped by the
concerted efforts of the international community. It was
suggested that the European Union should put appropriate
mechanisms in place for the TFG to secure necessary financial
assistance. On Sudan, the ministers emphasized that the
international community should encourage all actors to commit
themselves to political solutions rather than resorting to
violence and conflict.
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Somalia:
Responsibilities and the need for co-ordination
Fierce fighting has been continuing for the second week running
in Hiiraan and Galgudud regions between Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a (ASWJ)
and the forces of Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. In recent weeks,
Ahlu Sunna had built up considerable military momentum, making
advances both in Hiiraan and Galgudud in central Somalia. This
has now come to a halt with Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam forces
retaking the capital of Hiiraan, Belet Weyne. The city has
changed hands several times in recent weeks but the latest loss
suggests the recent progress made by Ahlu Sunna is faltering.
One reason may be that Ahlu Sunna’s first congress held in
Abudwaaq last month did not produce a clear solution to the
movement’s problems of structure and leadership. The result was
that Ahlu Sunna has been left with a leadership gap which has
been reflected in its recent military performance against Al
Shabaab and Hizbul Islam forces. This issue of leadership and
organizational structure remains the most important issue facing
Ahlu Sunna. Without these even a popular movement as strong as
Ahlu Sunna, and with very substantial grass roots support,
cannot effectively challenge extremism in Somalia. Ahlu Sunna
needs to demonstrate an ability to organize itself effectively
in order to sustain its campaign against Al-Shabaab.
Another explanation for the loss of Belet Weyne lies in the lack
of effective coordination between the Government and Ahlu Sunna.
Both have made efforts to co-ordinate their fight against
extremism. Both leaderships have underlined the need for full
co-operation, and appear aware that any failure to achieve this
will challenge their survival in the medium or long term.
However, despite their need for each other, they have yet to
translate this into concrete strategy, or trust.
This has been reflected in Ahlu Sunna’s military set-backs this
week, and the Government and Ahlu Sunna need to urgently address
this failure. The priority must be for the two to co-operate
fully. Unless they address their problems and put their
relationship on solid basis, they will continue to offer
opportunities to Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. One consequence of
this may be to endanger Puntland and Somaliland as well
neighboring countries. There is an obvious need for strengthened
co-operation between the administration of Puntland and Ahlu
Sunna as well as between the Transitional Federal Government and
the Government of Puntland. All are threatened by extremism, and
all will suffer if they fail to co-operate.
Co-operation is, of course, the responsibility of the leadership
of the TFG, or Ahlu Sunna and others, but there is an equal
responsibility that must be addressed by the international
community. As we have noticed repeatedly in A Week in the Horn
while there may be a consensus among the international community
over the threat to international peace and stability posed by
Somalia, much firmer action is still needed on the ground,
despite the Security Council’s targeted sanctions against
Eritrea. Today, the Somali Government of President Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed celebrates its first anniversary. The Minister of
Planning and International Co-operation, Abdirahman Abdishakur
Warsame, said the Government had achieved a lot but was still
facing huge challenges from Al-Shabaab and other groups
supported by international terrorists. It still needed massive
support from the international community. Yesterday, the United
Nations Security Council, as expected, adopted a resolution
authorizing the African Union to maintain AMISOM in Somalia for
another year. The Council also requested Secretary-General Ban
ki-Moon to continue to provide a logistical support package as
well as technical and expert advice for AMISOM.
In
New York, a meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy was told
yesterday by the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special
Representative, Charles Petrie, that continued expansion of
piracy further out to sea, and the innovative financing methods
employed by pirates, highlighted the limits of an exclusively
sea-based approach to the problem. It emphasized, he said, the
need for the international community to deal with the issue
through “a comprehensive, cohesive and broad-based approach”.
The independent UN expert on Human Rights in Somalia, Shamsul
Bari, following a visit to the region, yesterday described
“piracy and the huge money it generates” as posing a possible
security threat not only to Somalia and the region, but to the
whole world.
This continues to underline the enormous challenges still being
posed to the TFG by successes of local and international
extremist groups operating in Somalia. The supporters of the
Djibouti Agreement and of the peace process must be assisted to
face their common challenge together. They must be helped
financially and materially to a far greater extent. This remains
the only way forward for Somalia, and for the international
community.
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The Tragedy of ET 409
On
Monday, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 409 en route from Beirut to
Addis Ababa crashed into the Mediterranean. On board the Boeing
737-800 plane were 82 passengers and 8 crew members mostly
Lebanese and Ethiopian nationals. It can now be assumed there
were no survivors. As Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said it was a
day of grief and sorrow for all Ethiopians. The Government
declared a day of mourning and flags were flown at half mast in
honor of the victims of the accident. The following day, Foreign
Minister Seyoum Mesfin led a high level delegation to Lebanon to
hold talks with Lebanese officials about the ongoing search and
rescue efforts. His visit was to express the gratitude of the
Government and peoples of Ethiopia to their Lebanese
counterparts for all the efforts they made in the aftermath of
the crash and to express sympathy and condolences to the
Lebanese people for their loss.
On
his return to Addis Ababa yesterday, Minister Seyoum addressed
the Executive Council. Reacting to the outpouring of sympathy
from the ministers, he spoke of his visit to Lebanon, explaining
that the main body of the plane had now been located and hoped
that the remains of most of the passengers would be found in the
fuselage, the most important work in connection with the search
and rescue mission. He noted the significance of recovering the
black box, now located. This was vital for discovering the
causes of the crash. There were no clues to this yet. He said an
agreement had been reached with Lebanese officials to end any
wild speculation. It was only yesterday in fact that an
investigation team was set up. Minister Seyoum expressed his
profound appreciation to all those who had been helping, and
continued to help, in the search and rescue work. He was
particularly grateful to the Lebanese government, the UN Interim
Force in Lebanon, the US, Cyprus, UK and France.
Reaction to the tragedy has been one of shock and disbelief. The
reports of most commentators and media outlets have been made
against a backdrop of Ethiopian Airline’s excellent safety
record and world class performance. Ethiopian Airlines has never
encountered a major safety challenge in six decades. It has been
committed to excellence and shown its willingness to invest huge
resources in building up its human capital as well as a
dependable state-of-the-art fleet. It flies to more destinations
throughout the world than any other airline in Africa, and has
been unstinting in efforts to bring Africa together. Only a few
days earlier, Ethiopian Airlines placed orders for 10 new
737-800 planes from Boeing in addition to the 10 ‘Dreamliners’
due to be delivered in the near future.
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More on the
Misrepresentation and Misinterpretation of HRW
As
we noted last week, in its annual report for 2010, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) in its four page chapter on Ethiopia manages to
recycle a litany of discredited charges against the Ethiopian
government’s compliance with human rights during 2009. It
claimed that the government had restricted opposition parties,
selectively targeting members of the opposition with arrests and
intimidation, adopted repressive legislation aiming at clamping
down on the free press and muzzling NGOs, and tolerated human
rights abuses including the commission of war crimes by members
of the armed forces. As usual with HRW the report is long on
generalization and abstraction, and markedly short on specifics.
It makes no mention of, nor any attempt to reply, to the
detailed and devastating responses by the Ethiopian government
to HRW’s earlier unsubstantiated reports and public
pronouncements over the last year.
In
fact, 2009 saw a number of major positive human rights
developments in Ethiopia, almost all of which are overlooked in
HRW’s report. They include the commencement of preparations for
the May 2010 Federal and Regional State parliamentary elections.
In a move that was almost universally agreed would positively
contribute to the holding of a free and fair election and was
widely applauded, the ruling party and the major opposition
parties painstakingly negotiated a Code of Conduct to provide
for the ground rules for the upcoming elections. Almost all the
political parties subscribed to this instrument which became
legal binding upon its adoption by the House of People’s
Representatives. The year in fact saw opposition parties
starting their election campaigning, operating freely throughout
the country as HRW would know had it bothered to investigate.
The activities of the media and NGOs, international and
national, were similarly un-circumscribed. It might be noted
that the President of the Federation of African Journalists has
described Ethiopia as “ready to work with its journalists to
build a strong, well-informed and confident media community -
this is good for the country and good for Africa.” The
Federation of African Journalists and the International
Federation of Journalists held a joint two day conference in
Addis Ababa last weekend.
During the year, Ethiopia, with the cooperation and assistance
of its partners, presented the human rights implementation
reports required under key UN human rights treaties, as well as
by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN
Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The
reports under the UPR mechanism and the African Charter were
successfully considered by the respective supervisory
mechanisms. Contrary to claims by Human Rights Watch about the
Ethiopian government’s relationship with civic society
organizations, these reports were prepared and presented on the
basis of detailed discussions and constructive engagement
between the Government and various CSOs. During the same period,
the Government finalized the vetting process for the selection
of officials for the country’s national human rights
institutions. New appointments have recently been made to head
the National Human Rights Commission and the Office of
Ombudsman. It might be added that Ethiopia continues to register
impressive economic growth. This has been helping to further
expand and consolidate the provision of social services
throughout the country. Extraordinarily, Human Rights Watch does
not find socio-economic rights worthy of any serious discussion.
Human Rights Watch’s claim that the Government does not
investigate alleged human rights abuses by its armed forces is
simply false, as HRW knows perfectly well. Earlier allegations
by HRW led to an immediate independent and detailed internal
investigation of possible human rights abuses in the Ogaden area
of the Somali National Regional State. This investigation
exposed serious flaws in the methodology and accuracy of HRW’s
report and despite face-saving public pronouncements that it
would respond to the investigation’s findings, HRW has simply
not done so. It might be noted that arrests and trial followed
one genuine case of abuse unnoticed by HRW but uncovered by the
subsequent independent investigation.
In
fact, the Ethiopian national defense forces take constitutional
and human rights training very seriously. As Human Rights Watch
has been repeatedly informed, educational seminars and workshops
on human rights and humanitarian law are regularly carried out
as part of the core curricula in all Ethiopia’s military
training institutions. Details of this were provided to HRW in
November 2008 for example, in connection with HRW claims of
alleged offences in Somalia. Typically, the information was
never acknowledged. Topics covered in this training include the
laws of war, international humanitarian law, the International
Declaration of Human Rights, civilian supremacy over the
military, patriotism and loyalty to the Constitution, rights and
freedoms of citizens under the Ethiopian constitution, equality
of religions and of nations and nationalities. All soldiers
receive copies of the constitution; informal discussions are
regularly held on a variety of constitutional topics. A wide
array of workshops on specific topics in human rights and
humanitarian law are routinely made available for senior
military officers, members of the military legal profession,
those participating in international peacekeeping operations,
and military media professionals. Human rights conferences and
seminars are regularly convened in different military training
centers. The Ministry of Defense transmits a regular radio
program on the military's role in the protection of human rights
and implementation of the laws of war. The Ministry’s bi-weekly
paper 'The Dawn” features a column on humanitarian law.
Similar problems of misrepresentation and misinterpretation
appear in HRW’s comments about recent legislation, including the
Civil Society Proclamation. No analysis of the proclamation can
support the claims that it is repressive or demonstrates a
narrowing of the political space. What it does require is
transparency and accountability from civil society
organizations, demands which appear to be the main problem for
certain international advocacy organizations. The legislation
distinguishes between Ethiopian and foreign charities but it
does not imply the prohibition of foreign charities from
charitable works or Ethiopian charities from advocacy work as
alleged. The only areas of activity prohibited to foreign
charities are political. Local advocacy groups can continue to
undertake their advocacy work unimpeded – this is a right
guaranteed under the Constitution. The only limitation is that
they have to raise 90 % of their funds from local sources to
prevent undue political influence by foreigners and ensure
ownership of advocacy work by Ethiopians themselves. The law
does not, incidentally, exclude the possibility of international
organizations or foreign governmental advocacy organizations,
even HRW, operating in Ethiopia, but this must be under
agreement with the Government, and allow for regular
evaluations. The law allows for an independent Charities and
Societies Agency to ensure the implementation of the words and
spirit of the legislation. The Proclamation demands the
accountability of societies and charities, but it has been
criticized for laying down “excessively severe penalties for
transgressions”. In fact, most violations are subject to fines,
though suspension is prescribed for more serious problems such
as falsification of accounts. Cancellation of registration can
only come as the result of exceptionally grave violations
including deliberate fraud and misrepresentation, or involvement
in unlawful purpose or purpose prejudicial to public peace,
welfare and security. This is hardly unusual any more than the
requirement for transparency which includes the demand for
annual activity reports to be sent to the Civil Societies
Agency. It might be added that the Proclamation is also designed
to have a positive impact on the efficient performance of
charities and societies, allowing for CSOs to create sustainable
sources of income, and providing incentives to CSOs that make
maximum use of their resources.
Ethiopia, in fact, enjoys a healthy relationship with its
bilateral and multilateral development partners. One reason is
that this stems from certain shared principles which underpin
the Government’s relationship with its partners and from the
serious attention it gives to development issues. The Government
values the contribution of its partners to meeting its
development objectives; donors respect the Government’s
commitment and seriousness. Ethiopia’s relationship with its
development partners is, in fact, based on mutual respect, an
open dialogue and on strategic priorities. For the last several
years, this has nurtured and facilitated a number of channels of
communication and dialogue. For example, within the context of
the Cotonou Agreement, Ethiopia is one of the few countries
undertaking regular consultation between EU ambassadors and
government officials at the highest level. Human rights are
among the issues covered in these discussions. To the apparent
disappointment of advocacy organizations like HRW, such dialogue
has helped avoid unnecessary public friction even when
differences have appeared.
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Ensuring the Integrity
of the Upcoming Elections: Partisanship, loyal opposition and
the Economist
Political parties play a central role in the democratization
process in any country. They provide the means through which
different public interests are articulated, providing for the
aspirations of various sections of society. They are the main
actors in the market place of ideas, offering a menu of
alternative political platforms on a range of areas, political,
economic or social. Their role in building democracy is part of
a continuum of activities in which free and fair elections are
an integral part, allowing citizens to choose between various
alternative platforms. To articulate the interests of their
constituencies, parties need to identify, bring together and
spell out issues to enhance the best interests of the people.
They are, of course, expected to play by the rules laid down in
the Constitution and subsequent legislation, even though by the
nature of elections not all of a party’s expectations will be
met in one or two election terms. Free and fair elections are
less about the outcome, winning or losing, than about the
process.
We
have mentioned before the difference between parties that insist
that democracy depends upon their victory alone, and parties
that are prepared to participate in the democratic process and
play the role of a loyal opposition. The former largely focus on
the outcome of the elections, on the need to have their own way.
Most of the problems in previous elections in Ethiopia have
arisen from such a disposition. The latter are prepared to abide
by the rules, expose the weakness of governing parties, accept
the electoral process whoever wins. Their presence raises the
hope that the political process will benefit, no matter who wins
or loses elections. Recent developments, notably the Code of
Conduct recently signed between the ruling party and 65
opposition parties, suggests the lack of trust that has long
characterized inter-party relations in Ethiopia has now been
resolved.
Unfortunately, this idea that opposition parties can play a real
role in strengthening the democratic process has never lacked
detractors. Some opposition politicians have made no secret of
their preference for the rough and tumble of “color” revolutions
to try to short-circuit their way to power. Their declared
intentions may be outrageous, but they have never been without
supporters among international media outlets or advocacy groups,
including Human Rights Watch, and now the Economist. The latest
article on Ethiopia in the Economist (“Anxious Ethiopia:
Jangling Nerves”) is a classic piece of partisanship of the kind
that the detractors of the democratization process have deployed
in their campaign to de-legitimize the election in advance. It
appears to be trying to undo whatever positive impact recent
multi-party negotiations over the Code of Conduct and other
issues have had on the democratic and electoral process. It is
true the article does raise a number of issues purportedly
attempting to shed light on economic and political developments
in Ethiopia under the EPRDF. It even manages to put in a few
kind words about successes in education and health. These,
however, are merely the prelude to an unsparing indictment
against the legitimacy of the political process in Ethiopia and
the very notion of loyal opposition. The Economist finds it
difficult to accept the legitimacy of the Code of Conduct. In a
curious turn of phrase, it claims some of the opposition parties
may indeed be “genuine”, but labels most of those who signed the
Code as being “in hock to the EPRDF”, another surprising phrase
to describe parties that are prepared to accept the
Constitution. It is strange that any ‘neutral’ foreign media can
so casually label opposition parties of another country as
genuine or otherwise on grounds that have nothing to do with
building democracy.
What all this highlights is the fact that the Economist is no
friend to any loyal opposition in the developing world or in
Ethiopia. Of course, any genuine democracy needs a loyal
opposition; indeed, no real democracy can do without it. In a
serious democratic electoral process, only parties with a real
political platform, and a willingness to play by the rules, can
be considered genuine contenders for power. Opposition elements
that insist on trying to grab power by any means, fair or foul,
will always remain just “spoilers”. No amount of sloganeering or
media campaigning on their behalf will change that. The process
of democratization in Ethiopia will not be affected by their
efforts at de-legitimization or by unsavory articles in the
Economist.
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