AFRICA: A RIGHTS BASED APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

Address by Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Africa Centre, London
9 March 1998

I am deeply conscious of the assumptions often made in speaking about Africa, as though it is a subject which can be dealt with in a generalised, sweeping way. The real Africa is diverse in its 57 states of which some 25 are democracies, and even more richly diverse in its many languages, tribes and cultures. But I speak about it, nonetheless, as a whole because I know that all of Africa feels at times marginalised and sidelined on the world economic and political agenda.

Africa challenges both itself and the international community to achieve fully the fundamental objectives of peace, economic development, democracy and human rights. For the United Nations the challenge is to do our part to support and accompany African countries on their chosen road to development.

Africa has often been called the unhappy continent, with particular reference to Sub-Saharan Africa. That has not always been the case. Prior to the arrival of European explorers, that part of the continent had developed very sophisticated cultures, social structures and political organisations particularly well suited to the conditions on that continent. As one author has said of that time, "they cultivated a respect for human values and human worth far in advance of the materialistic west", which can be seen reflected in the Xhosa proverb; "People are people through other people". Africa therefore has current lessons for us as we look again through the lens of responsibilities at the protection and promotion of human rights.

Sadly, the past encounter with Europe led to the draining of Africa's riches for the benefit of others, the slavery and exile of her daughters and sons and the division of communities into opposing groups; the better to ensure colonial rule. The end of colonialism was too often not the liberation so courageously fought for; indigenous despots replaced foreign rulers and the riches continued to benefit the chosen few. Guided by those new rulers, international development assistance was largely a failure. And we must never forget the horrible genocide in Rwanda and the legacy of division which was at its roots. But new changes are taking place in Africa, fueled by Africans, led by Africans and aimed at securing lasting peace, based on democracy, human rights and sustainable development. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his statement to the Heads of State and Government of Africa in Harare last June, called this Africa's third wave. And he challenged us all to make the difficult but essential commitment to work for the essential and interrelated objectives of peace, development, democracy and human rights.

The signs are clear; South Africa has made a peaceful transition to Democracy, as has Namibia. Peace has returned to Mozambique and progress is being made in Western Sahara. And we can see the strengthening of democracy in Morocco and elsewhere. Serious regional efforts, supported by the United Nations, are being made to bring conflicts to an end or to prevent new ones from breaking out.

Africa has also laid the foundations for its own regional human rights institutions, with the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Commission set up by that Charter and the new prospect of an African Human Rights Court. I believe this is a renewed opportunity for African values to enrich the international norms and standards of human rights.

The people of Africa are also speaking out directly, as individuals and through their organizations. I am impressed by these calls for peace, poverty elimination, justice and human rights in a framework of reconciliation.

Just a year ago in Kigali I attended, as President of Ireland, a Panafrican Conference on Peace, Gender and Development where leading Africans adopted a Declaration and Programme of Action based on the premise that peace is a pre-requisite to development and that peace can only be built on equality and freedom from injustice. That Declaration and Programme of Action challenge Governments, NGOs and international organizations to orient their policies to support those objectives. We will be judged by how well we are able to respond.

The concept of human rights drawing on internationally agreed norms has a crucial bearing on supporting Africans secure peace, democracy, development and justice. We have realized that human rights must be an integral component of peace-making, peace-keeping. humanitarian assistance and development. The Secretary-General has thus made human rights a cross cutting element in all the work of the United Nations and its contribution to attaining these objectives.

The United Nations human rights programme of my office has been involved in Africa in the fight against apartheid and colonialism and more recently in providing wide ranging assistance to countries in transition to democracy, to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and to human rights institutes in Banjul and Tunis.

The programme has provided assistance in the human rights aspects of free and fair elections in Angola, Eritrea, Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa. It has assisted in drafting the human rights elements of constitutions in Malawi and South Africa and in establishing national human rights institutions, including ombudsman, in Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe and Malawi. Support for legislative reform has been provided to Benin, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Tanzania and judges, lawyers, police officials and others have been trained in Egypt, Burundi, Benin, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo and Chad. Support has also been given in strengthening non-governmental organizations, and civil society, in human rights education and in disseminating the Universal Declaration in local languages.

The Commission on Human Rights is also following closely several specific situations of violation of human rights through special rapporteurs including in Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire). And, of course, each year information of violations of human rights in many African countries is presented to the Commission by non-governmental organizations. This year, especially, the Commission will have to face the extremely difficult and complex pattern of violation of human rights in Algeria and seek to see more clearly where the responsibilities lie and what steps can be taken to help bring them to an end.

In Africa, the human rights programme is faced with the particular challenge of the role of human rights in emergency situations and in post conflict society building. Our experiences in peace building have shown how important the inclusion of human rights provisions in peace or transitional agreements can be, and the difficult but necessary role United Nations human rights monitors can play in building mutual confidence and helping to create the climate of understanding for peace. The verdict is uneven, partly because of a failure to listen enough to those with ownership of the problems being addressed.

We have offices dealing with post conflict human rights issues in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. We can expect, as conflicts end elsewhere to be asked to open other offices. Our experience in Rwanda and in other countries has given us some lessons for the future which I would like to share with you, and much to learn from you and others.

In 1994 the United Nations began, belatedly, to provide large scale humanitarian assistance and protection in Rwanda in response to the genocide and armed conflict. Parallel to that, and at the initiative of the first High Commissioner and with the backing of the Commission on Human Rights, an office was opened in Kigali which subsequently stationed staff in each prefecture in the country.

The early focus of that office was the collection of information on the genocide and the monitoring of the on-going human rights situation. Gradually, the role of assistance in building the institutions of human rights through training and education grew to go hand in hand with the information collection activities. The office's monitoring and assistance activities took on increased importance as it became necessary to help ensure the conditions of respect for human rights required for a secure return of the refugees. A first observation is that the humanitarian and human rights dimensions of our response to emergency situations must take into account the long term development objectives of the country. A smooth transition from assistance to development is essential but it must be prepared from the very outset.

Thus a two track approach should be considered in which humanitarian assistance on the one hand and development assistance on the other will eventually converge, with human rights an element in both. This means that both institutions and individuals must work together aware of the objectives and needs of the sister programmes. Further, steps should be taken to ensure the fullest participation possible by a country's leaders and people, directly through the elected organs of Government and through NGOs and civil society.

If human rights is an essential element of the international response to situations of tension or conflict, it is even more essential for national authorities to respect international human rights standards in such situations. Respect for the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will provide the space for dialogue necessary to long term solutions to the root causes of conflict and prevent the excesses which make reconciliation so difficult.

Societies which have emerged from conflict have particular needs in the area of human rights and economic development and the complexities of such situations require special care from international actors. The material, economic, health and social damage and imbalances occasioned by the conflict must be addressed in part with the assistance of international development cooperation. The hate and psychological scars of conflict need to be over come by creating a climate of confidence that human rights will be recognized and protected and can provide a framework for tackling these difficult problems.

In seeking national reconciliation, international human rights standards have a unique role to play. Since they are by definition universal, and not the property of one group or sector of the community, they can be readily accepted by all as the basis for living together, without the loss of political face or prestige.

A particularly important issue is impunity. Each society needs to find its own response to the demands to know what happened and for justice to be done. There is no model good for every situation.

Economic reconstruction to be sustainable has to be accompanied by the building of the institutions of human rights. Ratifying human rights treaties, ensuring that the constitution proclaims and protects human rights, reviewing and amending legislation and training judges, police, lawyers and prison officials might at first sight seem secondary in importance, the contrary is true. These are activities which can clearly signal the commitment to address human rights issues and to build a society in which all can live freely and provide a solid legal framework for economic development which will aid national and international investment.

The General Assembly has set development of Africa as a main priority of the United Nations. From the human rights point of view, we need to have a global approach to human rights assistance in Africa, within the over all development perspective. The innovative dimension would be to recognise how a sense of community and other African values can infuse and reinvigorate our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all that has been built upon it over the past fifty years.

Thus, we have prepared a statement of human rights objectives in Africa. The aim is to bring about an improvement in the enjoyment of human rights, in particular, through strengthening the legal, policy and institutional capacity to promote and protect human rights nationally and regionally. Assistance would be provided, at Government request, to achieve ratification by all African States of the basic human rights treaties, the incorporation of international standards into national legislation, the prevention of human rights violations and removal of obstacles to enjoyment of human rights, the adoption of national plans for human rights, the establishment of national institutions, and the strengthening of cooperation for human rights at the regional and sub-regional levels. Here we must be sensitive to the deep understanding of freedom in Africa and take that as our guide. And here it is well to reflect on the wise words of President Nelson Mandela, "When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the rights not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a long and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning..." An important step towards reaching our human rights development objectives in Africa was taken by my Office and the UNDP in agreeing to provide a regional human rights adviser for southern Africa charged with facilitating, in coordination and consultation with the UNDP resident coordinators, the formulation, implementation and evaluation of projects for governance, human rights, democracy and the rule of law developed at government request. Advice would also be provided, as requested, to Governments of the region and to the Southern Africa Development Community.

Our approach to assistance in Africa, as elsewhere, is that of the Right to Development: the equal importance of all human rights be they civil, cultural, economic, political or social and their interdependence. Africa has to tackle its legacy of poverty with the help of the international community. I am happy to say that some African countries are experiencing for the first time in many years, economic development. In this context, it is important to note the decision of the UNDP to carry out its activities with implementation of the right to development as its first objective. I welcome this decision and have agreed with the Administrator of UNDP to work together for that objective.

All these activities require close consultation and coordination with the Organization of African Unity and I am looking forward to in-depth discussions at the meeting between the secretariats of the OAU and the United Nations agreed by the Secretaries-General of both Organizations in June 1997. Consultations will also be pursued within the United Nations, in particular within the Special Initiative for Africa.

An important event this year, within the context of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration, will be the OAU Ministerial Conference on Human Rights to be held in Luanda later this year. It will be an occasion to review at a high level the progress made and the challenges ahead. My Office will be assisting in the preparations of that Conference which should allow us to better understand Africa's needs in human rights and the assistance the United Nations can bring.

Success in the development of Africa requires the commitment of Africa's Governments to the primacy of democratic rule, the inviolability of human rights and the imperative of sustainable development. The Secretary-General in his Harare statement said that the will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority in Africa and that governments, duly elected, should not be overthrown by force. I can not but wholeheartedly agree with this and his call that we do whatever is in our power to restore usurped democracy to its rightful owners, the people.

In this context, we must reaffirm our rejection of impunity: we must ensure by our actions today, that in the future, no one will systematically deprive people in Africa of their rights with impunity.

Human rights education has a crucial role to play in building a society respectful of human rights. This is especially true in communities shattered by conflict. Human rights education will be a major component in our assistance programmes in Africa.

The World Conference on Human Rights recognized the importance of human rights education "..for the promotion and achievement of stable and harmonious relations among communities and for fostering mutual understanding, tolerance and peace". Following a suggestion of the World Conference, 1995-2004 has been proclaimed the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education.

Education is in itself a human rights and has a distinctly human rights content. In the words of the Universal Declaration, "education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms".

The Decade for Human Rights Education aims at fostering strong national human rights educational activities. The Plan of Action of the Decade focuses on assessing needs, developing national plans for human rights education with the participation of all concerned sectors of society, the establishment of national committees for human rights education to provide leadership and the development of appropriate educational materials. Human rights education is understood in the wide sense, encompassing public information and in school and out of school education.

In Africa, we are at the beginning of our mission. And if the situation is often tragic and seems difficult, I want to remind us of the words of hope spoken by the Secretary-General to the OAU Heads of State and Government at Harare.

"My friends, the promise of Africa's third wave beckons. Our turn has come. We can eradicate poverty, settle our scattered people, restore hope, and achieve dynamism. Africa needs external assistance, and Africa deserves it; but in the final analysis, what stands between us and the future is ourselves. Democratic rule, respect for human rights, and sustainable development are the means that will get us there. Let us embrace them - for Africa, and for Africa's children."

Thank you for your attention.