Communiqué

African Civil society organisations representing 13 countries met at Helderfontein Estate in Midrand, South Africa on the 14th and 15th of March 2011, as part of the ongoing campaign for the ratification of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (Charter). The event organised by Idasa, NIMD and the African Democracy Forum (ADF) was an opportunity to share experiences and assess the progress of work to date. This workshop was a follow-up to the inaugural meeting that launched the IDASA/ADF Democracy Charter Project in February, 2010.

This year’s workshop preceded a joint conference for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Members of Parliaments from Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

With this Communiqué, the civil society participants of the Democracy Charter Project who met in March, 2011, wish to deliver to the Joint Conference its decisions, concerns and acknowledgements.
Consequently, Participants

•    Urged states to recognise the Charter as an expression by the African people to see realized the basic principals and values outlined therein. The Democracy Charter should serve as a tool through which current challenges in governance can be addressed, particularly in the resolution of post electoral disputes such as those in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

•    Inspired by the events in Northern Africa, seek to support an increased role of citizens in political decision making, in particular the participation of women in political processes;

•    Noted with great satisfaction the advances made over the last year, with 6 more countries completing the process of ratifying the Charter. However, this bring the total number of ratifications to 9, which is a considerable improvement, but falls short of the 15 required for the Charter to enter into force as a legal instrument.;

•    Commend parliamentarians of the 9 countries who have ratified Charter for their success, and, in addition, seek to encourage and support the many other Members of Parliament who continue in their noble efforts to in support this campaign;

•    Noted with appreciation the continuing efforts of the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission to ensure that their work to promote the Charter is an inclusive process that acknowledges the important role of civil society;

•    Wish to recognise the role of the ADF and Idasa in coordinating and advancing civil society efforts towards the ratification and implementation of the Democracy Charter, while recommitting themselves to collaborate with all state and non-state actors in fulfilling these objectives;

•    Urged the African Union Commission, Member States of the AU, Regional Economic Communities, donors and friendly countries to continue supporting any and all efforts to seek the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Democracy Charter;

•    Express that the campaign to promote the Charter has been and continues to be an opportunity to further positive collaborative efforts between CSO’s and legislative bodies across the continent. This partnership will be enhanced and strengthened in order to take cognizance of national specificities, while recognising shared values and objectives;

•    Expressed the desire that particular and sustained attention should be given to the application of the Charter beyond ratification, noting that the values and commitments embodied in the said Charter should be realised in practice;

•    Noted with satisfaction that the Charter is a commendable and attainable expression of shared values and aspirations. The Charter further provides common standards to ensure that the rights and the dignity of Africans citizens are protected against abuse of power, including unconstitutional changes of government;

•    Recognise the inspiring progress made by the campaign over the last year while accepting that the goal of having the Charter enter into force has yet to be achieved;

•    Agreed that a more effective and broader dissemination of the Charter is required so that all sectors of society and citizens have access to and can benefit from its content;

•    Agreed that targeted collaboration and the effective mobilisation of resources should be done to facilitate the ratification of the Charter by specific countries – namely Mali, Benin and Cape Verde in West Africa; Kenya and Burundi in East Africa; and Malawi, Botswana and Namibia in Southern Africa;

•    Congratulate the Pan-African Parliament on their work to promote the Charter and urge them to sustain these efforts in the realisation of their 11 by 2011 campaign. Members of the Pan-African Parliament must recognise their solemn responsibility as representatives of African citizens and continually re-affirm their commitment to good governance practice by promoting the adherence to and protection of democratic and human rights standards in Africa;

•    Confirm their continued dedication the realisation of the vision and standards as expressed in the Charter, while reaffirming the firmly held belief that the ratification and implementation of Charter will enhance good governance on the continent.