Olawale Fapohunda believes that the proposed African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) will enable African citizens to more fully participate in the electoral process and advance protection of human rights by African governments. And, in places like his home country of Nigeria, he feels the need for its ratification is vital.
"It is a fact that today almost all of Africa professes to be governed by democratic regimes," said Fapohunda. "Our definition of democracy is sometimes limited to conducting neither free nor fair elections. However, Africa has over the past ten years begun an irreversible process towards political liberalization that leads to participation and choice. ACDEG will provide the legal framework to ensure that the limited gains made in this area are not lost."
Fapohunda, the managing partner of Nigeria's Legal Resources Consortium, which works with law as a tool for ensuring accountable governance, addressing poverty, and empowering local communities, attended a December 2009 meeting convened by The Carter Center and Rights & Democracy. The event's goal was to create a road map giving Africa's human rights community both greater access to officials in the African Union and a more prominent role in advancing the ratification of the ACDEG.
"Ratifying the ACDEG will go a long way in supporting the advocacy of Nigeria's civil society groups who have campaigned tirelessly for the government to guarantee the integrity of the electoral process," said Fapohunda. "Achieving socio-economic development will depend on the ability of Nigeria's leadership to consolidate democracy, including ensuring free and fair elections."
Following the meeting, participants were encouraged to actively take steps to promote the charter's passage in their own countries.
"I will be engaging the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria and Nigeria's Human Rights NGO network to discuss possibilities for working together to ensure Nigeria's ratification," said Fapohunda.
The ideas of African Union officials, NGO leaders, and other prominent figures in Africa's human rights community who attended the Carter Center's meeting have laid the foundation for a South-South learning exchange conference that will bring together leaders from South America with their African counterparts to discuss lessons learned on continental charters and their human rights implications.
"The voice of Africa's human rights community is essential in this debate," said Sam Jones, associate director of the Carter Center's Human Rights Program. "We hope our project can integrate their voices into the campaign to ratify this important charter, which is a significant political tool for African civil society to hold African Union member states accountable and advance progress on key human rights issues."
Learn more about the Carter Center's work with the African Union >
All photos: Carter Center
Olawale Fapohunda, managing partner of Nigeria's Legal Resources Consortium.
The December 2009 meeting convened by The Carter Center and Rights & Democracy brought together African Union officials, NGO leaders, and other prominent figures in Africa's human rights community. The meeting's goal was to create a road map giving Africa's human rights community both greater access to officials in the African Union and a more prominent role in advancing the ratification of the ACDEG.
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