U.S.- Africa Leaders Summit: Putting Human Rights First

Traded and Investment in Africa only make sense if the rule of law is respected.

Le commerce et les investissements en Afrique n'auront de sens que si l'Etat de droit est respecté.

This article has been translated from French. Click Here to Read the original from SlateAfrique

"Investing in our future" is the central theme of the first ever summit between the United States and Africa, taking place from the 4th to the 6th of August in Washington D.C., with U.S. President Barack Obama hosting heads of state from 47 African countries.

The main objective of this meeting is to develop economic partnerships between the United States and Africa, and also to reflect on questions related to security and social justice in certain African countries.

However, for human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the summit in Washington should ensure that questions relating to human rights remain a priority.  According to the NGO, out of all the African leaders present in the federal capital, at least 10 of them are at the head of repressive governments which have approved laws that restrict public freedoms.

HRW asks us to recall examples like that of Angola, where the voices of the citizens and the media have been reduced to total silence, and the country has been under the direction of Jose Eduardo Dos Santos for 30 years; or Ethiopia, where draconian laws have blocked all possibility of peaceful dissidence; and of Equatorial Guinea where allegations of corruption and torture surface regularly.  HRW also highlighted the case of Uganda where fundamental human liberties are being increasingly repressed by the government.

"President Obama should put human rights squarely on his list of issues to discuss with African leaders.  The Leaders Summit seems to have dispatched Africa's serious human rights problems to a sideshow, but the summit's development and security goals hinge on addressing repression, corruption, and the rule of law", states Daniel Bekele, the Director of the Africa Division at HRW.

Still, the United States has, on numerous occasions, made a certain number of declarations criticizing African governments that use repressive methods of rule.  In his 2009 speech at Accra in Ghana, Barack Obama described the type of partnership that his administration intended to develop with African countries.  He promised to  "increase assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance — on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard; on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and automating services, strengthening hotlines and protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability".

But, according to Human Rights Watch these declarations have not always helped to shape a larger political approach which could help abrogate or modify repressive laws on the continent. Yet it is clear that such a policy would benefit everyone, Africa, the United States, and the rest of the world included.

"When the United States has made respect for human rights a priority in their diplomacy in Africa, this also had a positive impact on its ability to achieve other political objectives on the continent, and this was well perceived by many Africans", affirms Sarah Margon, Director of HRW Washington D.C. bureau.

All in all, Daniel Bekele believes that "trade, investment, and improved global security, all key items on the summit's agenda, will only come about if human rights and the rule of law are respected."

Article Translated by Matthew LaLime, Staff Intern with the Africa Program

Photo Credit: United Nations via Flickr