Conferences & Seminars

Education and Advocacy

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS ( The ICSAA)

The IIJD hosted the first International Conference on the State of Affairs in Africa (ICSAA) in Boston, Massachusetts on October 2006 in an effort to address Africa’s current development crisis. The goal of the International Conference on the State of the Affairs of Africa was to discuss the root causes of Africa development crisis and set concrete priorities on how to resolve Africa’s persistent poverty. For this conference, the IIJD assembled a diverse group of more than 100 scholars, development professionals, community leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and members of the NGO community for the common purpose of addressing the challenges that beleaguer the lives of countless Africans. After three days of intensive and interactive debate and dialogue, participants identified and prioritized key development objectives. The ICSAA reached a strategic consensus on the root causes of the development crisis and unrelenting poverty. Furthermore, the conference established priorities on how to resolve the crisis and to create a more collaborative and effective plan in this regard, emphasizing sustainable solutions for future development.

Following the completion of the ICSAA, a task force group (TFG) was created to address the critical need for a holistic, well-coordinated and proactive civil society engagement with policy makers in resolving the Africa development crisis and the continent’s persistent poverty. The members of the TFG are committed to initiating actions with all the stakeholders and concerned parties to tackle the root causes of what appears to be an unending development crisis and poverty in Africa. The TFG also implements some advocacy activities of the IIJD, and has the responsibility to uphold the recommendations of the international conference on the state of affairs of Africa, and build an international constituency of citizens dedicated to African socio-economic and political reforms.

Despite decades of development efforts in Africa, millions of Africans are still living in extreme poverty. Governmental and non-governmental organizations, well aware of both the human suffering and the loss of global economic potential caused by an underdeveloped Africa, have invested significantly in the continent to strengthen infrastructure and services. Efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in Africa have failed to make a lasting impact, however, and the progress envisioned for Africa has in many ways not been achieved.

This defeat can be explained by the lack of democratic governance on the continent, and by the development community’s emphasis on funding “emergency”—and thus temporary—humanitarian relief programs to the neglect of sustainable development programs. In addition, the way in which these funds are dispersed and used is chaotic at best. Until more people-centered approaches to development are undertaken, and more sustainable anti-poverty policies are adopted, Africa will not actualize its full potential in the global marketplace.

Given this troubling reality, the International Institute for Justice and DevelopmentSM (IIJD), Inc. hosted the first International Conference on the State of Affairs in Africa (ICSAA) in Boston, Massachusetts on October 26, 27 and 28, 2006 in an effort to address Africa’s development crisis.

The ICSAA was organized to reach a strategic consensus on what are the root causes of Africa’s development crisis and the poverty that is its chief manifestation. The goal of the Conference was to set priorities, based on this consensus, on how to resolve the crisis and to create a more collaborative and effective plan in this regard, emphasizing sustainable solutions for future development. The inclusion of development experts on Africa as well as academics who live and work in Africa in the planning and programming of the Conference ensured the communication between the development community and native Africans that is so greatly needed in this context.

During the Conference, the IIJD assembled a diverse group of more than 100 scholars, development professionals, community leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and members of the NGO community for the common purpose of addressing the development challenges that beleaguer the lives of countless Africans. Over 30 highly qualified experts and lecturers contributed their original research and perspectives to the Conference, culminating in an in-depth analysis of the issues at hand. Her Excellency Ellen JohnsonSirleaf, President of Liberia, also contributed a special message of support in a video that was shown to the participants.

In pursuance of a multi-disciplinary approach to development challenges, the discussions focused on several areas of development and justice including: Nature, Management, and Coordination of International Development Aid; The State of Democratic Governance in Africa; The State of the Justice System; The State of Economic Development; The State of the Health System; Civil Society, Community-Based Organizations, and Citizen Participation; The State of the Education System; the State of Women Rights; and Ethical Responsibilities toward Forced Migrants in Africa. After two days of intensive and interactive debate and dialogue, participants identified and prioritized key development objectives during a goals-setting plenary session on the third day.

The following findings, resolutions, and recommendations are a summary of this dialogue and decisionmaking.

2006 ICSAA Findings

Acknowledging the devastating impact of slavery, colonialism, imperialism, and post-colonial mismanagement on the human, social, political, and economic development of Africa, and the fact that many government and non-government groups have been working for decades to alleviate poverty in Africa; and alarmed that Africa continues to fall behind, the 2006 ICSAA Participants found the following to be the root causes of Africa’s development crisis and persistent poverty.

The 2006 ICSAA Participants found that:

1. Dysfunctional systems of governance, supported by poor leadership and inept economic and political institutions established after colonization, are the root causes of Africa’s development crisis:

The repressive political environment and the systemic barriers to securing civil and political rights imposed by government institutions paralyze the ingenuity of the people of Africa and precipitate the decline of the continent into poverty. This quandary stems primarily from the fact that government institutions, inherited from colonial powers at independence and perpetuated by successive post-independence governments, did not reflect traditional African ethos and mores. Thus, the structure, purpose and function of the said government institutions were not determined by the governed or the governing, resulting in systems that today remain unsuited for democratic governance, and are devoid of any legitimate participation on the part of civil society. This is evidenced by countless examples of the insecurity of the environment for business and human development in the forms of endemic corruption, embezzlement of public funds, senseless wars, political instability, and brain drain. Moreover, it has heightened frustrations among citizens and communities, and rendered their sense of political efficacy nearly non-existent.

The absence of a clear separation of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, and the lack of accountability, transparency, and discipline within the government, are obvious signs of the failure to achieve genuine democratic rule and good governance. Structured to control and paralyze the judicial branch, the executive branch of many African governments often usurps its role. The non-independence of the judiciary results in the absence of rule of law and the non-implementation or non-enforcement of laws and judicial decisions. Because there is no separation of power, there are no checks and balances to challenge the government and other power structures to manage their country’s resources well.

2. The debt crisis and international interventions contribute significantly to Africa’s development crisis:

For decades, foreign governments and non-governmental donors, whose interests focused more on geopolitics than development, showed—and continue to show—benign tolerance of brutal, corrupt and inefficient regimes with dubious human rights records.

Currently, large amounts of aid are still spent on non-developmental objectives. As recipient governments direct few resources toward the social sectors—health, education, water and sanitation, and other service provision—foreign aid has had little impact on economic growth and poverty reduction. Also, research shows that many countries use half the foreign aid they receive to finance external debt service payments; one remaining quarter is used to finance dubious investments, and the other quarter is used to offset current account deficits.

Economic measures and large loans administered by international financial institutions have largely failed to produce positive results. Instead, these policies have left many countries with mounting debt, the payment of which has only compounded and further complicated their internal problems. It is hard to understand that in sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region of the world, countries received $540 billion in loans between 1970 and 2002; and, despite having paid back $550 billion over the same period, they still owe another $293 billion. Some of these loans directly supported corrupt governments, while others loans were expressly given for geopolitical reasons serving the interests of wealthier countries. Inefficient economic policy in the states in question as well as skyrocketing interest rates have multiplied these old debts over and over again forcing many African countries to acquire more foreign aid or loans in order to pay off debts on previous loans.

3. The inadequate education system in Africa also contributes significantly to Africa’s development crisis:

Education is a necessary tool for participation in our knowledge-based global economy. Development depends on education not only for the diffusion of knowledge and learning of new vocational practices and skills, but also for long-term poverty reduction, which includes improvement of the quality of health, nutrition, and living standards. Unfortunately, the current African educational model does not answer the economic and social needs of each state and the region. Under-funded, the education system fails to prioritize vocational preparation, the promotion of sustainable development, and a civic education that encourages accountability, transparency and critical thinking.

4. Africa has yet to recognize the importance of women as integral partners in the social, political, and economic growth of the continent:

Acknowledgment and empowerment of African women as partners in the areas of sustainable economic development, policy-making and education are largely forgotten in practice at the political level. As apparent in the political progress of African nations such as Rwanda and Liberia, women, the backbone of the African family, are instrumental in facilitating lasting social and political change. It is furthermore predicted that in the next several years, in both developed and developing nations, women will become “the most powerful engine of global growth…not just as workers, but as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors” (The Economist, 2006). Africa’s women are some of the continent’s most valuable and least engaged resources. Failing to empower African women will result in stunted development, and a lack of meaningful change for the continent as a whole.

2006 ICSAA RESOLUTIONS

The Participants of the ICSAA resolved:

To urge African nations to implement institutional reforms that reaffirm checks and balances and judicial independence from the executive. The separation of powers will provide for more transparency and accountability, and keep governments and public administration under close scrutiny;

To acknowledge the efforts of international groups in fighting corruption, demand that misappropriation of African countries’ resources be declared a crime against humanity, and to call for its perpetrators to be prosecuted as such nationally, regionally, and internationally;

To demand that freedom of information and speech be guaranteed and protected by law in every African country and that governments be held accountable for their behavior toward the media;

To demand complete debt cancellation, and the suspension of international financial institutions’ structural adjustment plans;

To demand that aid conditionality focus on institutional reforms that establish a separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary for more accountability and transparency;

To foster and promote gender equality at all levels of African government, recognizing the significant role that women can play in Africa’s development if given the opportunity to participate both as citizens and as members of local and national government institutions;

To call upon African countries to promote policies that facilitate access for women to credit, land, education and healthcare;

To endorse the development of free and open regional markets with decreased trade barriers and the unhindered movement of populations across national borders;

To call upon the international community to support the creation of groups whose job will be to monitor foreign aid accounts and projects, and ensure transparency and local participation from project planning to execution;

To urge African leaders to bridge national divisions through political, economic, and social initiatives aimed at building regional connections with the central government, while enhancing autonomy and localized or community-driven decision making, and encouraging participation from civil society;

To demand that the African Union, in cooperation with African leaders, the international community, civil society, and the members of the African Diaspora, stop electoral and military coupmongers or perpetrators of mass-killings, political assassinations, ethnic cleansing, and other crimes against humanity from finding any place of refuge on the continent or elsewhere;

To urge for a restructuring of the African educational model in order to match the social, cultural and economic needs of Africa’s peoples and the global economy;

To urge international financial institutions to work in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations and experts to assist Africans in achieving development and economic growth through a paradigm shift that emphasizes a community-based approach, and development of the human capacity for self-reliance;

To urge international and bilateral aid agencies as well as non-governmental organizations to focus on institutional reforms, infrastructure- and capacity-building, education, and healthcare with immediate attention to malaria and the HIV/AIDS crisis;

To push for the creation of a favorable environment for the return of Africans in the Diaspora to participate in skills development programs through mentoring and volunteering their expertise;

To call upon Africans in the Diaspora to significantly step up their contributions to the development of the continent.

2006 ICSAA RECOMMENDATIONS

Taking note of the preceding Findings and Resolutions, the 2006 ICSAA Participants made the following Recommendations, appearing in order of priority.

RECOMMENDATION ONE

To address the persistent development crisis on the African continent caused by weak systems of governance and supported by poor leadership and inept political and economic institutions, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

The system of governance and the political institutions in African countries be reformed to include a real separation and balance of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches;

Independent, impartial, and autonomous electoral bodies be established in every African country with the power and resources to organize and supervise free and fair elections;

Independent, impartial, and autonomous anti-corruption agencies be established in every African country. These agencies should have the power and the resources to freely investigate allegations of corruption, and to enhance the ability of independent investigating and prosecuting bodies to prosecute cases of corruption and misappropriation of countries’ resources at all levels of government;

African leaders bridge national divisions through political, economic, and social initiatives aimed at building regional connections with the central government, while enhancing autonomous and localized decision making, encouraging citizen participation, and giving special consideration to women’s place in government in order to foster and promote gender equality;

To prevent conflict and civil war, African leaders stop all discriminatory policies or practices and establish democratic rule. In post-conflict areas, leaders should resolve ethnic conflicts through a truth and reconciliation commission that would foster a national dialogue. Concurrently, leaders should implement post-conflict reconstruction assistance programs and affirmative action for disadvantaged groups through scholarships, employment opportunities, social reform, settlement, and reintegration of former rebels;

African countries establish the autonomy of their justice systems and restructure them to address tensions between customary laws and modern laws, reflect traditional methods of justice and ensure accountability at all levels of private and public services;

Unrestricted, free, and independent media be recognized and protected by law in every African country regardless of the possibility of criticism of the government.

RECOMMENDATION TWO

To address the issues of debt and make international aid more effective, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

All debts due from loans given directly to support undemocratic regimes or for geopolitical interests be canceled and that the IMF and World Bank structural adjustment plans be suspended;

All loans or foreign aid to dictatorial regimes be stopped, and development grants made available to needy countries making efforts and achieving substantial progress toward democratic governance, and institutional reforms for transparency and accountability;

International aid efforts focus on reforming economic, political, and governmental institutions in African countries for more accountability and transparency at the national level; building education and healthcare infrastructure; and working with local experts and non-governmental organizations;

The international community support the creation of groups to monitor foreign aid accounts and projects, and to ensure transparency and local participation from the planning to execution of projects;

Non-governmental organizations and other international development aid groups focus on capacitybuilding, sustainability, improvements in infrastructure, and institutional reform, helping Africans to achieve development and economic growth through a paradigm shift to human-centered development, and enhancing Africans’ capacity for self-reliance.

RECOMMENDATION THREE

To address the issues of economic development and industrialization, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

African leaders establish policies and frameworks for using Africa’s petroleum and mineral wealth to create viable post-natural resource economies; and also that they work toward enhancing technology -building economic linkages, and encouraging re-investment in Africa, especially in the areas of manpower training, engineering, and fabrication yards. This will serve as a necessary catalyst to establishing a technological platform upon which to build other sectors of the economy, creating needed jobs and boosting economic growth;

Policies are established to increase access to credit, land, education, and healthcare for women, and to strengthen women’s rights and their ability to mobilize resources for development;

Free and open regional markets with decreased trade barriers and the unhindered movement of populations across national borders be developed;

Capital structures and local businesses be strengthened by requiring large manufacturers and producers on the continent to reinvest their capital in Africa and purchase domestic technologies.

The African Peer Review Mechanism and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development be firm on their requirements of African countries, and that the African Development Bank support institutional reforms and strengthen regional economic trade development

RECOMMENDATION FOUR

To address the growing issues surrounding education in Africa, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

African educational systems be restructured to emphasize the economic and social needs of each state and region by implementing career-related education that promotes sustainable development, critical thinking skills, and accountability and transparency in governmental work; and that such a restructured educational model incorporate African traditional methods of knowledge transmission into program designs;

Free public education be made available to all members of society until the end of secondary school level (12th grade), and be compulsory until the age of 18.

Leaders encourage the creation of an environment that allows for the return of Africans in the Diaspora to participate in skills development programs through mentoring and volunteering their skills.

RECOMMENDATION FIVE

To address the alarming issues surrounding health in Africa, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

All African governments adopt the Abuja Declaration of 2001 reaffirming their commitment to allocating at least 15 percent of their annual budgets to the health sector;

International aid for health programs require that at least 75 percent of health funds be spent directly on suffering populations and that these funds are allocated at local levels to ensure this;

Immediate attention and action be taken to increase prevention efforts against diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS in ways that do not only focus on curing the diseases but also on providing awareness education to prevent the forms of discrimination and the cultural stigma the sick confront within their societies.

RECOMMENDATION SIX

To address the participation and contribution of the African Diaspora to the development process on the African continent, the 2006 ICSAA Participants recommend that:

Initiatives be taken to unify Africans living abroad and in the Diaspora, and to encourage their participation in the development process on the continent through the institution of policies that allow dual citizenship and afford returning Africans the right to vote;

African governments reform their institutions to establish democratic rules of governance leading to the liberal political, social, and economical environment necessary to secure the return of Africans living abroad; that these Africans participate in skills development through mentoring and volunteering of their expertise; and that they significantly increase their financial investments in the continent.

RECOMMENDATION SEVEN

The 2006 ICSAA Participants further recommend that:

The African Union organize a conference for Africans living abroad and in the Diaspora to develop an action plan that will define and facilitate their contributions in resolving Africa’s development crisis;

Through the African Union, African countries present a more unified position on international trade and environmental negotiations and conventions, on United Nations reforms, and other international conferences;

The African Union call for an African Convention on Development Aid to draw up a “Bill of Rights and Responsibilities” for non-governmental organizations and development agencies working in the continent, as well as a code of conduct for foreign political and professional consulting groups working in the civil society sectors of African states.