http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/22/red_carpet_africa_leaders_summit_dictators
How to Roll Out the Red Carpet for Africa
Obama's major summit with the continent's leaders will only succeed if the
White House eschews autocrats in favor of a new generation of democratic
champions.
BY
Jeffrey Smith
Jeffrey Smith is the senior advocacy officer at the Robert F. Kennedy
Center for Justice and Human Rights. Follow him at _at_Smith_RFKennedy.
JULY 22, 2014
Over the next few weeks, there is going to be an awful lot of chatter about
the current and future state of relations between the United States and
Africa. That is because U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting the
first-ever U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, which will take place in Washington,
D.C., from Aug. 4 to 6.
It is clear from the White House's website for the event -- and from my
engagement with summit organizers -- that much of the agenda will focus on
the promotion of peace and security, as well as private investment, trade,
and development. Obama's renewed effort to engage with a rising Africa
should be applauded: The summit is an extraordinary opportunity for the
administration to fulfill its strong and repeated rhetorical commitments to
promoting the twin goals of prosperity and human well-being across Africa.
To be sure, Africa paints a complex picture. Although overall economic
growth has been impressive, expected to top 5 percent this year, levels of
inequality continue to rise. A stagnation or steady decline in political
freedoms and democratic rights is also cause for concern. Similarly, there
has been noticeable backpedaling on continental governance commitments, and
ratification rates of regional conventions continue to decline, after
hitting a peak in 2005.
A successful summit would address these issues and, in turn, mature
America's relations with the continent -- not only during Obama's remaining
time in office, but long after he departs. The summit could help the United
States catch up with the European Union, Japan, and China, all of which
have significantly outpaced America in terms of economic and intellectual
investment in the continent.
However, a one-off event, filled with grand speeches and customary
handshakes that merely push a few more deals, will not be enough. And there
is a real risk that the summit could turn into just such an event, if steps
are not taken in advance to ensure otherwise. Most fundamentally, summit
organizers -- and the U.S. government more broadly -- need to rethink which
African "leaders" merit U.S. support and will secure long-term national
interests.
The worst outcome would be a summit that acted as a platform to cozy up to
retrograde dictators.
The worst outcome would be a summit that acted as a platform to cozy up to
retrograde dictators. A modern U.S.-Africa relationship cannot be built
with the remnants of an old guard who stifle democracy and crush dissent
with an arsenal of violence, repressive legislation, and stacked
judiciaries. Put simply, America cannot embrace those who are enriching and
entrenching themselves, rather than investing in their citizens' future. To
that end, the White House wisely excluded Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Sudan's
Omar al-Bashir, and Eritrea's Isaias Afewerki, three of the world's most
notorious dictators who have destroyed their own economies.
Yet plenty of attendees do raise eyebrows. The Corporate Council on Africa,
a leading trade group expected to play a high-profile role around the
summit in highlighting the new Africa, has opted to honor the continent's
longest-serving dictator, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial
Guinea. Obiang rose to power in 1979 after killing his uncle in a coup and
presides over a staggeringly rich oil nation, amassing an estimated
personal fortune of $600 million -- all while eight out of 10 citizens live
below the national poverty line. Similarly, the World Affairs Council, a
prominent policy forum, will play host to President Denis Sassou Nguesso of
the Republic of the Congo at the National Press Club. Sassou has been in
power for a total of 30 years, using pilfered oil money to stifle free
expression, torture members of the opposition and civil society, and
maintain an essentially one-party state.
While the White House does not have a hand in organizing these events, they
still reflect a culture that pervades the nation's capital, one that
inexplicably allows abusive leaders to be honored and embraced in public
while few, if any, ask many questions. The Obama administration can take
two important steps in the short term to address this counterproductive way
of doing business with Africa.
First, it should more fully include African civil society activists in
international dialogue, including at the summit. A platform for the
president to engage with African heads of state and business leaders is
essential, and time at the event should be devoted to interaction among top
leaders. However, it is African civil society that often acts as the
primary guarantor of basic human rights across the continent. It is African
civil society that works to maintain social stability and cohesion, helping
to create positive investment environments while working to increase
transparency and hold leaders accountable. In short, African civil society
provides crucial leadership, and the White House should treat it
accordingly.
In June, the We Are Africa campaign convened in Washington to advocate for
civil society inclusion at the summit. It produced a range of concrete
policy recommendations to improve U.S.-Africa relations. As a result of
this sustained public advocacy, the White House has now included an Aug. 4
State Department event -- the Civil Society Forum -- in its official summit
agenda. This is a step in the right direction. Nonetheless, the voices of
African civil society need to be recognized as equal shareholders in the
future of U.S.-Africa relations, especially at a time when human rights
groups across the continent have come under sustained and increasing attack.
It is crucial that issues of human rights and good governance take center
stage at the summit.
It is crucial that issues of human rights and good governance take center
stage at the summit. For these issues sow the inevitable seeds of conflict
when they are not adequately addressed. No longer can U.S. policymakers and
African leaders afford to focus on the symptoms of social discord,
including terrorist acts, humanitarian and health crises, and the outbreak
of war; rather, they must collectively tackle the root causes of
instability by focusing efforts on both protecting and advancing basic
human rights and good governance. African civil society remains at the
front lines of addressing these critical issues, and therefore its official
participation at the summit is paramount.
Second, the United States needs to work more proactively and cooperatively
with those who stand at Africa's democratic vanguard. The current leaders
of Senegal, Ghana, Cape Verde, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Botswana, for
instance, offer intriguing examples of individuals who have both come to
power through democratic means and have championed good governance and
economic development at the regional level.
The future of Africa as an economic powerhouse is going to be pushed
forward and secured by nations that accede to long-standing and emergent
international norms, as well as by those that open up their societies. The
U.S. government should recognize this by providing preferential trade to
emerging democracies that show a genuine commitment to principles of good
governance, as well as to nations whose leaders come to power through free,
fair, and legitimate elections. Washington can and should robustly support
these leaders through diplomatic rhetoric and, as just one concrete
example, by supporting their resolutions at the U.N. Human Rights Council
that seek to better secure and advance basic rights. If the United States
works more with democratic counterparts, then it stands a much better
chance of influencing the continent in a positive, constructive way.
The summit should champion these leaders and further encourage their
leadership at the regional level, including at the African Union and the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, both of which are partly
funded by the United States. Instead of the routine finger-wagging that has
often left African leaders and their citizens feeling patronized, the White
House should use the summit to publicly identify leaders who are capable
and willing to champion socioeconomic development and, perhaps more
importantly, to influence their regional counterparts to do the same.
In sum, the U.S.-Africa relationship cannot be sustained with African
autocrats, many of whom came to power more than three decades ago. The days
of kowtowing to dictators and rolling out the red carpet for strongmen who
use the oil or terror cards to trump human rights concerns is over. America
can ill afford to embrace the ghosts of Africa's past or to shake hands
with the retrograde Big Men whose time has come and gone.
The United States is strongest when it works alongside trusted partners who
share the core values of protecting fundamental freedoms and advancing
democracy and economic empowerment. And the country is most powerful and
persuasive on the international stage -- as well as at home -- when the
lofty rhetoric of elected leaders matches actions on the ground.
Obama would be well served to use the upcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit
to do just that.
Received on Wed Jul 23 2014 - 10:37:17 EDT