WELCOME STATEMENT

BY


H.E. DR. AISHA L. ABDULLAHI
COMMISSIONER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AU)

AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 2014 HIGH LEVEL DIALOGUE ON
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA



DAKAR, SENEGAL



30 OCTOBER 2014







SALUTATIONS HERE

It is my pleasure and singular honour to be with you again here in Dakar. Let me, from
the outset, extend my gratitude to the people and the Government of Senegal for
hosting the Third High level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance.
They have hosted this dialogue forum every year since 2011 for which we are
profoundly grateful. The focus of the Third High Level Dialogue is Silencing the Guns:
Strengthening Governance to Prevent, Manage and Resolve Conflicts in Africa. This
theme is inspired by the 50
th
Anniversary Declaration adopted by African leaders in May
2013 when the African Union kicked off the OAU/AU Golden Jubilee celebrations under
the theme: Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance. Whereas the celebrations
lasted for one year until May 2014, the mood of celebration and revisioning of Pan-
Africanism and African Renaissance continues. The Africa Agenda 2063, which is a
long-term development vision of the African continent, is a clear demonstration of
continuing celebration as we envision our continent over the next fifty years. The
Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda is also part of this
sense of optimism for our continent as we chart a new social contract for an inclusive,
equitable and participatory economic development for Africa over the next fifteen years.
In view of the agenda and development roadmap that African leaders have proposed in
the medium-term and long-term through the Post-2015 Development agenda and the
Africa Agenda 2063, we all agree that wars and violent conflicts constitute a major
barrier for progress on our continent. It is, therefore, befitting that as part of the 50
th

Anniversary Solemn Declaration, Africa leaders unanimously agreed to end all wars and
silence guns in Africa by the year 2020. This is a noble goal; it is a clarion call for mass
action against violence; it is an inspiration to embrace non-violence; it is an aspiration
towards a united, integrated, prosperous Africa driven by its people and representing a
dynamic force in international arena. It is the quest for durable peace and sustainable
democratic governance anchored on the spirit of Pan-Africanism and inspired by the
Africa Agenda 2063.
Africa has surmounted numerous challenges in the past from which the continent can
glean lessons as it gears up to silence guns by 2020. We have overcome slavery; we
silenced colonial guns through decolonization; we survived the brutal bi-polar
ideological divide in the form of the Cold War, which in Africa became a hot war; we
have less inter-state wars and military coups. By all indications, Africa has made
progress. In fact, even the most ardent critics of our continent have accepted this
progress. It is not surprising that in 2001, the Economist perceived Africa as a hopeless
continent marred by violence, death and disease. Ten years later (2011), the Economist
proclaimed Africa as hopeful and rising continent. Silencing the guns and ending wars in
Africa is bound to reinforce the general optimism about Africas development prospects
over the next fifty years.
Today, I would like to focus less on the root causes of violent conflicts in Africa beyond
observingthat broadly three major factors account for the wars, instability and violence
on our continent: (a) contestation over power; (b) contestation over resources; and (c)
identity cleavages. It is evident that at the heart of our conflicts lies development failure
and governance deficit. This is the case everywhere including in Somalia, Libya, Central
African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I will leave the
details of this discussion to the experts in this room. I will focus more on what I consider
possible policy interventions to redress this situation as we all strive towards a conflict-
free, gun-free, peaceful and democratic Africa.I propose to put forward ten (10)
proposals in this regard.
First, there is need to build the institutional and administrative capacity of the state in
African countries, so that the state has the requisite authority and leaves less room for
rebellions, such as in the DRC and Central African Republic.Effective state capacity is
also related to the ability of the government to deliver services to its people. Effective
service delivery, combined with decentralization and local democracy will go a long way
in silencing guns.
Second, it is imperative that Africas socio-cultural diversity is considered a continental
resource for greater unity and integration premised upon Pan-Africanism and Africa
Renaissance, rather than a curse. It is evident that Africas diversity does not
necessarily translate into adversity per se. The main problem is the politicization of
diversity for political ends as we are witnessing in both Central African Republic and
South Sudan. Mismanagement of diversity has been more costly during electoral
contests where elections have ignited identity-based violence as witnessed in Kenya in
2007/08. Addressing this problem calls for a greater culture of tolerance and
constructive management of diversity. It also calls for entrenchment of the practice of
democratic, credible and transparent elections across the continent.
Third,in silencing the guns, Africa still needs to do much more in the area of expanding
the frontiers of a human rights culture. Human rights, especially the rights of women and
girls must be protected and promoted. It is largely deficiencies in embracing a culture of
human rights that has led to some of the tragic cases of mass atrocities and genocide
as we witnessed in Rwanda in 1994. Silencing guns in Africa entails committing to
eradicating conditions that lead to genocide, such as impunity, among others. The
transformation of the OAU to the AU has brought about a leap forward from the old
doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states to the new doctrine
of non-indifference to human rights violations, crimes against humanity and mass
atrocities within member states. This is a positive step towards deeper integration in
Africa within the framework of the African Economic Community premised on the notion
of pooled sovereignty.
Fourth, ending wars and silencing guns in Africa is not the sole responsibility of African
governments. It is equally the responsibility of all non-state actors including civil society
organisations, the private sector, the faith-based organisations, the academic
community, the women movement, the youth movement, the Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) and the international community. It is imperative that all these
actors join hands in our quest for peace, democracy and development on our continent.
It is encouraging that we already have in place continental mechanisms such the African
Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) which aim to strengthen governance in Africa for
peace and development bringing together these actors (both state and non-state).
Fifth, mismanagement of Africas natural resources has resulted in massive corruption
that has left the African economy bleeding as clearly demonstrated by the Thabo Mbeki
Panel Report and the Kofi Annan Africa Progress Report on illicit resource outflows and
exploitation of Africas natural resources respectively.
Sixth, in our efforts to silence the guns, policy interventions will need to address the
specific circumstances and situations of women and the youth. These are not only two
of the most marginalized social groups on our continent, but they are also the largest
sections of our populations. It is imperative that women empowerment and youth
empowerment constitute the broader package for silencing guns.
Seventh, demilitarization of African politics is a crucial step in silencing guns. Part of our
problem is the politiciztion of the security establishment and securitization of politics.
This creates a potent mix where the political elite has a tight grip over the military and
the military tends to cross boundaries into politics either covertly or overtly as we are
witnessing in the Kingdom of Lesotho today. We need professional security
establishments answerable and accountable not to political barons, but to parliament.
Eight, African Union States have already managed to do the difficult part towards
silencing the guns. They have developed a robust normative framework in this regard.
All that remains now to effectively implement this rich Shared Values Agenda of our
Union. The AU Constitutive Act is the main treaty anchoring specific others including the
2003 Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council and the 2007 African
Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Thus, the gap between norm-setting
and norm implementation at national level remains a challenge.
Nine, violent conflicts on our continent have also led to massive forced displacement of
our people in the form of internally displaced people, refugees, stateless people or
irregular migrants especially across the high seas to Europe. We are dealing with
massive displacement and refugee populations in most conflict zones in the Horn of
Africa, the Sahel region, the Great lakes region, Central Africa region and parts of North
Africa especially Libya. The November issue of the NewAfrican Magazine reports that
43 000 young Africans have died since the year 2000 trying to cross high seas to seek
perceived better opportunities in Europe. While some of these are truly economic
migrants, others are political refugees fleeing violence in their own countries. These are
some of the costs of war in Africa.
Ten, African states and governments, working closely with their citizens must prioritise
establishment and effective functioning of national infrastructures for peace which allow
early detection, prevention, management and resolution of violent conflicts, at all levels
of the nation-state, drawing lessons of experience from some best practices in Ghana,
South Africa and Kenya for instance. These national peace architectures are essential if
Africa is to play a key role transforming its violent conflicts into durable peace and
sustainable democracy. This is where Africa-specific methodologies and culturally
embedded strategies for transitional justice and conflict transformation, such as the
Gacaca courts in Rwanda, the Ubuntu system in South Africa and Mato-put in Northern
Uganda become extremely useful and these should be strengthened and reinforced.
As I conclude my remarks, allow me to also express a special word of appreciation to
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their unwavering support to
this Dialogue and its preparatory processes. Also, I want to extend our warm
appreciation to the Government of Germany whichhassignificantly supported these
processes through GIZ and the Institute of Peace and Security Studies. Of equal
mention are International IDEA, Africa Governance Institute and Infonet Africa, among
others, who have remained committed partners in our campaign to silence guns and
end wars through strengthening democratic and participatory governance in Africa.

As a final word of welcome, allow me also to remind you that this event is accessible to
a wider audience through live streams and you may well also want to follow discussion
throughout the event through twitter and Facebook accounts. Yes indeed, we have to
keep up with the realities of globalization and the opportunities it offered for wider
participation.

I thank you for your attention.