Looking back, Looking ahead: African Philanthropy for Socio-Economic and Political Justice in the 21st Century

As we mark TrustAfrica’s 10 years anniversary we are also unveiling the organization’s new strategy for 2016 – 2020. Our goal under the new strategy is to advance political economic and social justice in Africa by tackling a number of priority thematic issues. 

A lot has changed in the African political, economic and social context since 10 years ago. While the continent has made signifcant progress in reducing the overall level of violent conflict, the resurgence of violence in countries like Burundi, Central Africa Republic and South Sudan point to continuing fragility and the need to invest in building enduring peace. Terrorism and violent extremism have also emerged as a major challenge across the Sahel region, and especially in places like Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, and Libya. To address this challenge, TrustAfrica works to advance local accountabilty mechanisms to combat the culture of impunity which is at the root of cyclical violence. We are encouraged by the progress made at the continental level to advance post-conflict accountability mechanisms through the African Transitiional Justice Policy Framework and expanded mandate of the African Court on Humans and Peoples’ Rights. While tremendous progress has been made in reversing the scourge of HIV/AIDS across the continent, the devastation from the recent Ebola epidemic exposed the weakness of health systems and the continent’s poor capacity to respond to such emergencies. 

On the economic development front, the “hopeless continent” narrative has been replaced with a focus on “Africa rising”. While significantly more optimistic, this narrative at times over simplifies Africa’s trajectory and overlooks the deep contradictions hidden beneath rising GDP. The fruits of economic growth have largely been concentrated in the hands of a few local and international corporate and political elites resulting in growing inequality. Tax dodging and illicit financial flows by multinational corporations have also limited benefits accruing to African economies. In many instances growth, especially from the extractive sector, has come at the expense of the environment with serious consequences for local communities. 

These fundamental issues which found expression in the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Mining Vision, the African Union’s Transitional Justice Policy Framework as well as the Sustainable Development Goals will be a major focus for the next phase of TrustAfrica’s programming. 

Ce lundi 30 mai 2016, les Chambres africaines extraordinaires chargées de juger l’ancien président tchadien Hissène Habré ont livré leur verdict après 4 mois d’audience et un délibéré qui aura duré 3 mois.

Par la voix de son Président, le juge burkinabé Gustave Gberdao Kam, la Cour a reconnu l’ancien homme fort de Ndjamena coupable de crimes contre l’humanité et actes de torture. Dans son verdict, la Cour a également retenu la culpabilité de Hissène Habré pour actes de violences sexuelles et viol, incriminations qui avaient été absentes de l’acte d’accusation mais qui ont été élucidées par les parties civiles et leurs avocats durant les audiences au procès.

Hissène Habré a donc été condamné à la prison à perpétuité, sans aucune circonstance atténuante. Au sortir du verdict, la Cour a annoncé qu’un délai de 15 jours était octroyé aux avocats de l’accusé afin de leur permettre, le cas échéant, de faire appel de cette décision.

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The reports summarizes the proceedings of a multinational convening organized under Trust Africa’s “Building an Advocacy Movement for Equitable and Sustainable Agriculture in Africa” project held on 24 to 26 November 2014 under the theme “Strengthening smallholder agriculture in Africa: Prospects for mobilization and advocacy”. The convening brought together stakeholders, partners, and researchers, program staff from TrustAfrica and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  

The convening provided a timely platform to reinvigorate discussions on how to sustain the agenda for a more inclusive and sustainable agriculture amongst a broad base of non-state actors with government actors. The convening was also used to launch the discussion on the second phase of TrustAfrica’s advocacy actions and movement building for sustainable agriculture project. The convening took the approach of setting the broader context and understanding the characteristic challenges and gaps of smallholder agriculture.

Children who start school late in Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties now have a chance to catch up with their agemates.

This has been due to a new curriculum which uses learning techniques that enable them to be moved to a class commensurate with their ages.

20th July, 2015, Dakar, Senegal: The trial of former Chadian President Hissène Habré, accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, began before the Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal. The alleged crimes were committed during Habré’s regime from 1982 to 1990, when an estimated 40,000 people are reported to have died or disappeared.

SRT grantee, TrustAfrica have enhanced independent coverage of the Habré trial through their International Criminal Justice (ICJ) Fund who worked closely with a consortium of civil society organizations and Senegalese law graduates. The ICJ Fund trained a group of law graduates from the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar, to monitor, document and provide daily reports on the proceedings in both French and English across various platforms. The work of these students provides an invaluable resource to ensure there is an independent platform of informed actors who can provide accurate and timely analysis of the proceedings, and share this information in Africa and beyond.

TrustAfrica works with African and international partners to develop the capacity and networks of groups working on the documentation of atrocity crime. A key technical resource in this work is the Global Justice and Research Project, led by Liberian journalist Hassan Bility. More information available here.

La tenue du procès de Hissein Habré devant les Chambres africaines extraordinaires fut l’aboutissement d’une lutte acharnée menée par les victimes du régime de l’ancien président tchadien et par la société civile tchadienne et internationale.

Ouvert le 20 juillet 2015 à Dakar, le procès a connu une interruption de 45 jours avant de reprendre le 7 septembre avec les auditions des témoins qui se sont poursuivies jusqu’au 15 décembre. Le premier chapitre de ce procès historique s’est clos le 11 février 2016 avec les plaidoiries de la défense et des parties civiles et le réquisitoire final du parquet.

TrustAfrica, en collaboration avec le groupe de recherche Thinking Africa, s’est approchée des différentes parties prenantes à ce procès afin de recueillir leur avis sur la signification et la portée de cette péripétie judiciaire inédite en Afrique.

Veuillez trouverez ci-dessous l’ensemble des entretiens qui ont été réalisées en ce sens.

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« Améliorer les mécanismes de la Cour africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples pour faire avancer la justice et les droits des victimes », telle est la question centrale qui réunira des participants venus de divers horizons. L’initiative est du Fonds de justice pénale internationale de TrustAfrica en partenariat avec la Coalition pour une Cour africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples effective. Le premier œuvre au renforcement et au soutien de la société civile dans ses efforts pour améliorer les mécanismes nationaux et régionaux de reddition de comptes en Afrique.

TrustAfrica, a Senegal-based organisation, will on Thursday evening launch Beyond the Crisis: Zimbabwe's Prospects for Transformation.

The book is a gem that seeks to tackle policy alternatives the southern African nation could have pursued to avoid the quagmire that has entangled it today.

Edited by Tendai Murisa and Tendai Chikweche, the book admits Zimbabwe has attracted regional and international attention over settler colonialism, decolonisation, independence, contested land redistribution and economic collapse among other contentious issues.