Europe and Africa Chart the Way Forward

Refugee Rights News
Volume 4, Issue 1
January 2008

On December 8 and 9, Heads of State and Government from across Africa and Europe gathered in Lisbon to consider the way forward for inter-continental cooperation. The session was aimed at updating and reinvigorating a collaboration initiated at the Europe Africa Summit in Cairo in 2000 and which was hailed as heralding a new era of equality in European-African relations.

While the discussion at  the Summit ranged from issues of migration, to trade, to peace and security, advocates on the outside called for greater—and more explicit—attention to be paid to human rights crises on the continent. Activists gathered outside the meeting space in Lisbon protested in particular at the lack of attention to human rights violations in Angola, Zimbabwe and Libya.

A focus on Darfur

Another focus was the crisis in Darfur. Although the Portuguese hosts asserted that no subject was taboo and that everything—including the situation in Darfur—could be discussed as part of the exchange, activists urged that specific time should have been set aside to discuss this major humanitarian and human rights disaster.

In the run up to the conference, the Darfur Consortium (a network of more than 50 Africa-based and Africa-focused NGOs which are committed to working collaboratively on the crisis in Darfur of which IRRI is a member) coordinated a series of actions in collaboration with its Europe based partners aimed at drawing the attention of gathered African and European leaders to the crisis in Darfur. Efforts included a joint NGO letter which ultimately garnered signatures from 44 civil society organizations, petitions of African and European parliamentarians and writers, and a press conference featuring Darfurian colleagues. Darfur/Darfur, an organization which was founded to raise awareness about the crisis through a series of multi-media exhibits, organized an exhibit which featured large, digitally projected photos of the Darfur crisis in the square adjacent to the conference center.

Although the crisis did not figure on the formal agenda, several European leaders, including French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates expressed their concerns about Sudan’s lack of cooperation with AU and UN efforts to deploy its peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID). European parliamentarians similarly voiced their concerns about the ongoing atrocities. Media coverage of human rights issues generally, and Darfur specifically, figured large throughout the coverage of the Summit.

EU-AU cooperation in managing crises

Inside the conference center the Joint Strategy which was agreed has the potential to significantly impact the way in which Europeans and Africans collaborate to address these crises for the future. For example, the Joint Strategy draws attention to the need to more effectively support African peacekeeping operations. Although initiatives to increase funding have already been put in place, the Joint Strategy recognizes that recent experience has shown that “additional funding is urgently needed, together with sound and accountable management systems” (paragraph 20).

The lack of adequate and timely funding has been a major obstacle to the effective functioning of AMIS, the African Union mission which was responsible for peacekeeping in Darfur until December 31, 2007. The new Joint Strategy commits the European Union (EU) to creating a “predictable and sustainable funding mechanism” (paragraph 20).
This new mechanism may help to ensure that future missions do not encounter the same difficulties—and that they are better able to protect vulnerable civilians, including the internally displaced.

Another commitment in the document which may be relevant to the struggle to end the ongoing crisis in Darfur is the commitment to support international justice processes. The Joint Strategy commits African and European governments to fighting impunity in all of its forms and supports the effective functioning of the International Criminal Court (paragraph 30). Unfortunately, despite the stated commitment of many European and African states to the ICC and the Security Council’s endorsement of the ICC’s investigation in Darfur, the international community has often treated issues of justice as an orphan child in the debates around Darfur. In this context, the explicit recognition of the ICC is welcome, although the impact that this general commitment will have on ongoing policy debates remains to be seen.

Human Rights in the EU-AU Joint Strategy

More broadly of interest to refugee and other human rights activists are the Joint Strategy’s commitments to human rights. The Joint Strategy recognizes the promotion of human rights and democratic governance as “a central feature of the Africa-EU dialogue and partnership” (at paragraph 27) and cites a wide range of areas in which further dialogue is needed from children’s rights to fighting corruption.

Building institutions to address human rights issues is another focus of the Strategy. The Joint Strategy calls for increased dialogue between European and African human rights institutions, such as the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and African and European national human rights institutions. The Joint Strategy also welcomes the development of the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Europe has committed to set up mechanisms to support these initiatives, building on the positive experience of the African Peace Facility (APF), a mechanism that draws funds from European development assistance to support peacekeeping operations. The APF was requested by African states and is led and staffed by Africans. The continued recognition of and practical application of the need for African leadership in the promotion of peace and development on the continent is a positive feature of the Joint Strategy.

Migration and European-African relations

Finally, a major topic of discussion at the Summit which is particularly relevant to refugee activists is the issue of migration. The movement of African migrants to Europe has been a preoccupation for leaders on both sides, as many migrants face dangerous journeys to a Europe which is increasingly seized with debates about how—and whether—to receive them.

The Joint Strategy agreed in Lisbon explicitly acknowledges that migration has occurred throughout human history and that it should be recognized as a positive phenomenon. It recognizes the need to create strategies for harnessing the power of migration—by promoting the use of remittances from migrants abroad for development, for example. It seeks to promote strategies for addressing the root causes of migration, such as underdevelopment and lack of employment, and emphasizes that the human rights of migrants—including refugees and asylum seekers—must be protected (paragraph 68).

The Joint Strategy also lays out plans to assist countries of origin, transit and destination in Africa to better manage migration and to cooperate to control illegal immigration. It identifies several areas where “cooperation needs to be stepped up, including through cooperation on return and readmission of migrants in the context of the Tripoli Declaration and relevant international agreements, as well as on border control” (at paragraph 70).

While collaboration on managing both the positive and negative aspects of migration is welcome, civil society organizations need to maintain vigilance to ensure that concern about illegal immigration does not operate to undermine the human rights of migrants and the special protections accorded to refugees and asylum seekers. Too often readmission agreements and other tools intended to combat illegal immigration have had the effect of narrowing the scope of protection available to the displaced.

The way forward

In the framework created for continuing the dialogue between Europe and Africa the Joint Strategy provides that bi-annual meetings of the Africa-EU Ministerial Troika are to play a central role in the review and monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy. In addition, major Summits will occur every three years. The EU-AU summit process is an important opportunity for African and European advocates to forge links and build the analysis that will allow them to effectively advocate for summits which promote rather than undermine human rights.

Organizations who are interested in monitoring or engaging with EU-AU consultations can consult the civil society information site at http://europeafrica.org, which is maintained by the European Centre for Development Policy Management. The site solicits feedback from African organizations and allows visitors to subscribe to regular update services.