RIGHTS: Civic Groups Want a Bigger Voice in SADC

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Rosemary Nalisa

GABORONE, Mar 23 2004 (IPS) - Delegates to the biennial conference of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) have called on the Southern African Development Community to become more responsive to the concerns of civil society.

This appeal was made during a conference session entitled “Civil Society and Regional Integration”, held Monday (Mar. 22).

The CIVICUS meeting, which is taking place in Botswana’s capital – Gaborone – has attracted about 700 delegates from more than 100 countries. The theme for the meeting is “Acting Together for a Just World”.

CIVICUS is a Johannesburg-based umbrella group for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It tries to promote public participation in political and economic affairs, particularly in states that do not observe democracy.

An official from the Foundation of Community Development in Mozambique, Carlos Fumo, said that the secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) tended to restrict its dealings to government officials – and that it should open more channels of communication with civil society.

“People and civil society organisations are not fully informed on SADC’s activities, while the institution’s structures make it impossible for some of them to be accessible,” he said.

Fumo added that he and other delegates felt the creation of a civil society desk at the secretariat might enable NGOs to have a say in the SADC policies that affected them.

These concerns were acknowledged by SADC Executive Secretary Prega Ramsamy, who pointed out that the grouping already had a directorate that dealt with civil society issues. However, he added that SADC was aware that efforts to increase regional integration would not succeed without public support.

“Experience in many parts of the world, especially in Africa, has shown that development programmes and integration schemes designed by politicians and government officials with little or no involvement of interested parties have not been successful,” he noted.

Article 23 of the 1992 treaty that established SADC obliges member countries to consult and work with NGOs in their efforts to develop the region.

Earlier, CIVICUS Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo told delegates that his organisation was “committed to (ensuring) that the voice and aspirations of ordinary citizens (were) respected and valued”.

He added that the ongoing violence in Iraq, and the terror attacks in Spain earlier this month in which commuter trains were targeted by alleged Muslim extremists, had shown the importance of valuing human life and working together for social reform.

“The tragic situation in Iraq, and the recent Madrid bombings must force us to think about the value we place on human life and how much that shapes what we do, how we think and how we relate to each other at the global level,” said Naidoo.

“The world is consumed by terror and the so called war against terrorism, which itself has become terrifying,” he added.

The session on civil society and regional integration also discussed the need for NGOs to be accountable to the communities they served. “The civil society’s activities must be visible and accurate, as people expect tangible results,” said Ramsamy.

In addition, Naidoo called on civil society and governments to ensure that young people and the elderly also had a chance to participate in their work, as the failure to consider these groups could have serious implications for development.

The CIVICUS gathering has encouraged NGOs to join forces when fighting for the rights of the public, with some delegates pointing out that the desire for individual recognition sometimes prevents these groups from pooling their resources.

During the remaining two days of the conference, which opened on Sunday (Mar. 21), delegates will discuss topics such as whether globalisation can benefit the world’s poor. The over-arching theme of global justice has been broken down into four key areas for purposes of discussion, namely social, economic, political and civic justice.

Within these sub-themes, participants will focus on gender equality, HIV/AIDS and assisting marginalized communities, amongst other issues.