minorities in focus

Whilst attending the 43^rd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Swaziland MRG’s International Human Rights Officer for Africa, Paile Chabane, continues with her work to facilitate the setting up of an African Minorities Forum

I wake up not feeling too well… have a bad headache and already wonder if I will be able to make it to our meeting in the afternoon. But other responsibilities force me to get up anyway and go into Mbabane town. Again I am struck at how unfamiliar this place feels.

Our side event is scheduled to start at 3pm and CEMIRIDE are busy finalizing the arrangements. Having arrived three days earlier, which afforded them the opportunity to attend the three-day NGO Forum which precedes the official Commission session, they say they managed to sell the idea to participants and so we could expect a satisfactory turn out. In the end, our event attracts about 22 people but sadly the Commissioners are busy with other meetings, and in spite of this being in their backyard, none of them are able to attend.

Our event programme includes a panel discussion with representatives of African linguistic, ethnic and religious minorities. I am moved when linguistic minority reps talk of being forced to abandon their identities. Apparently they are ashamed to be identified with their community because it is considered inferior. In order to participate and be accepted in the economic, social and political aspects of local life they choose to speak the language of the neighbouring, more dominant tribe. With respect to religious minorities, the representative indicated that in the wake of terror threats and fears, more rigorous requirements have been put in place when Muslims apply for travel documents and applicants have even been denied travel permits because they are immediately assumed to be linked to terrorists. This is in Africa!

The main objective of the event is to give shape to the idea of an African minorities forum. However participants emphasize that in order for it to succeed, it would need the true support and ownership of all those for whom it was established, going beyond the African Commission project which convened it, which will be coming to an end soon.

Following the meeting, we learn some interesting information about Swaziland, which serves to emphasize the many facets of this country. You may know that Swaziland is famous for its strict adherence to culture and tradition. So it’s certainly a very fascinating revelation to learn that there is an adult-only establishment not too far from where we are staying. It certainly sparks a lot of curiosity in some to go see for themselves and verify the existence of said establishment. Details of just how far this curiosity went shall be withheld on the principle and agreement commonly understood among the group that what happens in Swaziland, stays in Swaziland!

Paile Chabane, MRG’s International Human Rights Officer for Africa, revisits the 43^rd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Swaziland

Once again my work has flung me back to the Southern region of Africa that is home… in Swaziland this time, where the 43^rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is being hosted. In fact, the tiny, beautiful, mountainous kingdom of Swaziland is a twin to my own country… the tiny, beautiful, mountainous kingdom of Lesotho, although if the truth were told the two countries are different in so many ways. In fact quite possibly the similarities end at the three adjectives I have referred to above: tiny, mountainous, kingdom. I often have to make the distinction between this kingdom and my own - Swazi culture is known for its colourful, controversial stories (such as the king and his many wives – our king has just the one!). And indeed the political and governance systems of the two states are very different. Returning to the subject of the monarchy - in Swaziland the king is the head of state as well as the government, while the king of Lesotho is a constitutional ceremonial monarch.

From a very young age I have visited Swaziland, mainly for family visits, since we have relatives here. But on this trip my presence here feels different… I have to figure things out on my own (and with the nine other colleagues and partners with whom I was attending the session as part of the MRG African Commission project). I have to interact with the place and the people beyond the orchestrated family occasions context. The funny thing is that it really feels like I am here for the very first time. In spite of the long intertwined history of the two countries (which together with Botswana have commonly come to be known in the region as Boleswa - Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland), I have never really been able to wrap my mind around Swaziland. Every time I would think of Swaziland images of lots of trees, rain and dense mist at night would come to mind. Well, the trees are still here since Swaziland once had the biggest man made forest, but fortunately the rain and mist seem to have disappeared.

Anyway, here I am and it’s important to not lose sight of the reasons why I’m here this time. The first good news is that the hotel is quite nice… something which we have learned to not take for granted after a not so pleasant experience at the last session which still lingers fresh on one’s mind months later! Tomorrow there will be a side event which will try to advance the discussions from the seminar we had in March in Pretoria on minorities and minority rights in Africa (see previous blogs The show must go on and My work is done…). In particular, we will discuss a minorities’ forum in Africa, which was one of the recommendations of the seminar. We hope to launch the forum at the November session of the African Commission.

MRG has supported five project partners who were at the seminar to attend this session in order to undertake further lobbying, so in total we have a formidable team of 10 ready to take on the Commission.

Being the last one to arrive in Swaziland the first thing I need to do is find my partners… there seems to be no sign of them… how hard can it be to find at least one of the other 9 members of the group? Then I learn… they have gone to a barbeque…

Paile Chabane, MRG’s International Human Rights Officer for Africa, reports from the final day of a landmark conference on minorities in Africa

This is the third and final day of the seminar (day two was lost in a blur of administration) and probably the most important as it is when practical ways to mainstream minority rights in the national policies and processes of African states will be discussed.

Presentations are made and the latter part of the day is for group work to give the participants an opportunity to come up with recommendations for how best this mainstreaming process could be done and by whom in the various countries in question.

For me the moment of triumph is when the Commissioner addresses the group at the end of the seminar and makes a commitment to take the issues back to her colleagues at the Commission, as she feels there are definite issues worthy of attention. What can I say…my work here is done…

All in all, I am very pleased with the way it turned out and the seminar report will inform all discussions we’ll be having with key actors in the promotion and protection of minority rights in Africa… However, this is just the beginning… the tough work is about to begin.

Paile Chabane, MRG’s International Human Rights Officer for Africa, reports from the first precarious day of a landmark conference on minorities in Africa

The good news is that most of the invited participants have arrived. However two will not be able to make it. Among them is a Ugandan Member of Parliament who is also Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee. The more worrying news is that there is no sign of any of the invited members from the African Commission or the Chairperson of the South African Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, who was to be the keynote speaker.

Already the seminar is starting to feel like it’s going downhill and I am extremely unsettled. But the show has to go on while our South African partner organization responsible for the seminar’s logistical arrangements makes follow up enquiries about the whereabouts of the missing participants. As it turns out, in the case of the Commissioners, one will arrive this evening, while the other one we can only assume will no longer be available to attend. As for the keynote speaker, we get word that he will be coming later on… apparently there had been a mix up with the dates.

And so the day’s programme gets underway with the opening ceremony, and proceeds to the substantive part while we wait for the keynote speaker to arrive, at which point we will pause the session and give him the platform to address the participants. Things start to feel a little better…

It is such a shame that the Commissioner was not present for the day’s proceedings because certainly it laid the foundations for the seminar as it explored terminologies, definitions, approaches for the promotion and protection of minority rights from other regions in the world, as well as the consequences of the failure to do so.

The highlight so far is definitely the panel discussion involving representatives of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in Africa. They give personal accounts of the challenges they face as a result of their status. This is counterbalanced by the response from the Ugandan MP who explains the efforts undertaken by the Equal Opportunities Committee to investigate the reports they get of violations of the rights of minority communities in Uganda. Apparently they are in the process of drafting a policy on minority rights protection, as it is provided for in the Ugandan Constitution. This gives the session a less abstract and theoretical feel.

The end of the day brings the ice-breaking reception/cocktail and the arrival of the Vice Chairperson of the African Commission so I can finally heave a sigh of relief.

Paile Chabane, MRG’s International Human Rights Officer for Africa, travels to Pretoria for a landmark conference on minorities in Africa

It’s so exciting to be back not only in Africa, but ‘home’… even though I am still only in South Africa, coming from Lesotho (which one participant at the seminar referred to as the “yolk” of South Africa - if South Africa was an egg that is) this is as good as home. It’s certainly brilliant to arrive to the warmth of the last days of summer, coming from a cold and wet London.

And so as I sit at a café table soaking up this glorious sunshine in the company of my MRG colleague Marusca Perazzi and my sister who had come to Pretoria to meet us, we check out the menu (our eyes remaining glued to the meat section) and the fatigue of the long trip here is all but forgotten. The anxiety, apprehension and anticipation of the real reason why we are here have been momentarily shelved until tomorrow - day one of the seminar.

MRG’s Programmes Officer, Neil Clarke, prepares to make an intervention at the African Commission, gets to know MRG’s partner organisations and is inspired by their activism

I was up like a flash this morning to catch what water was available for a warm shower and to ensure I get some cheese in my omelette… as Albert Finney famously said, “Don’t let the Hotel Exaunel grind you down.”

Today we are to make our intervention at the Commission. An intervention is a short statement under a thematic heading, in our case Indigenous Peoples. The intervention can address the Commission and attending governments directly, draws attention to specific issues and requests specific actions. It is one of the various actions you can take at such fora, alongside the opportunity to network, meet states directly and hold side events to raise awareness.

We are here with some of our partners from across Africa, who have each contributed their community’s experience and calls for action to the statement. I will briefly let you know which groups are here with us and their involvement in the statement, so you have an idea why this is such a pressing cause.

Ag Aly is from the Tuareg peoples, an indigenous pastoralist community spread across the desert borders of Mali and Niger. The Tuareg have become extremely marginalized and lack even basic services in their region. This in turn has lead to movements for greater autonomy from the Tuareg, to which the governments have responded with force. In Mali, the Tuareg region has now become militarised, prohibiting the free movement of these peoples and their access to schools and health services. In Niger, the situation is even more pressing. Under the cloak of a State of Emergency, Tuareg are subjected to arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings by the military.

Ibrahim is from the Mboro, an indigenous people of Cameroon. Again they find their community separated by national borders, across Chad and the Central African Republic. Lack of representation in government means their issues are ignored, leaving them vulnerable to abuse. It is becoming common for Mboro children to be kidnapped by armed gangs for ransom. Often the children are murdered regardless of payment and governing states are complicit by their inaction.

Benon, is a Batwa from Rwanda, the original indigenous people of the region. Batwa were caught in the middle of the tragic conflict between the dominant Tutsi and Hutu groups in Rwanda. Already marginalized, they have suffered more than any from the devastation caused by the conflict. Only 7% of Batwa have access to healthcare and 51% remain illiterate (the national figure being 25%), these are just a few of the examples.

But not all examples are negative, it is important to show that there are positive examples of good practice. Tezera from Ethiopia, has been working closely with the government and MRG for Ethiopia’s pastoralist communities. This has lead to Pastoralist representation in Parliament, a government standing committee and the recognition of Pastoralist Day as a National celebration – which all goes a long way to changing public perception of pastoralists.

So you see we are here for a greater purpose and struggle than surviving our accommodation. This is a very valuable exercise and for me a personal privilege to be in the company of these activists, regardless of the lizard in my toilet.

MRG’s Programmes Officer, Neil Clarke, finally gets his teeth stuck into the African Commission and muses on the shortcomings of the infrastructure

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights is up and running at last and has been bustling through the weekend trying to catch up with its schedule, that is, given one or two ‘technical difficulties’. Today’s technical detail being that the Commissioners themselves were forced to move hotel during the session, because the government had not paid the bill…

I have pondered the lack of preparation in my last blog. Is it because the Congo does not have the capacity or because the Commission have been negligent in supporting the Congolese? Neither one it seems. The Commission apparently has little in the way of its own funds and is reliant on the invitation of a government prepared to foot the bill. In the case of the Congo it seems the invitation was extended by an eager official, but not by the President himself. The Congo government is definitely not over-resourced and certainly not prepared to invest the large sums of money and manpower necessary for this event. Thus for example it is not subsidising the costs of hotels, which are possibly the most expensive in the African continent.

The Commissioners themselves have responded by setting a fine example to the many activists present - taking direct action in defence of their right to per diems. When it appeared that they would not be receiving their daily allowance, they threatened to bring the Commission to a premature end. The Government it seems relented in the face of such forceful advocacy. The next technical difficulty appears to be that the Commissioners suitcases have been lost between hotels. We are left wondering if as a further protest the Commissioners will be appearing naked at tomorrow’s session?

My impressions of the Commission so far? Not bad. There is a greater intimacy to proceedings than in say Geneva, largely because of the smaller venue. NGOs are not left clinging to the edges of the room and are able to mingle with government officials. There is also an air of faith in the process from the NGOs, which is refreshing. Perhaps this is because the rotating location means that participation is not dominated by a small number of NGOS. The NGO discourse as a result, seems more diverse and less about preserving status, which often comes across in Geneva. But in terms of content, scope for interaction and capacity to hold States to account, I would say it is little different to other human rights bodies. It’s a useful tool with the capacity to become more useful, but far from an end in itself.

‘Technical difficulties’ permitting, MRG will be making an intervention tomorrow along with our partner organisations and I can explain our purpose for being here, other than to ‘enjoy’ the hotels.

Neil Clarke, MRG Programmes Officer, bides his time in Congo Brazzaville waiting for the African Commission to begin

I don’t want to spend a second blog on the subject of hotels in Brazzaville, even though after a week this is still the main topic of conversation here, particularly since the Commission itself has been delayed for the last day and a half due to the technical difficulty of… er… not being ready.

The lack of Commission did at least force some of us outside of the Kurtzian odyssey of our hotel experience during daylight hours and gave us the opportunity to see some of Brazzaville’s sights. Or at least we tried. Having jumped into a Turkish bath of a taxi with the intention of seeing one of the cities acclaimed craft markets, we steamed away happily for an hour before being dropped off at a series of endless rows of shacks on the outskirts of the city. Most of these shacks were piled high with knocked-off Nike trainers dating back decades, like an elephants graveyard of hooky footwear. Again no one seemed impressed in the slightest that they had potential customers, even less impressed when we weren’t prepared to pay $US150 a pop for a Hugo ‘G’oss belt.

After noticing the lack of craft or acclaim in these items, we decided to admit we had given the driver the name of the wrong market and set off in search of what we were calling the ’southern market’. I felt confident I had given the driver clear instructions in my best finger-pointing French. But after two hours of heading further and further south, the driver stopped the taxi and started pointing in front of us with a puzzled look on his face. After a number of attempts at communication we admitted defeat and called a French-speaking friend to intervene. It was established that in fact I had not instructed him to take us to the southern market but simply to head south…

It turned out that the craft market was actually on the same road as our hotel and a mere 5 minutes walk away. What slightly concerned me about this was that my companion, an expert on pastoralist issues and a valued programme partner, had boasted of the ‘livelihood mapping’ he had conducted on the first evening. Along with the market he had also missed the cool, efficient, tasty and affordable restaurant opposite. There is a moral to this story, let he who is without sin cast the first stone at Brazzaville.

Indeed the craft market was certainly worth 4 hours of severe dehydration in the back of a cab. The style, a strange mixture of local imagery and cubism, was certainly unique to me and totally distinct from the broad and generic indigenous art usually on display for tourists. Later we had the chance to visit an art college and were surprised to find that young artists, working in a specific Congolese style, produced much of this mature work.

Brazzaville is certainly an interesting place, if we are lucky there will be more delays so I can figure it out a bit more. But seriously, while this is still something of voyage of discovery for me, I can see the frustrations of the many experienced activists for whom this is a crucial event. The scattered nature of hotels hinders the socialising and networking which brings such meetings to life. Delegates are alone, drained by the temperature and lack of running water and feeling they are wasting time and opportunities. The sad thing is that people are focusing their frustration on Brazzaville, when perhaps Brazzaville has not been provided with the infrastructure it needs to facilitate such an event.

So I have decided not to blame Brazzaville or the hotel staff for any of my minor discomforts and to enjoy the city. Indeed I have decided not to blame hotel staff for leaving used ear buds on my bedside table, for drinking my beer, for leaving a six foot imprint of another human body on my bed sheets, for filling my bath with a foot of dirt and for re-programming my TV to French channels every day. I have decided instead to blame a flying beetle I found circling the ceiling two nights ago. I caught up with him in my wardrobe this morning and he caught up with a firm blow from a wet towel. So now I can attend the opening of the Commission assured that there should be full roll of toilet paper waiting in my bathroom tonight.

MRG Programmes Officer Neil Clarke reports back from the African Commisson

OK, so my first impression of Congo, Brazzaville, I have found is very much my own. Blue skies, warm clean air, bouyant music, tasty fish suppers whilst watching over the great expanse of the Congo river… but I seem to be rare amongst the visitors here, to be engaged by these distractions.

We are all here for the 42nd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, and for the last few days NGO activists in particular have been buzzing around Brazzaville’s handful of upmarket hotels, engaged in a series of pre-meetings before the main event kicks off on Wednesday.

During the day the air is full of warmth, friendship and familiarity as the continent’s activists re-convene at this twice-yearly event, where in the past partnerships and friendships have been established and maintained and rekindled through regular attendance. For me, on only my first visit, it has been the opportunity to put faces to many emails and to surprise people with the fact that I am neither female nor 45.

But at night as we retreat to our accommodation in smaller numbers, the mood changes, either the African Commission was not prepared for Brazzaville or vice versa. If you were able to check into your hotel and find the room you reserved weeks in advance still available, you are lucky. If your hotel is actually built you are even luckier. Once inside you experience all night generators with the sound of power drills and a chorus of frogs that is even louder, towels which come back from room service wetter than after your shower, air conditioners without an off switch, an electricity supply with a mind of its own, table clothes which are generating their own life forms and restaurant staff who are so surprised at the presence of the customer that they seemingly have to retreat to a library for several hours after taking your order, so they can study and understand the very concept.

Added to this are the prices to make a Londoner like me blush, otherwise I think participants maybe a little more generous in their appraisal of Brazzaville, for whom this is a rare and big event.

When I suggested to partners the other day that maybe a trip outside Brazzaville would be interesting, their faces lit up until they realised I meant within Congo and not back to the airport. The sense of despair is increased by both the prohibitive cost of alcohol and the fact that many had their passports mysteriously confiscated at the airport making them wonder if they would ever see home again. Hopefully, the start of the commission session on Wednesday will focus everyone’s energy and maybe generate of few much needed watts.

The most popular destination is to head down to the river, where people stare dreamily across the mighty Congo river towards the skyscrapers of neighbouring Kinshasa and imagining its greater comfort and wireless internet connections. Maybe its because I am an African Commission virgin and not sure what to expect, but I’m enjoying myself. It’s all curious and I want to see more of this place and I’m excited about the people I am meeting. I found another equally curious fellow soul - he is a representative of the Fisher Peoples of Africa and is impressed by both the Congo river and its inhabitants. Indeed the stoicism of the river’s fish is indeed a sight, gainfully working their way up against a pretty strong current, surely knowing they only have a few more miles before they become someone’s lunch, but steadfast in their task nonetheless.