Human Rights Day – 21 March 2010
On 21 March, South Africa will celebrate Human Rights Day. The date marks the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when scores of demonstrators were killed and wounded by police during an anti-pass protest.
The South African Institute of International Affairs has recently produced several papers investigating the role of human rights in foreign policy. Some of these pieces are available for download below:
- Human Rights in Foreign Policy and Practice: The South African Case Considered, by Danny Titus, SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 52, November 2009 Download - English [.pdf]
- Whither Human Rights in African International Relations?by Mireille Affa'a Mindzie, SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 39, August 2009 Download - English [.pdf]
- People Power: How Civil Society Blocked an Arms Shipment for Zimbabwe, by Nicole Fritz, SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 36, July 2009 Download - English [.pdf]
- Human Rights and Wrongs Diplomatic Pouch by Terence Corrigan, 1 April 2009.
- South Africa’s Foreign Engagements and Human Rights (SAIIA Event Report)25-26 March 2009
Diplomatic Pouch
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Will oil build or break Ghana's democracy?
Will commercial oil production (due to begin later this year) build or break the back of Ghana’s democracy? This may seem an unnecessarily inflammatory question, but history demonstrates that healthy caution is necessary in managing oil revenues. Ghana, however, has made history by hosting a series of free and fair elections in recent years. Twice the opposition party has won and the incumbent has stepped down in a display of due respect for democracy. This is groundbreaking progress as less than a handful of African countries have attained such a benchmark of democratic consolidation.
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The Congo Basin Forest Partnership: Together, Shaping the World of the Future
On 11 and 12 November 2009, the sixth plenary session of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon. This high-level meeting brought together delegates from the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) countries as well as major development partners, certain international NGOs, international organisations and private sector representatives. One month ahead of the Copenhagen Conference, these delegates gathered around an issue central to the broader climate change agenda, namely forestry. Forestry is central not least because avoided deforestation in tropical forest areas, such as the Congo Basin, has been identified as a priority option for mitigating climate change. The world seems to agree that tropical forests are important. However, how this importance should translate into action is a subject of much debate.
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Trade Policy Trajectory in South Africa
Against the backdrop of the global economic crunch and the local economy’s recession, there is a fierce debate on South Africa’s (SA) trade policy trajectory. These matters have moved into sharp relief in light of the government’s decision to raise import tariffs on certain clothing items. Clothing, long the lightening rod for these debates, sees some trade experts, economists and actors in the tripartite alliance exhibiting a desire to tightly control trade policy; others support further trade liberalisation.
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The Africa South America Summit, 27-28 September 2009
The second Africa South America summit, hosted by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela formed the third part of a triangle of events, starting with the General Debate at the opening of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, followed immediately by the third summit of the G20 Financial in Pittsburgh.
What's New
Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010 – Playing the Security Game
As published on Polity.co.za
The terror attack on the Togolese soccer team by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) prior to the African Cup of Nations that took place in Angola in January 2010, has ensured that the focus has shifted to the security of the FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa in mid-2010.
Scholarly Exchange Programme: Emerging Powers and South African/African foreign policy
Under its Emerging Powers and South African Foreign Policy and African Drivers (SAFPAD) programmes, the South African Institute of International Affairs has a scholarly exchange initiative, whereby it seeks to host scholars, from the region and globally, that are focused on issues that are aligned with the research agendas of the two hosting research programmes.
Peer Review Under Scrutiny
As published in City Press www.citypress.co.za, Sunday 7 February 2010
Sparks flew in dusty Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last weekend, as representatives of the 29 member states of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) – the continent’s home-grown governance promotion instrument – gathered for their biannual meeting on the fringes of the African Union (AU) Summit. Many APRM Focal Points – ministers and other senior officials – raised grave concerns about the transparency, integrity and governance of this innovative experiment. A particular concern emerged over the criteria and process for selecting the four new members of the APRM’s Panel of Eminent Persons, the key body steering the process. Ghana’s representatives even went to the media to decry “dictatorial” tendencies in APRM leadership. Who are these eminent persons? What is the health of the system that they will steer? And what do Africa’s citizens expect of them?
Peer Review should be seen as a Self-Improvement Exercise for SA
As published in The Mercury, www.themercury.co.za, 1 February 2010
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 30 January 2010, President Jacob Zuma was scheduled to report to his peers regarding the implementation of the country’s National Programme of Action (NPoA), at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum meeting that takes place on the fringes of the African Union (AU) Summit. This governance improvement plan (NPoA) emerged from South Africa’s first APRM exercise undertaken in 2005-2007. A key question is whether this second annual report will be a significant improvement over the first one, delivered at the same time last year.
In a new publication titled “Off Track? Findings from South Africa’s First APRM Implementation Report”, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) identifies deficiencies in South Africa’s first annual implementation report, meant to cover NPoA the period between November 2007 and December 2008. Our analysis suggests that the report suffers from three significant problems.
Security and Development in sub-Saharan Africa: Looking to the Future
By Moeletsi Mbeki
Download - Speech [.pdf]
Presentation to the Commander’s Speaker Programme at the US Africa Command, US Military Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany on Tuesday 19th January 2010
SAIIA Ranked Top Think Tank in Sub-Saharan Africa
The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) has been ranked the best think tank for 2009 in southern and sub-Saharan Africa in the annual international survey conducted by the
Nigeria: Media, Civil Society Must Call Govt to Account
As published in http://allafrica.com/stories/200912180048.html on 18 December 2009
For the vast majority of Nigeria's population of more than 140 million, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) country review report for Nigeria published this week will have significance only if the media and civil society respond strongly to its findings, and if it is able to trigger substantial reforms.
Foreign Policy under Zuma: Change of Style or Substance?
As published in Growth Magazine, www.growth.co.za on 21 December 2009
Since the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet in May 2009, have there been discernable changes in South Africa’s foreign policy? President Thabo Mbeki loomed large on the international stage, with grand plans to reform the African continent and the global system beyond. With domestic issues being prioritised, and strong voices condemning Zuma as unfit to lead South Africa, how would he and his team perform? Several foreign affairs experts were asked to spot significant shifts in substance, or in style in the state’s international interactions.
Trends in African Governance: South Africa Slipping
As published in Growth Magazine, www.growth.co.za Vol 1, Issue 8, 2009 pp 42-43.
Which way is governance going on the African continent and particularly in South Africa? According to the newly released 2009 African Governance Report (AGR-II), put together by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, it seems that many of the continent’s newly-established democracies are suffering from an authoritarian hangover.
Overall, progress is marginal at best and mixed, and worryingly, South Africa is sliding slowly down the ranks. South Africa has many internal problems that it seems not willing or able to solve, which bring into question its aspirations for leadership in governance in Africa.
Seminar 24 November 2009; States in Fragile Environments
SAIIA in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy and the University of Pretoria yesterday hosted a seminar entitled ‘States in fragile environments: Common engagement for conflict resolution and development’. The seminar formed part of the state visit by Their Majesties, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. The proceedings were opened by His Majesty. Norway’s foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, addressed the audience of diplomats, academics and media about some of the issues challenging peace and security in Africa. In his speech he mentioned the importance of the efforts of the international community to address the main threats to stability in Africa, namely the dysfunction of weak states with weak institutions and which lack public legitimacy and territorial control. He also spoke of the common responsibility of Norway and South Africa to contribute to the restoration of peace and stability on the continent.
A full version of Minister Støre’s speech can be downloaded here.
Intégrer l’enseignement de la gouvernance dans l’enseignement universitaire en Afrique : Perspectives,défis et leçons
par Tšoeu Petlane
SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 43, September 2009 (French)
Download - French [.pdf]
The China-Africa Toolkit
A Toolkit for African Policymakers
China’s rise to global prominence, founded on its economic achievements and its growing role in Africa, has inspired debate across the continent. While much of the discussion has focused on the implications of China’s presence in Africa, especially as it relates to traditional Western interests, very little attention has been given to the potential opportunities that it may present to enhance African development.
Latest Publications
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Africa’s Peacemaker? Lessons from South African Conflict Mediation
South Africa has done much in the 15 years since the fall of apartheid to establish its leadership on the continent. It has been a constant architect of Africa’s new peace and security architecture and an advocate of new diplomatic norms. Whether South Africa has succeeded in meeting its goals as Africa’s mediator and the ambitious aspirations shared by African heads of state and intellectuals following its transition to democracy is debatable. -
Somaliland. An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition
Co-published with the Institute for Global DialogueSomaliland has been described as an ‘inspiring story of resilience and reconstruction, and a truly African Renaissance, that has many lessons to teach the rest of Africa and the international community’. This study seeks to identify some of those lessons, particularly those pertaining to Somaliland’s sustained efforts to create internal unity and gain regional and international recognition.
Occasional Papers
The Oil Factor in Sino–Angolan Relations at the Start of the 21st Century
by Ana Cristina Alves
SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 55, February 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
Policy Briefings
Brazil as an Emerging Power: The View from the United States
by Shannon O’Neil
SAIIA Policy Briefing, No 16, February 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
Research Reports
Untangling the Nets: The Governance of Tanzania’s Marine Fisheries
by Mariam January and Honest Prosper Ngowi
SAIIA Research Report, No 5, February 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
