Governance Perspectives is a monthly update published by the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Governance Perspectives aims to contribute to a robust and informed debate on the nature of Africa's governance challenges and successes. We hope to keep civil society groups, researchers, governments and development partners informed about issues relating to governance, accountability and democracy. Each month, Governance Perspectives will feature SAIIA Occasional Papers as well as opinion articles, and links to interesting, relevant new material.
We hope that you will visit our website to subscribe in order to continue receiving this newsletter, and look forward to hearing your views. Steven Gruzd, programme head, APRM Programme, steven.gruzd@wits.ac.za
APRM in the News
Kenya review postponed, again: Originally scheduled for July and then for mid-November, the second APRM review of Kenya has again been postponed. A short statement on the NEPAD Kenya website reads, “The APRM Secretariat in South Africa informs NEPAD Kenya Secretariat on Friday, November 13, 2009 that due to unforeseen circumstances, they are not in a position to commence the APRM 2nd Country Review Mission to Kenya, but will communicate the new dates shortly.” Observers speculated that the cancellation might be connected to tensions after the recent visit of the International Criminal Court to Kenya, and the ongoing constitution-making process .The mission now looks unlikely to occur in 2009.
Two new reports: In November 2009, two more APRM Country Review Reports were published. Hard copies of the reports for Nigeria (report No 8, in English) and Burkina Faso (report No 9, in French) are available at the APRM Secretariat’s offices in Midrand, South Africa. At the time of writing, neither had been uploaded to the APRM’s website, www.aprm-international.org
African governance – more of the same: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa recently launched its Second African Governance Report (AGR-II). The report tracks governance in 32 African countries, up from the 27 studied in AGR in 2005. Based on desk research and interviews with experts, overall, there are no dramatic movements in governance indicators, with marginal improvements in the rule of law and civil society and media independence, a slight deterioration in fighting corruption and political party freedom, and no change in independence of the electoral process or political representation.
Combining forces: According to ThisDay in Tanzania, an expert meeting entitled “Improved interaction between the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) with increased consideration of the right to development” was held in Arusha, Tanzania on 24 and 25 November, to seek ways to allow the African Union and United Nations to work more closely towards common human rights goals.
SAIIA Occasional Paper, No.50, October 2009
Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme
Forest Governance in Africa
by Simon Counsell
- English [.pdf]
This paper sets out to provide an overview of key forest governance issues across the African continent. Due to limitations of length, it focuses particularly on the experiences in western, central and, to a lesser extent, eastern subregions of the continent. Particular emphasis is given to the divergence between the forest as a provider of means to rural people and governance mechanisms that have predominantly focused on national economic activities and political priorities.
Read more
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The South African Journal of International Affairs seeks article submissions focused on Africa's (and South Africa's) international relations, and key governance and developmental challenges. African scholars are especially encouraged to make submissions. Articles should be 5000 to 8000 words long, employing endnotes for referencing. All submissions will be subject to a blind peer review, and articles must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication elsewhere. Please forward an abstract of the article to the Editor, Martha Bridgman, at sajia.editor@saiia.org.za or on CD in MS Word format via post to:
SAJIA,
PO Box 31596,
Braamfontein,
2017, South Africa.
Authors of successful abstracts will be notified with regard to submission of a full article.
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SAIIA’s online APRM Toolkit has been redesigned and updated with the latest information on the APRM, including several SAIIA Occasional Papers, relevant research reports, several academic papers on the APRM as well as the APR Country Review Reports of Algeria and Benin. We plan to update the APRM Toolkit on a monthly basis so please check back regularly. If you have written a paper on the APRM or governance matters in Africa and would like to share it, please email yarik.turianskyi@wits.ac.za with the subject line "APRM Toolkit'.
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If you would like to submit an original, unpublished, governance-related manuscript for possible inclusion in the SAIIA Occasional Paper series, please email steven.gruzd@wits.ac.za
Opinions expressed in papers and articles are those of their authors, and not SAIIA.
SAIIA gratefully acknowledges the Royal Netherlands Embassy in South Africa, which has generously supported the Governance & APRM Programme and this series.
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