PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama is advocating for a legally binding framework across all Africa Union member states to safeguard the continent’s civic space.
According to the President, that was the only way the citizenry could be involved in the governance process of countries on the continent.
“We must protect the right to organise, to protest and to participate. We must preserve the freedom of the press, the voices of the youth, our women and our marginalised groups must be heard and protected.
‘’Democracy cannot thrive in the presence of fear and repression. The legitimacy of our governments demand the inclusion of all our people,” he stated.
He made this call in Accra yesterday when he opened the 13th High-Level Dialogue of the African Union on human rights, democracy and governance.
On the theme: “Justice, Rights, Reparation and State-building,” the Dialogue was to assess, identify, and explore normative and structural enablers that can advance democratic governance across Africa.
Its objective was to explore the role of restorative justice in African state-building post colonialism, emphasising the development of institutions capable of effectively implementing restorative justice policies.
It was also to explore how African governments could build capacities, strong governance frameworks to address injustices and focus on state building.
In the view of President Mahama, it was important countries prioritised political education as a pillar of state-building because widespread civil disengagement is not simply a matter of apathy but often the result of exclusion, mistrust and systemic failure.
“We must therefore integrate political and civic education into our school curriculum, encourage public engagement through national dialogue and community platforms and ensure that our democratic institutions speak a language our citizens understand and trust.
“Democracy must just not only be institutional but relational, rooted in the daily life experiences and expectations of our people,” President Mahama underscored.
The Dialogue, President Mahama said, must not be another declaration left on paper but a living mandate for action to deepen democracy on the continent and a platform to boldly pursue justice for past, present and future generations.
The AU Commission Chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in a speech read on his behalf by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, said it was crucial the Dialogue reflected on strategies to address governance deficits on the continent.
Mr Adeoye stated that justice must be the cardinal principle of the continent’s transformation and serve as the nexus between democratic governance, peace and security.
He acknowledged that the challenges the continent faced, though enormous, were not insurmountable and stressed the need to continue to exhibit the unwavering commitment to the AU’s shared values and norms.
“The past – slave trade, apartheid, neo colonialism – must not be allowed to define the African identity. From captivity, we must capture our future from the looting of our cultural resources. We must define and redefine that our culture matters.
“The intentional erosion of African cultural and social norms cannot continue to define us,” he stated.
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