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[25 February 2008] - In May 2008 the Council will elect an African president and 4 new members from this region of the world. NGOs from across the continent are extremely unhappy about the position that African countries have taken in the Council and are mounting a campaign to ensure more deserving countries are elected.
Up to now the only African country that has expressed interest in becoming president of the council is Egypt. African NGOs are strongly opposed because "Egypt has tried to undermine the effectiveness of the Council, notably by persuading the African group to put an end to the independent group of experts on Darfur. Moreover its human rights record has been recently criticised by the European parliament." This is the opinion of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, a network of human rights defenders based in Uganda. In a letter addressed to African governments, more than 40 NGOs from across the continent - from North Africa to the Sub Sahara, English and French speaking - have asked them to reject candidates from states which have not cooperated with the Council. And they urged them to support countries which have a track record of good intentions, notably in supporting the work of the special rapporteurs. In line with the founding spirit of the Council, the activists asked the governments to elect members to the African group based on their commitment to not "negotiating" votes as they have done up to now. And without removing all the substance of the vote - last year the African group presented 4 candidates for the 4 posts to be filled. Tanzania and Burundi - the Champions So which countries then seem to be the most deserving according to the NGOs? Laetitia Bader, human rights officer at EHAHRDP says that without a doubt it is Burundi and Tanzania. "We would like these two countries that are not yet members of the Council to apply. They are two countries which have supported the most enthusiastically the country rapporteurs, while the countries that currently lead the African bloc have done everything to restrict their independence. The choice of Burundi, where serious violence erupted for many years - may seem surprising. "Certainly there is still a problem of impunity, particularly in the military and the police force, who continue to commit abuses, but the country has made a real effort to encourage the respect of human rights at a national level." The network wants Ghana - already a Council member - to be the representative "because it is one of the rare African countries to adopt a positive position on Darfur" and it could eventually support the candidature of Mauritania and the Ivory Coast - who have expressed an interest - as well as those of Zambia and Morocco. Pointing the finger at the North African countries But Ghana has little chance of being elected again onto the Council "for political and logistical reasons as well as due to a lack of money", says Laetitia Bader. This problem appears to be common to a number of Sub-Saharan African countries in Geneva. Finally she hopes that the most powerful Sub-Saharan African countries - South Africa and to a lesser extent Nigeria - are proof of a wider interest in the Council. "They have the diplomatic clout to encourage other countries in the region to resist the political pressure put on them by North African countries."