The Right to Political Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-161
Author(s):  
Christof Heyns ◽  
Charles Fombad ◽  
Pansy Tlakula ◽  
Jimmy Kainja

The effective realisation of the right to political participation is essential for the legitimacy of political systems and for enabling the people to shape, and assume responsibility for, their lives. Although the right to political participation is recognised in article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as in other international treaties, its realisation in practice is often partial, it depends on the extent to which numerous interrelated rights, such as those to freedom of expression, access to information and peaceful protest, have been secured. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, this article examines the right to political participation as set out in national constitutions and in the instruments of the United Nations, the African Union and sub-regional bodies. It also considers the role of social media in this context. The article concludes by suggesting how this crucial right could be implemented more effectively in Africa.

In the chapter, Haq gives a snapshot of the human progress of South Asia, comparing it with other regions. He was worried about the region beginning to lag behind all other regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa. He highlights the role of the two largest economies in the region, India and Pakistan, in financing the major investment in education, health and nutrition for the people. Haq advocates some fiscal and monetary reforms are suggested to invest in human development.


Author(s):  
Alessandro Lamberti-Castronuovo ◽  
Jeremy A. Pine ◽  
Giorgio Brogiato ◽  
Hans-Friedemann Kinkel

Although a large amount of research exists about migration into the European Union (EU) and the role of migrants in European society, relatively little information is available on the health status of migrants after arriving in the EU. This is particularly true in the case of the most marginalised migrants, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, who work as itinerant laborers harvesting fruits and vegetables in southern Italy. This study analyzes demographic and health data gathered by a non-government organization-run primary healthcare clinic in order to understand the challenges these migrants face when trying to maintain their health. Results show that their health suffers greatly due to substandard living and working conditions, partially due to the fact that these individuals experience many barriers when trying to access care from the national health system. The health status of this population cannot improve without broad reforms to the welfare system and the agricultural sector. Government action is needed to ensure that such individuals are not denied their basic human rights and freedoms, including the right to health.


2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-179
Author(s):  
Komi Ahiatroga Hiagbe

The snail-pace of social and economic development within sub-Saharan Africa is of major concern not only to the development community, but to all who have the continent’s well-being at heart. Various attempts (many rather elusive) at diagnosis and prescription of the right antidotes to the problem have been made for decades. This paper, however, shares Jeffrey Sachs’s optimism in End of Poverty with the point of departure being that organised religion holds the key to a reversal of the trend. The paper explores the impact of religious beliefs on the development of some communities in the past and the present before concluding that Christianity could unlock the prospects to sub-Saharan Africa’s economic fortunes. In the view of this researcher, African theological reflections, in response to the challenges of endemic corruption, nepotism, superstition, and bad work ethics on the continent, must be grounded in the language, traditional beliefs, values and practices (i.e. culture) of the people as grounds for integration with the modern scientific and technological advancement that confronts the continent. This underscores the need for Christianity itself to become that culture which is willing to accommodate a consciously reconstructed past as the pathway to a developed future.


Author(s):  
Emmanuel Eilu

Fifty-five percent of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa lack any official identification documentation and this has created a hug identity gap. African countries are using biometric technology to pilot multimillion-dollar national identification projects aimed at narrowing the identity gaps. However, there has been little evidence published on the extent this technology has led to economic development and to narrowing the identity gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a narrative review, this chapter explores the role of the emerging biometric national identification technology in narrowing the identity gap and contributing to economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. This chapter is of significance in that it informs governments in developing and transitional countries especially in Africa on lessons learned from the pilot projects and suggests better ways of narrowing the identity gap using the emerging biometric national identification technology.


Author(s):  
Tshegofatso J. Sehoole

For Africa, the backdrop1 against which COVID-19 emerged is a stark one. Although sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 11% of the world’s population, it bears 24% of the global disease burden. The continent is home to 60% of the people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and over 90% of malarial patients. In this region, infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV cause 69% of deaths. As states respond to COVID-19, we need to keep our eyes open to what effective responses are notifying us about our healthcare systems, so that we can craft sustainable interventions as a result and uphold the right to health. This is especially true in the light of the ongoing nature of pandemics on the continent, making urgent the need to maximise the value of our health system and its resources, as we seek lasting transformation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pade Badru

In Kwandiwe Kondlo’s In the Twilight of the Revolution (2009), which examines the role of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle as the backdrop, this article surveys the momentum of social revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa during the decolonization era that started in the mid-20th century and ended with South Africa’s transition to a multi-racial democracy in 1994. It argues that the failure of the African elite to achieve a genuine independence from both colonial rule and South Africa’s apartheid system is largely because of inconsistent nationalist ideologies and the detachment of the African elite from the popular struggles of the people, which could have resulted in the revolutionary overthrow of the colonial state and the dawn of more progressive and autonomous states all across Black Africa. It concludes that this failure led to the continuing instability of the post-colonial states across Africa and, in South Africa, to the achievement of a particular form of multi-racial democracy with very little or no change to the real politics of apartheid and Boer domination.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Dinda Izzati

Evidently, a few months after the Jakarta Charter was signed, Christian circles from Eastern Indonesia submitted an ultimatum, if the seven words in the Jakarta Charter were still included in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, then the consequence was that they would not want to join the Republic of Indonesia. The main reason put forward by Pastor Octavian was that Indonesia was seen from its georaphical interests and structure, Western Indonesia was known as the base of Islamic camouflage, while eastern Indonesia was the basis for Christian communities. Oktavianus added that Christians as an integral part of this nation need to realize that they also have the right to life, religious rights, political rights, economic rights, the same rights to the nation and state as other citizens, who in fact are mostly Muslims. This paper aims to determine and understand the extent to which the basic assumptions of the Indonesian people view the role of Islam as presented in an exclusive format.


Author(s):  
Peter Kayode Oniemola ◽  
Jane Ezirigwe

To achieve universal energy access will attract huge capital investments. If sub-Saharan Africa is to realize anything close to the ambitious goals set for its energy access, then new actors, innovative funding mechanisms and sustainable technologies will have to be attracted. Finance is needed for activities such as rural electrification, clean cooking facilities, diesel motors and generators, other renewable energy technologies, oil and gas infrastructures, etc. Finance is also needed in research and development of suitable technologies and funding options as well as investment in the capacity to formulate and implement sound energy policies. This chapter examines the varied financing options for energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that with appropriate laws in place and effective mechanism for implementation, African countries can significantly engage private sector financing, international financial institutions and foreign donors. The role of the law here will be in creating an enabling environment for financing.


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