• cotedivoireetfsm-forum-citoyen-2017-axes-en

last modified November 19, 2017 by facilitfsm


 POLITICAL  -  ECONOMICAL -  SOCIO CULTURAL

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Political axis

  

On the sidelines of the EU-Africa summit in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), African and European civil society decided to organize a citizens' forum on 26, 27, 28 November 2017 to make the voice of the populations and communities of both countries heard. continents. Three lines of thought were chosen: political, economic and socio-cultural.

 

The political axis : The Europe-Africa Partnership and its political impacts on peoples and communities.

The Africa-European Union relations are part of the "end" of the cold war symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1987, the triumph of neoliberalism on a world scale and political liberalism, especially on the continent. African and Eastern Europe.

This change caused the wind of liberalism to blow on Eastern Europe and favored the accession of a large number of the countries of this zone to the European Union. In Africa, one of the consequences of the end of the East-West confrontation policy is the introduction of multi-party democracy to supplant the single parties in power whose leaders were most often in the pay of tutelary powers. The speech of the Baule of François Mitterrand of June 20, 1990 which stated that " there is no democracy without respect of human rights and [that] there is no development without democracy!" Seemed inaugurate a new political era in Africa.

27 years later, this speech brings hope, it is honest to recognize that there have been advances in several countries, such as: the non-recognition of regimes resulting from coups, the creation of institutions more or less independent in charge of the management of elections, the acceptance of more or less independent electoral observation missions to give credibility to the electoral process. A decision such as that of the Supreme Court of Kenya invalidating the presidential election of September 2017 constitutes in this respect a major historical fact on the African continent.

However, conservative forces , supporters of the status quo ante , seem to slow down the advance of the democratic process with the complicity or blessing of some former European tutelary powers or a faceless "international community"that intervenes by its own interests and those of transnational corporations. We note that many electoral processes are biased, so that they are followed by contestation, disturbances, often violent conflicts with their procession of internally displaced persons, refugees, wounded, dead , and ultimately widespread misery.

The new find of undemocratic forces is the constitutional revision to drag on to power. The antecedents are legion in particular, in Congo, in Togo, in Rwanda , soon in Burundi to the dismay of people who aspire to legitimate changes . The many victims of these sometimes serious violations of human rights and peoples , for the most part, can not enjoy their right to justice and reparation. Thus, elections have become, for many African peoples, a period of obsession and stress.

Civil societies in the north and south struggling for the advent of democracy are ruled by the principle of state sovereignty and many mechanisms that protect established powers . It is virtually impossible , for example, to refer to the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights against a State for the purpose of filing a complaint with that court if that State has not made the recognizing declaration. its competence. However, to date, fewer than 10 of the 55 AU states have done so.

Sometimes, the individual or collective interests of European states insidiously prevent or deliberately obstruct this noble struggle on the African continent. This allows conservative forces to excel in bad governance, allowing impunity and injustice to flourish as sources of violence and conflict.

Is democracy not becoming a lure in Africa? Corruption, poverty, insecurity, unemployment are gaining ground. Despite this, many states cynically pride themselves in displaying a state of macroeconomic health deemed satisfactory by the standards and criteria of neo-liberalism and the Bretton Woods system.

The solution to flee these modes of governance that create precariousness, economic misery, insecurity and despair among young people finds its roots here.

The religious path advocated by movements such as Boco Haram in West Central Africa , al Shabab (Somalia), Al Qu'Aïda in the Islamic Maghreb , the Lord's Resistance Army (Uganda), is deadlocked as an expression of freedom. another form of political, economic and social governance. In truth, it is not an alternative to the current stalemate of political mal-governance subject to the neo-liberalism dictatorship that has engaged Africa in the path of deconstruction of post-colonial states.

On the other hand, the European democracies, which until now have been used as examples, have been harmed by the numerous scandals identified every day by the media with regard to electoral fraud, particularly in Austria, corruption, the rise of nationalist movements and populist sign of a withdrawal of a Europe long known for its openness. The men who animate institutions are far from models of probity including candidates for elective positions and especially in the presidential election when they are supposed to bring new. This situation reinforces conservative forces who think that there is no model of democracy and no reference to probity. Therefore, they boast of having no lesson from anyone that seriously undermine democracy. Also, people, communities, civil societies, they show, more and more, a certain spite or simply a rejection vis-à-vis the policy.

It is therefore important, through this Citizen Forum, to reflect on new forms of governance, democratic models that protect the peoples of both continents from the political oppression of the power centers of neo-liberalism and the throes of democracy. a façade democracy that is nothing less than that of the political powers at the behest of transnational interests and "market forces" .

Therefore, the following topics are proposed to the participants on this political axis:

Theme I : The aspirations of peoples and communities for democratic change in Africa

Theme II : What Policy and Governance Models for Africa's Development?

Theme III : What social protection for the development of Africa?

Good thought to all to open up new ways of democracy that truly place people and people at the center of development!

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Economic axis

 

On the sidelines of the EU-Africa Summit in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), African and European civil society decided to hold a citizen forum on 26, 27, 28 November 2017 to make the voice of the people and communities of both continents heard. .Three lines of thought were chosen: political, economic and socio-cultural.

The economic axis : Europe-Africa partnership, what economic benefits for peoples and communities ?

Globalization drains in its wake serious violations of human rights and more particularly the rights of peoples and local communities living in Africa.

This situation is largely attributable to the productivist and consumerist society in which we live today. Indeed, the economic model based on the false virtues of growth and the accumulation of wealth increases the gap between the central and the peripheral countries.

The disparities observed between rich and poor countries are accentuated in the framework of the partnership between Europe and Africa, a partnership based on asymmetrical relations perpetuating the domination of the first continent named on the second.

From the governance of natural resources to the monetary system, the partnership between Europe and Africa is based on the planned underdevelopment of Africa for the development of Europe. These are the obvious demonstrations of the Berlin conference which dedicated the "sharing of African cake".

The natural resources of Africa, which sharpen the greed and for which the countries of Europe multiply the geostrategic projects, are the object of looting. This state of affairs is linked to an approximate governance of natural resources that has its origins in the lack of a coherent political and strategic vision of African leaders.

In Africa, it is not uncommon to find large European companies exploit abusively the resources of the continent (earth, wood, gold, diamond ...), to hold monopolies on vital and strategic sectors (electricity, gas, oil ...), insidiously appropriating the paternity of local genetic resources through policy frameworks and / or legal instruments devoid of any legitimacy.

The consequences of the Western way of life based on the overexploitation of resources, overproduction and overconsumption are already visible: the depletion of non-renewable resources, the scarcity of arable land, the impact of our carbon footprint hard felt by African populations with The key to episodes of major droughts on the one hand and water shortages on the other hand, are all facts that attest to the deterioration of living conditions on earth.

Serious phenomena such as climate change are being exploited and used as a Trojan horse to promote agricultural paradigms whose conceptual framework and aims are beyond the logic of food security and food sovereignty.

Unfortunately, the biggest victims of this situation of discomfort are the communities that are working to preserve the planet's resources.

In addition to this gloomy picture, there are counterproductive economic options based on the planned over-indebtedness of African countries and the "monetary Nazism" maintained by the use under surveillance of an impoverishing currency - the FCFA - of which Africa is barely to discard.

The purpose of this section is to examine the critical reason and to highlight the economic hints of the partnership between Europe and Africa, its impact on the development of the right African countries and to propose significant solutions to get out of the crisis. 'dead end.

Theme I : The governance of natural resources (land, water, seeds, subsoil ...) and energy in the face of the Europe-Africa partnership.

Problem of Theme 1 : This is to answer the question of how the Europe-Africa partnership has a negative influence on the governance of natural resources and indirectly the rights of communities.

Sub-theme1 : The impact of EPAs on the governance of natural and energy resources and their impact on community rights in Africa.

Sub-theme 2 : Private appropriation of natural resources (grabbing land, water, seeds ...): Decryption of an emerging phenomenon with disastrous consequences and resistance in West Africa.

Sub-theme 3 : Barriers to the extension of renewable and clean energy in Africa (monopoly of foreign companies in sectors such as electricity)

Sub-theme 4 : The leonine and inequality of contracts for the exploitation of underground resources under the Europe-Africa partnership;

Theme II : The problem of over-indebtedness, monetary dependence (FCFA) facing the challenge of the development of peoples and communities

Issue 2 : The question is to answer the question of how the economic and monetary policy currently applied in African countries is an impediment to the development of peoples and communities

Sub-theme 1 The easements of FCFA francs and their impact on the development of the peoples and communities of Africa. How to get out?

Sub-theme 2: The planned over-indebtedness policy, an obstacle to the development of African countries. Solutions to remedy it.

Theme III : Agriculture and climate change: challenges and prospects for development

Sub-theme 1 : Which agricultural model to face the challenge of climate change?

Sub-theme 2 : Light on the secret agenda of industrial agropolises (AGRA, NASAN ...).

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Socio-cultural axis

  

On the sidelines of the EU-Africa summit in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), African and European civil society decided to organize a citizens' forum on 26, 27, 28 November 2017 to make the voice of the populations and communities of both countries heard. continents. Three lines of thought were chosen: political, economic and socio-cultural.

 

Socio-cultural axis : Europe-Africa partnership: socio-cultural impacts on peoples and communities?

 

The rise of the migratory phenomenon in the world is one of the main dominant features of international society at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The United Nations estimates the number of migrants in the world at about 200 million or 3.3% of the world's population. Their number is expected to double in the coming years to reach 400 million in 2030.

 

Africa remains one of the continents that is experiencing an important development of migratory movements. These movements are certainly within the continent, but in recent years they have grown exponentially towards Europe, North America and some Middle Eastern countries.

 

With the West, in general, these movements are legal or illegal and encompass all social categories, including refugees, young people, but more and more qualified people, women and minor children. These migratory flows are developing in a context still marked by a lack of institutional capacity in some African countries to respond effectively, individually and collectively to the problems thus generated. Of the 200 million migrants in the world, more than 50 million are believed to be African, according to the African Union.

 

In view of the fact that the number of migrants is constantly increasing, the management of migration has necessarily become for States one of the great challenges of the new millennium. Today, this phenomenon is one of the priority issues on the continental and international levels that is receiving the attention of governments, whatever their commitment or interest in the management of migration processes.

 

On the basis of its Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (AGMM), which constitutes the general framework of the European Union's external policy on migration and asylum, the European Institution has engaged in a broad dialogue with the countries of the African continent on migration and mobility at the bilateral, regional and continental levels.

 

Indeed, the Africa-EU Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment (MME) was launched at the Africa-EU Summit in December 2007, during which the Africa-EU Joint Strategy and the first Action Plan (2008-2010) were adopted. The 2014 EU-Africa Summit gave a new impetus to cooperation on migration: in addition to the declaration on migration and mobility, a 2014-2017 action plan was also adopted; this one focuses on the following priorities:

- trafficking in human beings;

- remittances;

- the Diaspora ;

- mobility and labor migration (including intra-EU mobility

African)

- international protection (including for internally displaced persons

inside a country);

- irregular migration.

 

On the eve of the Abidjan meeting, important questions remain:

 

§   What assessment can CSOs make on the basis of these agreements?

§   At what level is the responsibility of Europe and the Africans themselves in the lasting resolution of the migration crisis?

§   Are the important amounts mobilized in the implementation of development aid always up to the challenges? If no, what is the analysis of their use?

§   Should we not envisage more inclusive consultations between the EU and Africa to better understand the development of African countries?

 

As can be seen, a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration is needed given the realities and trends in migration, and the links between migration and other economic, social, political and cultural issues.

 

While well-managed migration can have a substantial positive impact on the development of countries of origin and have significant benefits for destination countries, poorly managed or unmanaged migration can have negative consequences for the well-being of countries. and migrants and could have a destabilizing effect on national and international security.

 

In order to contribute to the development of a sustainable solution to the phenomenon of migration in the world, the African and European civil society organizations decided to work on the issue in order to influence the set of economic, social and cultural decisions and policies related to this theme, for the well being of peoples and communities.

 

Theme I : The problem of South-North migration: which partnership with a human face?

 

Problem : It is a question of tackling the migration crisis in Africa under its different facets within the framework of the EU-Africa partnership and proposing solutions to remedy it.

 

Sub-theme 1 : How to calmly think about the migration and mobility of young Africans?

 

Sub-theme 2 : What proposals for inclusive and sustainable migration agreements?

 

Theme II : Role and prospects of action of African and European civil society in the framework of the Europe-Africa partnership.

 

Issue : Through the animation of this theme, the idea is to lead the reflection on joint actions that European and African CSOs can achieve to better understand the logic that support the partnership between the European Union and Africa. .

 

Sub-theme 1 : Which collaborations between CSOs from the North and those from the South for tangible results in the context of the EU-Africa partnership?

 

Sub-theme 2 : What recommendations of CSOs for better involvement of African civil society in national decision-making processes?