Participants in one of several community-level human rights awareness meetings held by COPDA in Barpa, Nimba County, Liberia.

Africa

See the 2009 Grantee Spotlight on Voice of the Voiceless (Voix des Sans Voix, VSV)  :: MORE

The year 2009 was a disappointing one for democracy in Africa. However, the reversals and difficulties that many countries encountered should prove to be only temporary setbacks, since the momentum for greater freedom and democracy showed growing depth and resilience. Dictators may be sharing strategies for remaining in power — such as rescinding term limits, restricting NGOs, and silencing the press — but this was countered by African democrats and human rights defenders who met throughout the continent to share experiences and plan for greater political freedom.

In Kampala, Uganda, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network convened a gathering of more than a hundred human rights activists from across the continent. NED president Carl Gershman delivered the keynote address, and conference participants discussed ways to expand and strengthen their network. The African Democracy Forum launched its campaign for the ratification of the African Democracy Charter, and in partnership with the World Movement for Democracy and the International Center for Non-profit Law, held a series of workshops in Sierra Leone, Congo, Zimbabwe and Uganda identifying both the legal restrictions on NGOs and ways to overcome them.

Critical national elections were postponed in Cote d’Ivoire, Somaliland and Sudan, but these should go forward in 2010 with greater chances of success. NED’s partners made important contributions to the electoral process in these countries. Nine of NED’s Ivoirian civil society partners came together in a campaign to promote peace and voter education throughout the country.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) held a series of roundtables publicizing a party code of conduct, and convened youth leaders from opposing political parties to learn how to foster multiparty dialogue and resolve disputes. The Consortium of Non-governmental Organizations in Somaliland (COSONGO) brought together civil society and media to discuss their role in the elections. In Sudan, a new Civil Society Consortium for the Elections brought together more than 100 groups to promote free and fair elections, while nearly all of NED’s 30 civil society partners in Sudan engaged in some form of support for the national elections. :: MORE