Sub-Saharan Africa
We are the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF Africa), an independent German organisation that is committed to promoting liberal policy and politics around the world in the form of human rights, the rule of law, democracy, innovation, digitalisation and free trade.
We have been active in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1964. We organise campaigns, media events, seminars, workshops, study tours, cultural happenings and training courses. We have activities in many countries in the region such as Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
News
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The story of Jacob Zuma and Al Capone
On Tuesday, South Africa’s apex court found former President Jacob Zuma to be in contempt of court and sentenced him to a term of 15 months imprisonment. The Constitutional Court’s decision is a resounding affirmation of the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. The court’s message is crystal clear: all are equal before the law and subject to its sanctions, even a former president.
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Politics in Senegal: The Sonko factor - Rule of Law must prevail
Senegal, West-Africa’s model democracy, is slowly finding its calm again after fierce protests erupted in the capital Dakar for two days on March 4th and 5th. A violent mob roamed the streets, looted supermarkets and clashed with security forces. Such scenes of vandalism and civil disobedience had not been seen in easy going Dakar for many years. More than ten people died in these protest that had also affected major cities in the interior.
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Africa: trade, democracy or both?
The 20th OECD international economic forum on Africa, which takes place today, is a propitious occasion to assess Africa’s current position, politically, economically and - of course - in terms of COVID-19. Cecilia Kok analyzes the main topics that will be key for this years conference. The pandemic, the Chinese influence over Africa and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade area will dominate the forum this year.
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East Africa needs a liberal restart to protect and promote civil liberties
The past year has been hard for East Africans. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the health and economies of our nations. As the threat of further waves persist and international travel, tourism and business remains largely on hold, things will continue to be difficult. We face a long road ahead in navigating a path to economic recovery and a challenging vaccine roll-out.
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Uganda’s election violence cycle worsens as Bobi Wine’s Opposition puts Museveni on his toes
Thursday, January 14, Ugandans will elect a “new president” and members of parliament.
It will be a contest of numbers, even before the first ballot is cast in a bid to determine who between National Unity Platform candidate Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi and incumbent Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of National Resistance Movement (NRM) will lead Uganda. -
Cry, the beloved country – South Africa’s shambolic vaccination situation
The second wave of the Corona pandemic has hit South Africa with full force. But the government has no plan for procuring vaccines, nor for distributing them. Mass vaccination requires months of preparation, the establishment of complex control systems, and the strategic deployment of resources. None of this necessary preparation has yet taken place. Because of the South African government's failure, an unprecedented health crisis looms, analyzes Cecelia Kok.
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Ethiopia Stands on the Cusp of Civil War
Ethiopia is facing a humanitarian crisis after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the country’s federal government fell out. In the past two weeks, hundreds of people from Tigray have been killed and over 30,000 people forced to flee their homes to the neighbouring Sudan. Sudan has now closed its borders, only letting in refugees, which puts Ethiopian citizens that wanted to flee due to the fighting that escalated in November in more trouble ...
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No Future for Africa Without Equal Access to Education for Women
Women empowerment has been at the core of the Foundations work in sub-Saharan Africa for a number of years now. There are issues that existed before the pandemic that will most likely exist post the pandemic. What then can be done now to drive a new narrative along with the new normal to ensure that the African agenda for women empowerment and gender equality doesn’t fall away as the world relooks into the future? The best way is to learn through experience.
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Sheroes Empowered to Empower
Women empowerment has been at the core of the Foundations work in sub-Saharan Africa for a number of years now. There are issues that existed before the pandemic that will most likely exist post the pandemic. What then can be done now to drive a new narrative along with the new normal to ensure that the African agenda for women empowerment and gender equality doesn’t fall away as the world relooks into the future? The best way is to learn through experience.
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Human Rights Films Exhibition
On the evening of 30 March, human rights activists across the sub-Saharan Africa region took part in the hosting of a virtual human rights videos watch party. The exhibition was on five human rights short-films that were produced by FNF Africa between 2018 and 2020. The films profile various human rights issues in the region such as human trafficking, corruption, persecution of journalists, LGBT+ rights violations and violence towards women by men.
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Africa Liberal Women Empowerment Programme
Diversity and inclusion is a priority for the all liberals, thus we continue to support the Africa Liberal Women Empowerment Programme, which is in collaboration with ALN member parties and strategic partners. The Africa Liberal Women Empowerment Programme supports the advocacy of the UN Women. All independent candidates will be assessed according to the political context of the country of origin or contestation. Participation in the programme is FREE of charge.
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To be free, Africa must be liberated from its liberators
I am honoured to stand before you today to address Liberal International’s 62nd Congress. And I am deeply honoured to receive this year’s African Freedom Prize, on behalf of my party, the Democratic Alliance. I would like to thank the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, not only for this award, but also for the work they do in promoting liberal values, particularly here in Africa.
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"Check Your Freedom" do the quiz!
Do you decide how you live and love; or should someone else decide for you? Take a quick “Your Freedom Check” quiz. You will learn something new about yourself. The quiz will take you through scenarios that depict freedom of expression, freedom of the press, social market economy, property rights, freedom of association and the rule of law.
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The FNF Human Rights Report
“Human rights are the only universal language,” says Abdel-Rahman Zbibh, the winner of this year's Raif Badawi Award, explaining what has motivated his human rights and journalist work in the Yemen, which continues to be at war. This report makes an important contribution to the understanding that the commitment to human rights is more crucial than ever in times of dwindling global freedoms.
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International Human Rights Day Special with Bobi Wine and Nicholas Opiyo
In this episode we have two guests from Uganda visiting us. Nicholas Opiyo, a leading human rights lawyer and founder of Chapter Four Uganda, an organisation that provides research, advocacy, and outreach services to contribute to laws, policies, and practices in the interest of civil liberties and human rights.
Social Media
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HOW TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION: 10 Strategic Demands! 5️⃣ A MODERN CONSTITUTIONAL STATE. Illegal content such as incitement of hatred, defamation or insults must be punished by the judiciary. This requires an increase of resources in the judicial system. This approach means a general increase in posts for judges and public prosecutors, but especially in the organisational units spe-cialised in cyberspace. In Germany, special units such as the Central and Contact Point for Cybercrime of the General Public Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne (ZAC) in North Rhine-Westphalia have been created. These show that the bundling of competences leads to very good results in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. Among others, one basis for investigations is an enforceable right to information against social media platforms and cooperation with publishers and platform operators (see point 4). Overall, the judiciary must become more digital (catchword: e-Justice). The technical infrastructure must correspond to the current state of technology. This will speed up the proceed-ings and reduce the work load in certain areas. Legal research must more thoroughly examine existing approaches to the legal handling of disinformation, especially in the area of election interference and international law. Existing laws must be scientifically evaluated at the national level with regard to their effects. #FreedomFightsFake Download the 10 demands here: https://shop.freiheit.org/#!/Publikation/1054
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"WE ARE THE ONES we have been waiting for. We're the ones who rise up against Extra-judicial Killings. We are are from the tribe called Human Rights." A human rights slam poetry recital by human rights defender Ndungi Githuku. The contents of the poem were assembled by human rights defenders from across sub-saharan Africa and facilitated by regional human rights champion, Ms Njeri Kabeberi.
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In our next series of episodes of the Let's Talk Human Rights podcast, we will introduce you to the very people who actively stand up for human rights in Africa despite strong headwinds, and the work they do as Human Rights Defenders. In episode 6, host Nangamso Kwinana is joined by Elvis Wepngong and Nora Shuyeh from Cameroon as well as Dr Michaela Lissowsky who is a Senior Advisor for Human Rights, Politics and the Rule of Law at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Dr Lissowsky features first in the episode however, to explain the concept of Human Rights Defenders in more detail. You can listen in here (also available on iTunes and Spotify): https://iono.fm/e/1073985
