U.S.-Africa Policy as Human Rights

The Bush administration will be faced with a series of devastating conflicts in Africa. In developing strategies to address these crises, the new administration must ensure that human rights concerns are central to its policy. This is not simply a moral position, but a practical one; other important policy goals, such as economic development and regional security, are not sustainable where fundamental human rights are violated with impunity. The costs of ignoring human rights and accountability in Africa can be seen in terms of ongoing cycles of violence against civilians, huge refugee flows, destabilization of neighboring countries, economic devastation, and subsequent waves of violence and repression.

Africa presents U.S. policymakers with very tough foreign policy issues. The next administration will have to decide the parameters of U.S. policy toward prevention of genocide and crimes against humanity, support for civil society, ending recruitment of child soldiers, control of arms flows and military assistance, and protection of refugees and internally displaced persons. Promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law are critical elements that must be woven into each of these areas.

U.S. policymakers have limited tools with which to deal with crises in Africa, but one tool that has been under-utilized is public diplomacy. Targeted use of public and private diplomacy is an essential component of condemning human rights violations by governments and rebel groups that has not been used effectively in recent African crises. When U.S. officials avoid publicly condemning specific human rights abuses for fear of antagonizing those responsible, they forfeit an essential means of sending messages to a broader audience, beyond their immediate interlocutors, about fundamental principles of U.S. policy and values. Such silence from the United States during critical moments of the Great Lakes crisis, particularly during heightened attacks against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1998-99, contributed to the widespread perception that the United States was simply covering up for its Rwandan or Ugandan allies. Even during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the failure of the United States and other international actors to condemn the killings and demand that those responsible be held accountable served to strengthen the extremists and undermine more moderate forces. Ultimately, since lasting change will have to come from within these countries themselves, moderates throughout society--in government, the military and civil society--should be aware of and encouraged by a principled U.S. human rights policy that condemns abuses by all parties and translates that condemnation into policy.

In addressing the conflicts in Africa, the new administration should take into account a range of factors that impact the human rights environment, where U.S. policy can make an important difference. Accordingly, the following areas should be considered as priorities for the next administration.

Support for Civil Society

The emergence of a vibrant civil society is one of the most important developments sweeping through Africa, yet it remains precarious and vulnerable in many countries. The United States should give visible, high-profile support to efforts by civil society organizations to promote human rights standards and monitor governmental compliance. Diplomats should meet regularly with nongovernmental organizations, media, and other civil society groups to discuss human rights problems. The United States should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and protest attacks on civil society activists and instruct U.S. representatives in Africa to work with other international actors to create a network to protect activists in danger. The United States should also increase aid to civil society organizations so that they have the necessary resources to continue their work.

Prevention of War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide

The United States has been a strong supporter of the ad hoc tribunal established by the UN Security Council in response to the Rwandan genocide, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). However, war crimes and crimes against humanity continue to be perpetrated in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, and the ICTR has...