Tag: Africa
Project on women empowerment in politics launched in Ghana
On 27 and 28
November 2010, the Akosombo Continental Hotel in Atimpoku, Ghana, hosted the
launching event of "Towards increased Women's Participation and Representation in
Parliament", a project organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs Ghana, the European Partnership for Democracy and DEMO Finland, with the support of the European Commission. Click here for article
“Strengthening Cooperation between Europe and Africa on Democratic Reform”
On the 11th and 12th of October 2010, the conference ‘Strengthening
cooperation between Europe and Africa on Democratic reform' was held in
Brussels at the Castle of Val Duchesse. The conference was organised by
European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), Egmont Institute and the Belgian
Presidency of the European Union. The goal of the conference was to take stock of current practices
and policies, review cooperation instruments in support for democratization in
Africa and assess political
challenges and opportunities in a policy area of constant flux. Read the article
New incentive for multiparty democracy in Kenya
Last
Friday, on a cold and cloudy morning, an estimated half million Kenyans
witnessed and celebrated the promulgation of a brand new Constitution in an
impressive show of unity at Uhuru (freedom) park in central Nairobi. A procession of political leaders,
judges, military leaders and civil servants all took new oaths and pledged
their allegiance - no longer to the President, but to the new constitution. Under
this new constitution, all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya
and shall be exercised only in accordance with this constitution. As Prime
Minister Raila Odinga at the ceremony stated: "government shall be accountable
to the people of Kenya". Read the article
Civil-Political Society Platform on constitutional reform
Since the implementation of the power-sharing deal, EPD has focused on
supporting the interface between the new inclusive government and civil
society. Strengthening the interface between politicians and civil
society is a niche for the EPD work, matching its constituent
organisations. The EPD focuses with a group of Zimbabwean NGOs on meeting the urgent
need to supply impartial information to the Zimbabwean People about the
constitutional process to ensure their meaningful participation, and
allow them to make their own choices to be reflected in the new
constitution.
The EU–Zimbabwe political dialogue: moving towards enhanced cooperation
On July 2 2010, the High Representative / Vice President Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs met with a Ministerial Delegation from the Zimbabwean Government in the framework of the Political Dialogue, as foreseen in the Cotonou Agreement, which was relaunched in June last year. Read more.
EPD welcomes the latest council conclusions on Zimbabwe
EPD welcomes the latest Council Conclusions on Zimbabwe for their emphasis on the Council's readiness to work closely with the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe, recognizing what has already been achieved by the GNU so far, as well as for their expression of concerns of insufficient progress in the field of respect for human rights amongst others. In this context, EPD is particularly concerned to learn about the latest arrests of Zimbabwean civil society representatives of GAPWUZ, CIVNET and the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. Link to the Council Conclusions on Zimbabwe.
EPD welcomes director of the Malian Centre for Interparty Dialogue and Democracy
The European
Partnership for Democracy wishes to extend a very warm welcome to Dr Moumouni
Soumano, Executive Director of the Malian Centre for Interparty Dialogue and Democracy
(or CMDID, to give it its French acronym), who is on a fact-finding and
advocacy visit in Brussels. The CMDID is an organisation that serves a platform
on which to bring together both governing and opposition parties in Mali to
contribute to the consolidation of the country's democratic systems and
institutions. Read more about the work of the CMDID here.
EPD joins press freedom alliance
The EPD has joined with four fellow Dutch organisations to cooperate on a common innovative plan called 'Press Freedom 2.0', which aims to strengthen the freedom of the press around
the world. The plan was presented earlier this week to the Dutch Minister of Development Aid, Mr
Koenders. The other alliance members are World Press Photo (WPP), European
Journalism Centre (EJC), Mensen met
een Missie (MM) and the secretariat of Free Voice. Read more about the project here.
Zimbabwe conference in Brussels as constitutional reform delayed further
The Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN) held a conference on donor reengagement in Zimbabwe on 18 November in Brussels. The ZEN functions as an information hub on the country for Zimbabwean organisations, EU insitutions and Member States alike. The EPD, in conjunction with its Dutch partner organisation the NIMD, the European Commission and Zimbabwean organisations is actively supporting citizen engagement in the constitutional reform process taking place at present. Yet the process itself is to be delayed again into the New Year. The EPD's Africa programme manager Marieke van Doorn has produced this update on the state of play in the country.
Zimbabwe: Next Steps in the Consitutional Reform Process
The visit last weekend of European Commissioner Karel de Gucht (Development and Humanitarian Aid) with the Swedish and Spanish Ministers for International Cooperation might not have changed Europe's attitude towards Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government, but it did show Europe's commitment to, and solidarity with, the transition that is ongoing in the country. During the EPD delegation's stay in Harare in early September, President Zuma of South Africa met with the country's leaders, and the regional body SADC decided to host a special Zimbabwe summit in Maputo. But does all this international attention benefit the internal Zimbabwean dynamics of the ongoing transition? Read the EPD's latest report here.
Zimbabwean Prime Minister as well as civil society leaders tour Europe
Prime Minister Tsvangirai has been
touring European capitals to raise funds and re-establish relations between the
unity government and the EU, normalizing the frozen relations of the past 10
years.
Zimbabwean
civil society leaders travelled European capitals as well, preparing the ground
for the official delegation's visit, on a tour prepared by the Zimbabwe Europe
Network. The European Partnership for Democracy co-organised a Roundtable for
Brussels-based civil society, European and African governments and EU
institutions, at which four Zimbabwean civil society leaders. To the article...
If we would have wanted a revolution, we should not have started negotiating
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai starts a three weeks tour visiting Western capitals to inform
governments about the progress of his Inclusive Government in order to persuade
international donors to re-engage with Zimbabwe. At his first stop in The Netherlands, the
European Partnership for Democracy and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy met with Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Minister of Economic Planning
Elton Mangoma. More...
EPD Events
The EPD has the honour of presenting you with the final report from the
conference entitled “Building Consensus about EU Policies on Democracy
Support”, which was organized by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and the European Commission on March 9th and 10th, 2009, in Prague in
collaboration with the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and the
Czech Association for Democracy Assistance and Human Rights (DEMAS). On
the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Czech Republic
hosted this international gathering in order to address the issue of
the European approach to democracy assistance. The event was held under
the auspices of Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs,
and Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic. Discover the report.