The human rights implications of the financial crisis for Africa

by Justice Ms Sanji Mmasenono Monageng, High Court Judge, Swaziland, and Judge at the International Criminal Court

The worldwide economic and financial crisis, the worst since the depression of the 1930' s, that started in the United States and then spread to Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world, is having serious implications for the realization and effective enjoyment of human rights in Africa. It is interesting to note that the response of Western governments to ward off regional and global recessions and restore stability and confidence in the markets was to come up with rescue packages to assist their ailing financial systems. The bailouts have been unprecedented. In both the United States and Europe, what we have seen is a colossal and unparalleled plan of government intervention, nationalization of major financial institutions, injection of enormous financial support into troubled institutions and a re-regulating of their financial sectors. The irony cannot be more telling as such responses contradict the severe neoliberal policies forced on developing countries by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and many developed countries for so many decades.

But what are the implications for Africa – a region which even before the recession was the poorest in the world? The crisis has already begun to impact many African States as their stock markets and currencies drop, private capital flows are being reduced and large investment projects are being cancelled because Africa's eventual profitability is now in doubt. Oxfam estimates that the economic turmoil of 2008 dragged a further 119 million people below the poverty line, prompting Jacques Diouf, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization's Director-General, to remind the world that, “the global financial crisis should not make us forget the food crisis.”

“One in five children dies every three seconds from AIDS, other preventable illnesses and extreme poverty. In fact about 20 per cent of Africa's children die before the age of five.”

In terms of the financial crisis' human rights implications for Africa, a few sobering statistics on the most vulnerable members of our society - children, puts the debate into proper perspective: one in five children die every three seconds from AIDS, other preventable illnesses and extreme poverty. In fact, about 20 per cent of Africa's children die before the age of five. To date, more than 15 million children have already been orphaned as a result of the epidemic. Two million of those children are under 14. In addition, hundreds of thousands of lives are being claimed for lack of clean water. Forty three per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa do not have safe, accessible drinking water and 64 per cent do not have adequate sanitation. Furthermore, malnutrition and diseases such as malaria, pneumonia and typhoid fever, are killing record numbers of people.

UNICEF estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa, measles takes the life of a child nearly every minute of the day, though an effective measles vaccine costs as little as $1 per child. Only 57 per cent of African children are enrolled in primary education, and one in three of those do not complete school. As if those statistics were not bad enough, about 120,000 African children are participating in armed conflicts, with some as young as 7 years old. In fact, children account for half of all civilian casualties in wars in Africa. Grim as those statistics are, they fail to capture the face of hunger of the teeming millions of Africa's children staring into a vortex of hopelessness, or the unnecessary suffering of many millions more caught in the vicious cycle of disease, war and lack of opportunities. The statistics tell the reader nothing about child poverty being the worst form of violence and human rights abuse – a disgrace to humanity itself. But, that is only part of the story for millions of Africans.

At the forefront of addressing the plethora of problems affecting Africa are NGOs and civil society organizations, many of them with links to Western NGOs. But the news coming from those parts of the world is not good. A recent survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers shows that the recession in the UK, for example, could leave Britain's charity sector with an income shortfall of £ 2.3billion in 2009, affecting many good causes in Africa. In June 2008, a pledge of US$ 12.3 billion was made by governments and agencies in Rome to address the world's worst food crisis. Since then only US$ 1 billion has been disbursed and a further US$ 1.3 billion, earmarked by the European Commission (EC) to aid African farmers, may not be released, with some European governments now contesting their ability to afford such provisions.

Not surprisingly, the worldwide human rights organization, Amnesty International (AI), warned that the global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses. In its annual report, AI said the downturn had distracted attention from abuses and created new problems. Rising prices have meant that the already impoverished millions in Africa can no longer meet basic needs, and protests for improved food security and provision are often met with repression.

One cannot agree more with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Justice Navi Pillay, who told the Human Rights Council on 20 February 2009 that governments and the private sector should consider human rights in their responses to the current global economic and financial crises. While it is important to respond to the unfolding crisis with a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the financial systems, a human rights approach will contribute to making solutions more long-lasting in the long run. It should not be forgotten that addressing poverty, disease, conflict and other human rights concerns are not gestures of charity. It is rather an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

UNODC Executive Director, Mr. Antonio Maria Costa

“With the financial crisis human trafficking will become even worse”

At the 120th IPU Assembly held in Addis Ababa, the IPU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a handbook for parliamentarians entitled Combating trafficking in persons. At a press conference organized by the IPU, UNODC Executive Director, Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, explained that “human trafficking is a human rights violation which constitutes a crime against the individual and the State and it must be recognized and punished by legislative means”.

Human trafficking is a real danger in times of economic crisis. Desperate people are ready to sell everything, including their body, bodily organs and even people, he added. Mr. Costa also mentioned that around the world, millions of people, predominantly women and children, are trapped in this modern form of slavery. “This crime exploits millions of victims each year in an illegal billion-dollar industry that produces goods and services from sex slavery to forced labour”. Human trafficking is increasing, especially in a handful of countries and one can expect that with the financial crisis it will become even worse.

“We are concerned that the economic crisis could deepen the pool of potential victims and increase demand for cheap goods and services. Worldwide, almost 20 per cent of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority and account for up to 100 per cent of victims in parts of West Africa”, he pointed out.

Many criminal justice systems belittle the seriousness of this crime. As of 2007- 2008, two out of every five countries covered by the UNODOC report on human trafficking had not recorded a single conviction. “Either these countries are blind to the problem, or they are illequipped to deal with it, or both. Some countries, including a few big ones, do not even inform us about the problem in their midst. Either they are too disorganized to collect the information, or they are unwilling to share it, perhaps out of embarrassment”, reported the UNODC Executive Director.

People often confuse prostitution and human trafficking. Mr. Costa remembered one political leader telling him: Our girls are beautiful, so of course they are snatched! “This form of banalization shows that people just don't get it, and I am talking about very senior politicians”.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children defines human trafficking as a crime when it involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, and harbouring or receipt of people through abuse of power, force and fraud. It occurs when people are forced into it for the benefit of a thirdparty profit.

Is there political will to stop this new form of slavery? The UNODC Executive Director says that there is growing political will because of pressure from the media. When asked why this crime too often goes unpunished, he said that “a lot of what goes on is culturally driven. We see cultural models behind it, whether it is gender discrimination or sexual exploitation. There is a tendency to treat women as objects. We have to change this mentality”. For him, “burkas and models in Western countries which expose women's bodies, displaying them as commodities, show that there is no respect for women”.

Mr. Costa has high expectations of the IPU and parliamentarians because as he put it: “the missing link in combating human trafficking is legislation in States. Parliaments and parliamentarians have the power to prevent human trafficking by raising awareness and curbing exploitative practices. We have international laws, but we need laws at the national level. About 132 countries have passed legislation. The next step is to implement it. This is why I call on governments to implement the decisions taken by their parliaments”.