AWEPA Netherlands

Mise à jour le Vendredi, 08 Février 2013 11:17 Écrit par Communications Intern Mardi, 07 Décembre 2010 10:48

Members of the Dutch Parliament, led by Hon Kathleen Ferrier, came together with Dutch-based organisations, the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and the Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos), to revive the political debate among policy makers and parliamentarians about the abandonment of FGM and to unmask its inaccuracies.

Activities

29 January 2013 - Hon. Désirée Bonis, new Head of the Dutch AWEPA Section, chairs meeting on Somalia

Immediately after her appointment Hon. Bonis stepped into her new role and chaired a meeting in the Dutch Parliament with the Dutch AWEPA Section, Somali Diaspora organisations and a number of experts on the new political situation in Somalia. There is reason for cautious optimism about this country in the Horn of Africa, which has been torn apart by civil war for more than twenty years. Recently Somalia has democratically elected a new federal parliament, president and a central government. Therefore the hope of permanent peace and reconstruction has increased.

To read the full article click here.

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13 December 2012 - Royal decoration to celebrate 25-years of the work of Dr. Jeff Balch on behalf of AWEPA

To view article in English click here

Wethouder Ossel heeft op 13 december een koninklijke onderscheiding aan de heer Jeff Balch uitgereikt. Hij werd Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau voor zijn buitengewone verdiensten voor de parlementaire democratieen en kwetsbare bevolkingsgroepen in Afrika.

Klik hier voor het artikel van de Nieuwsbank.

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19 Jun 2012 - Expert Meeting on the Abandonment of FGM

After chairing an expert meeting on the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Dutch Parliament last month, Dutch MP and Head of AWEPA Section, Kathleen Ferrier, saw to the passing of a motion on global women's rights in the Dutch Parliament. Together with the other spokespersons on development cooperation, Ms. Ferrier called on the government to express its commitment on strengthening the position of women worldwide. The spokespersons jointly signed a declaration which highlighted the fact that women are instrumental to economic development and to strengthening democracies worldwide. Furthermore, the multiparty declaration stated that women are too often seen as part of the problem, rather than a driving force behind sustainable solutions.
For more information on the FGM expert meeting, please visit AWEPA's newspage. The meeting held on 19 June in the Dutch Parliament was organised by the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and the Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos) and made possible by National Committee for International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (NCDO).
For the full report click here.  

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29 Feb 2012 - Expert Meeting & Discussion on South Sudan
Member of Dutch Parliament, Kathleen Ferrier, Hosts Open Discussion on South Sudan’s Transition to Democracy 

Discussions were held in the Dutch Parliament regarding the expectations of both the South Sudanese people and the international community in terms of the democratisation process in South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world. Joined by members from the South Sudanese diaspora living in the Netherlands, academics, journalists and development organisations, a medley of concepts were brought to the attention of the Dutch parliamentarians about steps that can be taken to support the Government of South Sudan in achieving its goals. For more information, check the page of the event.    

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18 May 2011 - Economic Growth is not Leading to Better Governance in Affrica

 

Dr. Stephen Ellis, Professor in the faculty of social sciences at the Free University of Amsterdam (VU) and Senior Researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, held a lecture on the political state of Africa in occasion of the AWEPA section meeting held at the Dutch Parliament on 18 May 2011.

In his recent book "Season of Rains. Africa in the World" he sustains that Africa's economic outlook is very promising, but politically this is much more questionable. Business news is relatively confident. Population growth rates are at record high and with one billion African, market opportunities are huge. Africa was relatively insulated from the effects of the financial crisis and growth rates have resumed to 5 per cent in many countries. Yet, this is not leading to better governance.

In the colonial and post-colonial period, there was a general tendency to govern Africa through legal-bureaucratic means typical of nation states. This was the natural reflection of the Western organizational model of society and it was assumed that African political systems would evolve and develop towards the conventional nation state model. Facts today prove that this has not happened. Only few African states such as South Africa, Botswana, Mauritius and possibly Namibia can be considered as conventional states systems on the Western model. Many of the other states are considered either 'fragile' or 'failed', i.e. states that are unable or unwilling to carry out their basic obligations in the international community and degenerate into conflict, Somalia being the most common example. Other states are considered 'on the path to development' face severe governance problems. Many states in Africa are to be considered criminal states with the concrete risk of areas of the continent becoming the dark place of the international system. Today it is estimated that about one quarter of hard drugs are channeled through East and West Africa.

So how should we go about addressing these persisting governance challenges in Africa? There are opportunities for change but a lot depends on the actions and will of African elites. What approach should the development community take? Professor Ellis suggests three main guiding principles in this regard:   
  (i) talk to people, increase efforts to understand local realities, an carefully listen to the voice of a vast array of stakeholders so as to capture the interest and needs of the people; 
  (ii) be pragmatic, see what is feasible and what you can do where, and adapt programs and policies to complex local situations, leaving 'development ideology' aside; 
  (iii) adopt a multi-faceted and comprehensive approach, from a broad 'development' perspective rather than a narrow 'aid' focus.

From a thematic standpoint, agriculture should take center stage. As much as 80 per cent of idle agricultural land is in Africa and there is a broad consensus that in order to feed the world population Africa will have to play a key role. Increasing agriculture productivity is an opportunity for Africa to reduce the poverty and hunger of its own population and reverse its current position of net food-import.