Justice Africa

In coordination with the International African Institute and African higher education institutes, Justice Africa helps to convene seminars, debates, workshops and research and advocacy on issues in Africa, including:

• Local peacemaking in Africa: comparative perspectives;
• The media in Africa;
• Islam in Africa;
• Challenges of democratisation;
• Regional and continental institutions;
• Africa in the wider world;
• Civil society empowerment.

These seminars aim to combine academic rigour with relevance to the challenges of policymaking and to bring together local, national and international perspectives. “Justice Africa provides an environment in which African and non-African scholars and activists can develop their study programmes. Justice Africa is open to assist with helping to develop research proposals, secure funds and find publishers.”

“Justice Africa ‘s approach to security issues in the sub-region proved influential in the approaches taken by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the interest of some governments in broadening their concept of peace and security to include wider issues of human security.”

Rights, Conflict.

Justice Africa’s initial focus began with the “Horn of Africa”, a region where the problem of division, conflict, inequitable development and the lack of democracy seem to be particularly acute. It has since then spread to include the “Great Lakes” region and through its partnership with regional NGOs and sub regional institutions are now encouraging the entire continent.

Justice Africa aims to:

• build coalitions of institutions, interest groups and individuals with the common aim of seeking solutions to Africa’s most pressing problems;
• promote peaceful civic action as a response to the threats of war and human rights abuses;
• support dialogue, debate and the free exchange of ideas across the African continent, especially focussing on the promotion of innovative and constructive approaches to the many crises afflicting Africa today;
• enhance democracy in Africa at local, national and international levels, thereby increasing the legitimacy and accountability of African states and Africa-wide institutions;
• support the creation and development of robust and principled civil society groups across Africa;
• promote access to books and other educational resources in Africa;
• act as a hub of multiple coalitions. This entails cooperating with a range of existing partner organisations and responding to agendas set by others. But this also involves setting an agenda, and providing leadership.

When Justice Africa was formed a large part of its core work was centred on Sudan due to the several years of active engagement of its Directors, Dr Alex de Waal and Yoanes Ajawin, on human rights and peace issues in the Sudan especially the marginalised region of the Nuba Mountains. That portfolio also included enabling the wider civil society organisations in the Sudan both in the north and the South to be effective participants in the various peace processes about the country, through the 'civil project'.

One of the main impulses behind the creation of Justice Africa was the Ethio-Eritrean war. In 1999 it sought to establish an organisation, which could have both Ethiopians and Eritreans on the board. It succeeded in that aim, but struggled to bring civil society from the two countries into dialogue with each other. But its ongoing concern with the two countries’ conflict was a springboard for work in peace and security throughout the Horn of Africa and its determination to work to build strong peace and security mechanisms for Africa as a whole.