DARFUR: 'IT IS TIME FOR THE AFRICAN UNION TO ACT’
Groups release 5-Point Programme for Ending Violence in Darfur on The 4th Global Darfur Day of Action

LAGOS, 17 SEPTEMBER, 2007: Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Independent Advocacy Project (IAP) have called on the African Union and all African governments, including Nigeria and South Africa to act immediately to demand that the Sudanese government, armed groups and Janjawid militia in Darfur and eastern Chad to halt attacks against civilians and humanitarian agencies.

These urgent demands are contained in the 5-Point Programme for Ending Violence in Darfur which the groups released in Lagos today to mark the Save Darfur Day. SERAP and IAP are two of several groups across the globe undertaking activities to draw attention to the plight of the people of Darfur.

In particular, SERAP and IAP invite the Nigerian and South African governments to use their influence and authority within the AU to ensure that other African governments and their international partners implement this Programme. The recommendations contained in the 5-Point Programme are interrelated, and they are all important in the restoration of peace and security in Darfur, and in establishing a culture of human rights in the country as a whole.

Specifically, the groups want:
•     The AU and African governments to publicly condemn violence: ‘All AU member states must speak out consistently and strongly against continuing violence in Darfur, highlighting its gravity and impact on neighbouring countries such as Chad and Central African Republic, and on peace and security in Africa. Nigeria and South Africa should provide the leadership in this regard.

•     The AU and African governments should ask for full protection of civilians in Darfur: ‘The AU and African governments should demand immediate end to continuing suffering and attacks against civilian population in Darfur. They must publicly ask the government of Sudan to immediately and fully implement UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1769.

•     The AU and African governments must demand immediate deployment of the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur: ‘The AU and African governments must support a prompt and sufficient deployment of the hybrid force in Darfur by generating the necessary military, police and civilian personnel, as well as essential financial and material resources. They should work expeditiously with the UN to reinforce AMIS in order to ensure full protection for civilian population in Darfur.

•     The AU and African governments should publicly demand full accountability and prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in Darfur: ‘The AU and African governments should publicly demand and declare their support for full accountability and prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in Darfur. They should immediately and publicly call for prompt, impartial, effective and full investigation and prosecution of those suspected to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. They should insist on full and appropriate reparation for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

•     The AU and African governments must support and invest in the establishment of rule of law and a culture of human rights in the whole of Sudan: ’The AU and African governments should work very closely with the UN and other partners to establish lasting peace, rule of law and a culture of human rights in Sudan. They should immediately establish an AU Special Commission on Sudan to draw up a strategy and plan of action for restoring lasting peace and establishing respect for human rights in Sudan. This Commission should work in consultation with the government of Sudan and must involve all segments of civil society in Sudan in its work.

‘Darfur remains a place of violence and terrifying insecurity. Ready availability of weapons has trapped civilian population in Darfur in a web of armed attacks that grows ever more complex’, say IAP’s Gbenga Ogundare and SERAP’s Tokunbo Mumuni in the joint statement.
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Darfur: Don’t Look Away Now, IAP, SERAP Urge Yar’Adua
LAGOS: MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2007: As President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua marks his first 100 days in office, two leading Nigerian non governmental organisations, Independent Advocacy Project (IAP) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have called on the president to publicly declare his support for efforts aimed at bringing lasting solution to the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Darfur Sudan.

Ahead of the 16 September 2007 Save Darfur Day being marked by several organisations – including IAP and SERAP - in different parts of the world, the organisations in a joint statement said the president has a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the suffering people of Darfur by working with other African leaders to raise the profile of Darfur thereby giving it the attention it deserves.

The organisations welcomed the recent UN Security Council Resolution 1769 which authorised the deployment of a much-needed peacekeeping force, but pointed out that nothing has changed on the ground. ‘Attacks on civilians are continuing and the UN has still only deployed a handful of the peacekeepers needed. The African Union force on the ground is unable to provide the protection that’s needed,’ says IAP spokesman Gbenga Ogundare.

Following the passing of Resolution 1769, the African Union and the UN must work closely and swiftly to deploy the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force. Nigeria as a leading UN member state in Africa must support a prompt and sufficient deployment of the hybrid force by generating the necessary military, police and civilian personnel, as well as essential financial and material resources.

Adds SERAP’s Adetokunbo Mumuni: ‘The government of Sudan has a track record of shifting under pressure only to break its promises when the international community looks elsewhere. Until the attacks on civilian’s cease and the full peacekeeping force is deployed the international community must not look away.’

The two organisations reminded the federal government that this September’s meeting of 192 world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York is another opportunity to address the Darfur issue. Specifically, IAP and SERAP are asking President Yar’Adua and other world leaders to:
• Demand that the Sudanese government, armed groups and Janjawid militia in Darfur and eastern Chad halt attacks against civilians and humanitarian agencies;
• Ensure and commit to the expeditious and full deployment to Darfur of the joint African Union (AU) and United Nations hybrid peacekeeping force, and ensure that the government of Sudan facilitates the swift and unimpeded deployment.

We are also asking President Yar’ Adua to use Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa to encourage the African Union to:

• Work expeditiously with the UN to reinforce AMIS so as to ensure that the civilian population in Darfur is effectively protected; and
• Take all steps necessary to speedily implement UN Security Council Resolution 1769

In September 2005 world leaders made a historic commitment at the UN General Assembly World Summit to acknowledge their responsibility to protect their citizens, and a joint commitment to act if a government is unwilling to fulfil this primary responsibility through the UN. This commitment was termed the ‘Responsibility to Protect.’ Two years on, despite the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect, the Sudanese government and the international community have failed to protect the people of Darfur. The people of Darfur continue to experience widespread human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. An extra million people require assistance, another half million have been driven from their homes, and thousands more have lost their lives.

IAP and SERAP are particularly concerned about the regional dimension of the Darfur conflict as it has spread beyond Sudan’s borders, affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in eastern Chad. Civilians in eastern Chad are being attacked by Sudanese Janjawid militias and their local Chadian allies, who plunder and kill with impunity. More than 140,000 internally displaced Chadian civilians are sheltering in settlements

‘The situation in Darfur has deteriorated since the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) of 5 May 2006. All parties to the conflict bear some responsibility for the increasing deterioration of security, and must comply with human rights and international humanitarian law. President President Yar’Adua must join other leaders to speak out as one and show their commitment to protect the people of Darfur and eastern Chad. This is the critical moment, don’t look away now, concludes the joint statement.


 

Asset Declaration: IAP Calls for New Bill
• Condemns ‘anticipatory declarations’

LAGOS, TUESDAY, 24 JULY 2007: Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption group has called on President Umaru Yar’Adua to table, in the coming months, before the National Assembly, a bill that makes it mandatory for all public office holders – including the president, his vice, state governors and their deputies and local government chairmen - to publicly declare their assets. The 1999 Constitution only allows private declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) within one month of assumption of office.

IAP also called on the president to direct all his appointees to follow his lead and publicly disclose their assets. ‘The proposed bill should compel CCB to examine declared assets alongside tax payments. Nigerians have the right to know whether taxes paid matched the size of wealth declared. We are particularly concerned that some public office holders seem to be declaring huge amounts they intend to appropriate for themselves over the course of their tenure, which we describe as ‘anticipatory declarations,’ thereby making the whole process of asset declaration a useless exercise,’ says Gbenga Ogundare, an IAP spokesperson.

In a statement released in Lagos yesterday, the good governance group pointed out that public declaration of assets avails Nigerians the opportunity of knowing the worth of public office holders and provides an avenue for independent analysis and scrutiny of such declared assets, with the possibility of critical questions being raised about suspected discrepancies in publicly declared assets.

IAP particularly frowns at the manner in which the public declaration of such assets are being made without any attempt by the politicians to explain how they came about such huge sums running into several billions of naira. This makes asset declaration something of a joke, as politicians make grandiose declarations that gives the impression that public office holders are in power simply to increase their assets. ‘While commending the president for declaring his assets, the steep rise in the figure he declared four years ago compared to what he recently declared further supports the view that such declarations requires close scrutiny,’ adds Ogundare.

For example, added IAP, the president said his inherited family compound was worth N2 million in 1999, by 2007, the same property in his assets declaration was valued at N105 million. His five-bedroom bungalow in Kaduna valued at N5 million in 1999 is now worth N120 million.

IAP also called on the CCB to bring to justice, immediate past political office holders who failed to declare their assets Item 11 on the notes for the completion of the assets declaration form states that 'failure to declare your assets as required under the provisions of paragraph 11 of the 5th Schedule of the Federal Constitution shall attract on conviction any or all of the following: (a) removal from office (b) disqualification from holding any public office (c) forfeiture to the state any property acquired in abuse of office or dishonesty.

 

Increase Police Welfare Package, IAP Urges FG
Lagos, 4 July 2007: Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption group, has advocated for more wage increase and better welfare package for officers of the Nigerian Police, even as it commends the Federal Government over the 15 per cent increase it approved recently for the police.

The Nigerian Police Force was identified as the most corrupt institution in the country by the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) 2007 which was recently released in Lagos by IAP. NCI is an opinion survey that empirically highlights the magnitude of corruption and underscores its adverse effect on democracy, development and good governance.

IAP believes that while wage increases will not eradicate corruption in the force, it may serve to encourage integrity in this key governance institution. ‘There has been various debates on the relationship between level of wages and bribe taking, especially as highly paid public servants have been involved in various corruption scandals, but IAP believes the inability of the rank and file of the police to meet basic needs may be a contributing factor to corruption in the force,’ says Gbenga Ogundare an IAP spokesperson.

NCI index scientifically gathers and analyses data that evaluates the average Nigerian’s daily encounters with corruption in terms of frequency, severity, size, financial and social costs. NCI 2007 (Wave 2) was a follow up to the 2005 edition (Wave 1) which also listed the police as the most corruption public institution in the country.
 

CORRUPTION LEAGUE: POLICE COME TOPS AGAIN

• PHCN, Customs, not far behind
• NPA, FRSC, NRC among the least corrupt

LAGOS 13 JUNE 2007: The Nigerian Police Force has again been identified as the most corrupt institution in the country, followed by Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Education Ministry (particularly higher institutions and examination bodies) and the Customs and Excise Department. The Health Ministry, Justice Ministry, Nigeria Airports Authority, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Railway Corporation and Agricultural Development Authorities are said to be the institutions least likely to collect bribe.

These are some of the findings of Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) 2007 which was released in Lagos today by Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption group. NCI is an opinion survey that empirically highlights the magnitude of corruption and underscores its adverse effect on democracy, development and good governance. The index scientifically gathers and analyses data that evaluates the average Nigerian’s daily encounters with corruption in terms of frequency, severity, size, financial and social costs. NCI 2007 (Wave 2) was a follow up to the 2005 edition (Wave 1) and in many instances the latest survey provides a comparative analysis of the state of bribery and corruption in the country in 2005 and 2007.

The objectives of NCI include assessing the general level of corruption in the daily interaction of members of the public with government institutions, providing hard data on corruption in the country thereby identifying possible linkages between levels of disposable incomes and incidence of bribery, such as percentages of incomes being paid as bribes.

To combat corruption effectively, most respondents advocated stringent legislation against corruption and severe punishment and sanctions against any one involved in corrupt practices. NCI also identified corruption as one of the main factors that drives the average Nigerian to the depths of despair, as the experience of having to offer bribes to access basic social services has serious psychological implications for the poor. ‘Millions of ordinary Nigerians have to part some of his or her meagre income to get their children into schools, as democracy in Nigeria remains a rule of the elite, by the elite, for the elite,’ says the organisation in a statement.

NCI reports that the perversity of corruption in the Nigerian society continues to agitate the minds of the majority of Nigerians. In 2005, 70% of the sampled population reported that this scourge adversely affects their state of happiness. In 2007, this figure rose marginally to 71%. Encouragingly, the proportion of people who did not give bribe for a period of one year preceding the survey increased from 23% in 2005 to 35% in 2007, an indication that the anti-corruption crusade and all the value reorientation campaigns may well be yielding some positive results.

Corruption and socio-economic rights
Corruption is said to have rendered our social infrastructure inefficient and has contributed to the prevailing problem of unemployment. EFCC was easily identified as a foremost agency in the fight against corruption in Nigeria. The proportion mentioning EFCC as an agency involved in the fight against corruption increased from 58% in 2005 to 73% in the current year (2007). Other fairly notable agencies associated with combating corruption include The Nigeria Police (which received a significantly higher mention in the current year), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Judiciary.

Of the agencies involved in the fight against corruption, only the efforts of the EFCC (4.21 out of 5) and Transparency International (3.77 out of 5) were credited with an appreciable level of effectiveness. For enhanced performance, respondents advocate that the agencies should be:

Obasanjo’s Reforms
Opinions are almost equally divided on this matter: while 47% believe President Obasanjo’s anti-corruption programme has been a success, 45% regard it has been a failure. Most of the critics of Obasanjo’s anti-corruption programme reside in the Federal Capital Territory, ironically the federal seat of power. The implication of this is that many Nigerians are not satisfied with the style of President Obasanjo’s anti-corruption crusade.