EU and Africa

Despite being a major donor to Africa, the EU does not seem to perceive the continent as a political priority. The Open Society Institute–Brussels works to mobilize the EU to support human rights, democratic governance, and the rule of law in African countries and institutions, in a way that fosters a relationship of equal partners tackling common challenges.

OSI-Brussels monitors the implementation of the Joint Africa EU Strategy and Action Plan, focusing on democratic governance and transparency in the use of revenues from natural resources. OSI is an active member of the EU Civil Society Steering Group for the Strategy. We have published a paper on the role of civil society in the Strategy and chaired an International Organization for Migration panel on this same issue. We have also participated in the civil society recommendations to the EU-AU human rights dialogue and briefed the EU team on African governance mechanisms.

OSI-Brussels also monitors EU policies towards specific African countries and supports local civil society organizations to carry out advocacy with the EU in Brussels. We have lobbied for a robust EU response to the post-electoral violence in Kenya and supported Kenyan civil society advocacy on the implementation of the commitments under the mediation process led by Kofi Annan. We have also carried out advocacy on the protection of human rights activists in Zimbabwe and on the reform of the military justice system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On all EU-Africa work we collaborate closely with OSI African Union Advocacy Director Ibrahima Kane.

Contact at OSI-Brussels: Carmen Silvestre

For more information on OSI's work in Africa, see the Africa regional page.