The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) promotes public participation in democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights by awarding grants, developing programs, and bringing together diverse civil society leaders and groups.

OSIEA plays an active role in encouraging open, informed dialogue about issues of public importance in East Africa.

Launched in 2005 and based in Nairobi, the OSIEA team is headed by Binaifer Nowrojee, a human rights advocate with extensive experience in Africa.

OSIEA supports work in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as well as regional organizations whose mandate encompasses East Africa. In 2007, OSIEA’s grant-giving budget was $3 million.

East Africa

East Africa is a region in which democratic gains are simultaneously being made and reversed. After major openings in the political space of the past decades, the record of the governments in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda remains a source of both hope and disappointment.

Principles of democratic governance and public accountability remain high on the agenda of East Africans. Abuse of state power in these nations often goes unchecked, and mechanisms of accountability remain weak or marginalized. Corruption remains a major challenge throughout the region. Ethnic and regional tensions continue to be politically manipulated, often with dire consequences for marginalized groups. Negotiations to end the brutal conflict in Northern Uganda continue. Although there has been a significant flourishing of media organizations, free speech continues to be circumscribed in a variety of different ways. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS remains an unprecedented public health emergency in the region, thriving on stigma and human rights abuses against the most vulnerable East Africans. On all of these issues, civil society efforts in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda remain an important factor in maintaining and expanding the democratic space as well as facilitating public participation.

At the same time, new mechanisms of accountability are being created at the regional and international levels. These efforts could play an important role in checking impunity within East Africa. Engagement and advocacy by civil society advocates to strengthen these mechanisms in their formative stages will later have positive paybacks for Africans.

At the regional level, the African Union (AU) promises the possibility of stronger regional oversight. While still nascent, the AU’s New Partnership for Africa's Development and the newly created African Court of Justice are both vehicles for greater accountability.

At the international level, East Africa provides the largest theater for ongoing international justice interventions by the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. International criminal law provides another check on human rights violators. East African countries presently the subject of active international prosecutions include Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tanzania is the host country for the Rwanda tribunal.

OSIEA grantmaking during 2007 worked to foster democratic development in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda by prioritizing four key areas of activity: governance and accountability, justice and human rights, media and access to information, and regional initiatives.

Read more about OSIEA 2007 activities.