Analysing Civic Space in East Africa through a judicial lens
1. INTRODUCTION Although the concept of ‘civic space’ is particularly present in human rights discourse, there is no universally accepted definition of what the term means. According to a United Nations note, civic space is ‘the environment that enables people and groups to participate meaningfully in the political, economic, social and cultural life of their societies.’ 1 Civic space is often approached through the lens of the core civic freedoms enshrined in international human rights instruments: freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Notwithstanding a comprehensive international legal framework protecting the enjoyment of civic space in place,2 serious challenges persist in East Africa. The CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks the status of civic space across the world, describes the status of civic space in Uganda, 3 Tanzania4 and Burundi5 as “repressed.”, while the situation in Kenya is qualified as 1
United Nations, Guidance Note on the Protection and Promotion of Civic Space, 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/C ivicSpace/UN_Guidance_Note.pdf 2
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (articles 19, 20, 21); The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (articles 19, 21, 22, 25); the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (articles 9,10, 11). 3
CIVICUS, Monitor, Tracking Civic Space https://monitor.civicus.org/country/uganda/ 4
-
CIVICUS, Monitor - Tracking Civic Space, Tanzania, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/tanzania/
Uganda,
“obstructed”.6 For instance in Uganda, Civicus notes that journalists and environmental human rights defenders face threats as well as attacks, and government critics face harassment.7 This research paper8 analyses a wealth of jurisprudence on civic space in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi. 9 It first provides an analysis of civil liberties and their permissible limitations, according to national courts. It then explores contributions by the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), which has accepted to exercise its jurisdiction over cases relating to violations of civic freedoms and human rights more broadly. The paper finally identifies the common trends and environments of closing civic space, which civil society organizations have to navigate in the region.
5
CIVICUS, Monitor – Tracking Civic Space, Burundi, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/burundi/ 6
CIVICUS, Monitor – Tracking Civic Space, Kenya, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/kenya/ 7
CIVICUS, Monitor - Tracking Civic Space, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/uganda/
Uganda,
8
This paper is based on an analysis written by Dr. Fred Sekindi, and is one of the outputs of a project entitled “Protecting civic space: a public interest litigation approach” funded by the Belgian Development Cooperation 9
These different judgements have also been integrated in a database available on the website of ASF, which can be accessedhttps://asf.be/database/civic-space/ .