By Krista Larson, DAKAR Senegal
A new report on African governance released Wednesday finds much of the continent is “less safe, secure and democratic” than it was 10 years ago, citing a surge in military coups and armed conflicts.
The democratic backsliding now
threatens to reverse decades of progress made in Africa, according to an index
of governance compiled by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that notes 23 successful
and attempted coups since 2012.
“This phenomenon of coup
d’etats that was common in the ’80s seems to have become fashionable again in
certain parts of Africa,” said Ibrahim, a British billionaire born in Sudan who
is using his fortune to promote democracy and political accountability in
Africa.
His foundation’s report cited
eight successful coups just since 2019. Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso have
seen two each during that time, further destabilizing a part of the world
already under siege by Islamic militants.
The report’s authors also
found overall security problems pervasive: Over the past decade, nearly 70% of
Africans saw security and rule of law decrease in their countries, they said.
More than 30 countries declined in this category, according to the index.People walk amidst destruction at the scene of a double car bombing at a busy intersection, a day after the attack, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 30, 2022.
South Sudan ranked at the
bottom, followed by Somalia, Eritrea, Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic,
Cameroon, Burundi, Libya and Equatorial Guinea.
Government violence against
civilians and political unrest increased across Africa since the COVID-19
pandemic began, the report says, with governments using restrictions to clamp
down on dissent.
“Although this trend predates
the pandemic, existing antidemocratic tendencies have been accelerated by the
introduction of restrictive measures and emergency provisions that have been
left in place for an extended time period,” it said.
The index did chart
improvements in some economic, education and gender equity categories, Ibrahim
said. However, the report only analyzed data through the end of 2021 so did not
take into account the full impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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