Panel 29: African Engagements in the Commonwealth: Perspectives on Diversity, Interdependence and Rights
Panel organiser: Mélanie Torrent (Univ. Paris Diderot, France)
Contact: melanie.torrent@paris7.jussieu.fr
| Since Ghana’s decision to join the Commonwealth in 1957 as its first African member, the organisation has seen its African component extend steadily to include countries outside Britain ’s ex-African Empire. Applications by Mozambique and Rwanda, respectively admitted in 1995 and 2009, seem to promote the Commonwealth sphere – the intergovernmental organisation as well as the people’s Commonwealth – as an attractive multilateral forum for the African continent to engage with its neighbours and the wider international community. Looking at evolutions since the first African independences, this panel intends to reflect on the ways in which the Commonwealth’s relationship with African member governments, citizens and the African continent as a whole has provided – or failed to provide – a platform for engagements with Africa on African terms. From early fights against racial segregation to Zimbabwe’s suspension and exit, there have been achievements and impasses, highlighting ways forward through critical analysis: the dynamics of decolonisation in Africa and the role of nongovernmental bodies and missionary societies in that context; the role of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth African diplomats in articulating an African voice across the continent’s linguistic divide and colonial heritage; engagements on race issues; African civil and regional conflicts; and current attempts to define, promote and monitor human rights in member countries. The panel will therefore analyse the contribution of multilateral fora to better engagements with Africa and assess the particular role of the Commonwealth in articulating African voices from a historical and contemporary perspective. |