GPPAC Consultation in togo

See Consultation in Pictures

National Context
The poorly-managed transition period following the death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo and the manipulation of the constitution by the military to transfer power to his son, Faure Gnassingbe, introduced yet another twist to the socio-political crisis in Togo. The contested elections of April 2005 resulted in violence with a big outflow of refugees to neighbouring Benin and Ghana. Even though Faure won the elections, the new Government is yet to gain the full acceptance and confidence of the opposition coalition despite government’s efforts to reconcile the country. The National Dialogue initiated by President Faure has been criticised by the opposition and civil society organisations as not being inclusive of all stakeholders in the cyclical crisis in Togo hence their disapproval. Mutual mistrust and the lack of confidence in the national dialogue process continues to generate tension and accounts for eruptions of violence. For Togo to rebuild itself socially, economically and politically, there is the need for dialogue to heal and repair the damages of the past, reconstruct social relationships and strengthen institutional infrastructure and process for democracy and good governance and build consensus for the way forward. 

The Consultation
The Consultation was organized from December 5-8 2006. In consonance with WANEP’s belief in harnessing efforts, maximizing resources and creating synergies among projects, the activity was organized as part of an ongoing project in Togo, “Promoting Inclusive Dialogue for National Reconciliation and Democratic Governance in Togo” which aims to mainstream inclusive and democratic dialogue to prevent violent conflicts,[1]  Holding under the theme “Togolese socio-political actors in the development of a shared vision for the prevention of violent conflict in Togo” The consultation created space for over forty civil society actors and political parties to discuss and reflect on the content, form and process for inclusive national dialogue and reconciliation .The consultation was facilitated by WANEP in partnership with the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG). Representatives of civil society organizations, political parties including the ruling party, the former Prime Minister of Togo, the ECOWAS Zonal Bureau Head for Zone IV (Benin, Togo and Nigeria) and  representatives from international agencies including CARITAS participated in the event.  CSOs represented thematic groups such as conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human rights, small arms, good governance, religion, media, gender, youth, and chieftaincy as well as others whose activities are relevant to preventing conflict.

WANEP-Executive Director, Mr. Emmanuel Bombande, remarked during the opening ceremony that Togo has an opportunity to strengthen inclusive dialogue in order to effectively address its internal socio-political crises and build lasting peace.  This opportunity, he explained can be maximized by ensuring that the process of national dialogue involves many more actors. Mr. Bombande said that WANEP and IDEG, as regional civil society organizations, have therefore taken the step to accompany the Togolese civil society organizations by facilitating the consultation so that they can make a positive contribution to the process of democratic and inclusive dialogue in Togo.  He expressed the hope that with the participation of the many partners, political actors, regional organizations, the consultation, if constructively engaged in, will contribute significantly to the search for lasting peace by dealing with the past through shared responsibility to heal and to promote national reconciliation.

The representative of the Minister for Human Rights, Democracy and Reconciliation, who officially opened the consultation, appreciated the need for Togo to mobilize the efforts and the knowledge of its people in order to develop and regain its pride as a nation.  Referring to the National Dialogue launched by the government of Togo since November 18 2005, the Minister pledge government’s support for initiatives such as he consultation organized by WANEP.

At the end of the four days the participants, having done a frank and analytical reflection of the realities in Togo, formed a platform to engage themselves actively in the process of National Dialogue as well as promote human security and sustainable peace.  They made a declaration of their commitment to engage socio-political actors and the government in the construction of lasting peace in the country. 

One of the key outcomes of the December 5-8 2005 consultation in Togo was the forming of civil society platform[2] for conflict prevention and development and a Declaration of its commitment to collaborate with the Togolese government in the national reconciliation process. In order to operationalise the Declaration, the platform held a working meeting from February 2^nd to 3^rd 2006 at the Palm Beach Hotel in Togo. A total number of twenty-six (26) participants - seven (7) women, and nineteen (19) men participated in the meeting. The meeting was sponsored under the project “Promoting Inclusive Dialogue for National Reconciliation and Democratic Governance in Togo” which is sponsored by the Dutch Embassy in Ghana. The meeting created space for the platform to have detailed discussion and develop strategies to actualize the commitments it undertook in the Declaration.

By the end of the meeting, the platform developed strategies and activity plan to create awareness about its existence across the country, the region and internationally; mobilize other CSOs around its agenda; sensitise the public on the need for national reconciliation; advocate and lobby government for additional seat for CSOs to existing two at national dialogue table, giving priority to the platform; build capacity of CSOs in dialogue and reconciliation; and participate in the national dialogue which the government has scheduled to take place outside Togo in Burkina Faso at a date yet to be announced.  Furthermore, to ensure efficiency in carrying out its activities, the platform set up a seven-member working committee that will represent the platform in discussions with government and serve as link between its membership and government, with WANEP-Togo facilitating the coordination of the day to day management of the platforms activities.

The working committee has since initiated communication with the Togolese Government and has shared the Consultation report with them.  It has also requested audience with the President with the aim to lobby for a seat for the platform at the dialogue table. The office of the President is yet to respond. The Committee has also engaged the two CSO invited by government to the national dialogue table to convince them to be part of the platform and advocate for its agenda in the event that the government refuses to give more space to CSO.