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A Human Rights Toast for an African
Tyrant
By THOR HALVORSSEN AND GEORGE AYITTEY
Equatorial Guinea brutalizes its people like North Korea and
Syria. So why is a prominent U.S. foundation cozying up to its
dictator?
In the campaign for human rights and justice in apartheid South
Africa, black American civil rights leaders were instrumental.
One was Leon H. Sullivan, who enunciated the "Sullivan
Principles" guiding multinational firms toward treating blacks
fairly while doing business in South Africa. Why, then, is the
Leon H. Sullivan Foundation today celebrating the exploits of a
brutal African tyrant?
On Aug. 20, a plane-load of lobbyists, civil rights leaders,
entertainers and former government officials will land in the
West African nation of Equatorial Guinea for the Sullivan Summit
IX. The summit's stated objective is to "create an atmosphere of
open dialogue about the state of human rights and the
interconnected issues of modern Africa." Seldom has so much
dishonesty fit into one sentence.
Equatorial Guinea is home to Africa's longest-ruling dictator,
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who seized power in a military coup by
executing his uncle 33 years ago. Freedom House ranks the
country among the "worst of the worst" human-rights abusers,
along with North Korea, Syria and Somalia. Yet the Sullivan
Foundation is celebrating its Obiang-hosted summit as a
milestone for human rights, part of its "unwavering commitment
to democratic ideals."
According to the agenda posted online, summit attendees will
lounge at a five-star resort for a week discussing human rights
and economic development, all between black-tie dinners and
champagne. They may toast to the petroleum-rich country's
staggering per capita income of $36,515 (according to the World
Bank), but outside the resort the people of Equatorial Guinea
will continue to toil in poverty. Sixty percent live on less
than $1 a day, the majority don't have access to clean water or
electricity, and nearly one in eight children die before their
fifth birthday.
Since his 1979 coup, Mr. Obiang has rigged every election to
give himself more than 95% of the vote. He has criminalized
dissent, tortured or disappeared his opponents, and killed tens
of thousands (as documented by historian Randall Fegley, among
many others). Under his iron first, Mr. Obiang siphons billions
of dollars in oil revenues into his family coffers. Still the
Sullivan Foundation's marketing materials praise him for a
"tremendous emphasis on social development and good governance."
Nor is this month's summit the first time the Sullivan
Foundation has cozied up to Mr. Obiang. Last December it
bestowed on him its "Beacon for Africa" award for "exemplary
contributions to improving the lives of Africa's most vulnerable
citizens." When news of the award first leaked, the foundation
initially denied that Mr. Obiang was honored, tweeting that a
horrible mistake had been made. It then pretended that it was
honoring only the rotating presidency of the African Union,
which happened to be held at the time by Mr. Obiang.
It doesn't end there. In June, foundation President and CEO Hope
Sullivan Masters—daughter of Leon Sullivan, who died in
2001—hosted a private reception for Mr. Obiang at her Maryland
mansion. As for criticism of the upcoming summit, Ms. Masters
wrote on her foundation's website this week that it is "yellow
journalism," "salacious and blasphemous." She added: "If these
critics wish, they are more than welcome to attend the Summit
and see for themselves the advancements made by President Obiang
for his country."
The dictator has made a practice of linking himself to
international organizations. This year he paid Unesco, the
U.N.'s cultural and educational arm, $3 million to establish the
Unesco-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the
Life Sciences. Unesco's executive board agreed to sponsor the
prize over objections from its own lawyers, the U.S. government
and others.
The Sullivan Foundation's chairman is Andrew Young, a former
mayor of Atlanta and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and its board
of directors includes former President Bill Clinton. If Messrs.
Young, Clinton and their colleagues want to help Africa and
Equatorial Guinea, they should be on the side of the people, not
the dictators.
They might support EG Justice, which promotes human rights, rule
of law, transparency and civic participation in Equatorial
Guinea. (EG Justice is based in the U.S. because human-rights
groups can't operate in Equatorial Guinea.) Perhaps the Sullivan
Foundation could host gatherings for EG Justice's founder, Tutu
Alicante, instead of the murderous dictator who has long
immiserated his country.
The summit begins in a few days without any hope of achieving
its supposed objectives: "to protect the infirmed, the poor, the
defenseless, and the isolated," "to explore how the public and
the private sectors can manage a changing society while not
leaving our most vulnerable members behind," and to "drive a
world economy that will benefit all." Gathering under Mr.
Obiang's banner will undermine those goals in Equatorial Guinea
by lending support to a repressive, exploitative system that
benefits an elite few who remain in power through crime and
violence. It is an appalling swindle.
Mr. Halvorssen is president of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF).
Mr. Ayittey, a native of Ghana, is president of the Free Africa
Foundation and serves on HRF's International Council.
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