Background

Malawi’s political system changed from a one party dictatorship to a multi-party system of governance in 1994. This ushered a democratic system of government with a republican constitution that provided a comprehensive Bill of Rights for the individual. The result of the national referendum in 1993 clearly showed that the advent of multi-party democracy was much needed by the population of Malawi. A clear majority voted against the continuation of President Banda’s single party rule.

However, the time lapse between the referendum and the general election was not long enough to provide civic education for the nation on the concepts surrounding Democracy. AYISE was among the first youth movement that understood the urgent need for civic education on issues of Democracy and Human Rights.

Although some civic education has been disseminated, we are now more than12 years as a democratic state, and more needs still to be done. Many Malawians, particularly in the rural areas, are still unaware of the complexity of an ideal, functional democracy.

It is important to note that Malawi has made covered great distance in consolidating democracy. One indicator that helps justify this is the establishment of a number of state institutions which are functioning very effectively and independently in pursuit of democratic ideals. These include:

1. the Anti-Corruption Bureau
2. the Human Rights Commission
3. the Law Commission
4. the Electoral Commission
5. the Malawi Police Service (MPS), reformed dramatically from the Malawi Police Force

Additionally, there has also been visible separation of powers between the various arms of parliament (the legislature), the judiciary and the executive. The role the Malawian Parliament plays in consolidating democracy is also understood by many Malawian citizens. Malawian citizens have become more aware of the public policy and legislative processes and this manifests itself in the way citizens across the country have justifiably taken to the streets when they see that certain processes carried out by public officials are contrary to national interests.

Further, the citizens and the various arms of government have, in the past 12 years, learnt and appreciated the role of civil society in policy and legislative processes. This can be seen by the fact that government and other state actors have always consulted NGOs and civil society actors when issues of national significance arise.

This does not mean that democracy and human rights are secure. It is imperative to note that the democratic environment is still fragile and without more civil society action, there is likelihood of the country degenerating or skewing towards non-democratic practices.

AYISE has been committed, as a member of civil society organisations, to ensuring that democracy and human rights are not only promised but actually  seen as a part of everyday life for all Malawians. AYISE also believes in the importance of young people participating in the democratic process. The future of the country is in the hands of the youth of today and the young people can learn, at and early stage the principles of democracy, Malawi can be assured of a mature democratic future.

The areas that require addressing in the area of Democracy and Governance include:

1. meaningful involvement of the youth and women in decision-making and other governance processes
2. meaningful civil society engagement with the government on matters of policy and legislation
3. civic education particularly on the need to acknowledge diversity and pluralistic views when running affairs of the state as well as in general civic and voter education
4. realignment of the function of the various state institutions by ensuring less political interference in the functioning of such institutions

Human Rights are a major pillar of democracy and therefore there are many issues that need to be addressed. These include:

1. children and women’s rights
2. children in conflict with the law (Juvenile Justice)
3. general child welfare and protection issues
4. access to information
5. access to justice particularly among poor and vulnerable communities
6. access to social services that have a bearing on the right to life

AYISE’s Focus in Brief:

AYISE’s focus in the area of Human Rights & Democracy in relation to its current Strategic Plan covers the following areas:

1. meaningful involvement of the youth in decision-making and other governance processes including elections and electoral processes
2. meaningful civil society engagement with the government on matters of policy and legislation (advocacy)
3. civic education particularly on the need to acknowledge diversity and pluralistic views in running the affairs of the state as well as when discussing directly the promotion of human rights and democracy
4. children in conflict with the law
5. general child welfare, child rights and protection issues
6. access to information
7. state party reporting and parallel civil society reporting to the United Nations particularly on issues of children’s rights
8. gender and women’s rights particularly focusing on behaviour, attitudes and practices that exacerbate the social construction of gender and the violation of the girl child and women’s rights in general
9. peace building, conflict management (prevention and transformation)