Keynote Address: Challenges of Accountability in Young, Emerging, and Post-War Democracies

Ambassador Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the UN Mission to Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)

Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellencies,
Dauda Ngelautwa Mwakawago Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank you and the organizers of this inaugural National Accountability Dialogue Forum Series for inviting me as your keynote speaker. I would like also to express my very sincere appreciation to Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura and members of the National Accountability Group for their initiative in starting the debate on this very important subject. The topic of my speech is: the “Challenges of Accountability in Young Emerging and Post-War Democracies”.

    Introduction

    1. Accountability has many related meanings in English, but it could be defined as an authoritative relationship in which one person is formally entitled to demand that another answer for (i.e. provide an account of) his or her actions. Rewards or punishments may be meted out to the latter depending on whether those actions conform to the former’s wishes. It is a relationship in which one party, the holder of accountability, has the right to seek information about, to investigate and to scrutinize the actions of another party, the giver of accountability. The parties to an accountability relationship may be individuals, groups or institutions and are sometimes identified as principals and agents; (agents being accountable to principals). Accountability is a situational concept in that it needs to be specified in context: who is accountable to whom and for what?
    2. The general rationale for accountability is to prevent or reduce the abuse of power by those who cannot otherwise be trusted to do what they are obliged to do.
    3. The concept of accountability contains two irreducible dimensions, those of enforcement and answerability; which do not imply only information and explanation but the ability to punish unsatisfactory behaviour. The capacity for sanction is, therefore, essential to the concept of accountability. Exercises of accountability that expose misdeeds but do not impose material consequences will usually appear weak and diminish forms of accountability; unless there is some consequence for demonstrated abuses of authority, there is no rule of law and no accountability.
    4. It must be acknowledged that where individuals and communities feel that their needs are not being met and no effective accountability mechanisms are present, dissatisfaction and frustration are often expressed through protest. But where accountability mechanisms are effective, people are more likely to feel that their needs and wishes are being taken into account. Greater transparency of decision-making can assist in this, as it will help to build trust in political processes. This trust is increased where feedback loops are built into the decision-making process so that decision-makers can learn from communities affected by their decisions and in particular, learn from their actions and mistakes in order not to repeat them. Even more importantly take corrective action.
    5. Accountability mechanisms which enable greater involvement by the people who are most affected by the decisions fosters greater ownership. A sense of ownership tends to lead to more relevant decision-making and better implementation. Effective accountability mechanisms are indeed important checks against abuse of power. In the end accountability boils down to two things: namely justice and trust. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9...
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