Human Rights First

🌍 What is causing mass migration?¹ The African leaders claim it is jobs. And they claim the West must provide jobs for Africans.² But why can't Africans provide jobs for Africans? They have no answer to that question, but to blame the West. It's somehow all our fault that they have no solutions.

The reality is that authoritarian regimes stifle business, they stifle innovation, and they stifle creativity. And as long as this continues the economy can not flourish, businesses can not flourish, there will be no jobs, and people can not flourish. And migrants will continue to take huge risks to get to the Free World where they can flourish. The only way to create a sustainable future for Africans is to ensure that they are no longer repressed and that they have human rights.³

Every time Western leaders press African leaders about human rights, which were co-authored by the East and the West, they make claims about African values being different than Western values. I'm tired of hearing that. Are they saying Africans don't value human rights like the West?⁴ It's time for African leaders to acknowledge that human rights, which are universal, must be respected in every corner of the world, including the African continent, so the economy and people can thrive.

It's unfortunate that the leaders in many of these regions have no interest in human rights. They prefer business deals with corrupt Russian oligarchs that line their own pockets. They have Russian mercenaries in many African countries that are terrorizing African people and they do nothing about it. They continue to engage with Russia despite the way Africans are being treated by Russians.⁵ That's reality. That tells us a lot about their values.

This is why Americans expect the US government to put Human Rights First. We are not going to enrich African leaders while the citizens in these regions remain repressed and impoverished. We will demand a Human Rights First foreign policy. Humans rights must be baked into every single deal we make from now on. Without human rights, there will be no deal for Africa. If they commit to human rights, Africa will thrive. We wish for Africans to be peaceful, happy, and prosperous. We would like Africa to join us, and become a part of the Free World.

xo

Notes:

1. Mass Migration https://www.politico.eu/article/vengeance-migration-fight-europe-policy-eu-commission/
2. “Providing job opportunities to Africans will help stem the flow of those who irregularly migrate to Europe searching for better financial prospects.” - President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/1234/491984/Egypt/Foreign-Affairs/INTERVIEW-Danish-PM-views-Egypt-as-valuable-partne.aspx Africa's Unemployment Crisis: https://allafrica.com/stories/202303200606.html
3. Human Rights in Africa by Country https://www.hrw.org/africa
4. “It seems a key aim of al-Sisi’s government today is to brutalize and bully Egypt’s entire society into silence and submission, including the country’s creative class of artists.” - Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/16/egypt-campaign-crush-artistic-freedom
5. Russians are Terrorizing Africans: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/25/russia-wagner-group-africa-terrorism-mali-sudan-central-african-republic-prigozhin/