The governance and democratisation challenges in the Horn of Africa region emanate from complex and interwoven root causes, including democracy deficit, human rights violations, lack of accountability and violence and reoccurring conflicts. This context demands an integrated and holistic analytical approach, with strong national and regional institutions and civic actors, including CSOs, capable of engaging in evidence-based policy advocacy. Regional CSOs can link national civic formations with regional intergovernmental institutions and play a much-needed convening role. Unlike other regions in Africa, there is an absence of vibrant regional CSOs and think tanks in the Horn that embrace movement building and co-creation to address democratic deficits. In recognition of these gaps, the idea to establish the Horn Centre for Democracy was born.
The main objective of the Center is to foster and entrench the culture of democracy, good governance, and inclusive citizens’ participation in the HoA countries. Considering the diverse context of each country, HCD aspires to bring together democratic actors, including community-based organisations, academics, religious and traditional leaders, CSOs, and the media, to share knowledge and best practices to adopt country-specific interventions. By convening these actors, the Center aims to sustain further the momentum towards the development and culture of democracy in the HoA.
The Horn Center for Democracy harnesses the power of evidence-based research and partnerships to encourage dialogue and influence public policy at national and regional levels. As a think-and-do tank, HCD also engages in program implementation, mainly in advocating for effective policy implementation options, capacity building and providing platform for dialogue and coordination among national and regional CSOs, citizen movements, and regional institutions such as IGAD. In line with this, HCD strives to create broader alliances with CSOs, networks, and think tanks working on democracy, good governance, and human rights at national and regional levels. In this process, the Center aims to develop a convening power for co-creation with civic actors on democratisation, human rights, and governance issues.
