BENIN
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PARTNERED NGO
Our partners in West Africa are church-planting ministries focused on sharing Christ with Muslims and unreached tribal groups including the Dagomba, Ligby, Tuareg, and Wolof. They also support holistic projects that address the tremendous humanitarian needs in the region and demonstrate the love of God.
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HISTORY & HUMAN RIGHTSBenin was formerly a French colony known as Dahomey, which won its independence in 1960. From 1972 to 1990 it was a Marxist–Leninist state that was ruled by dictator Mathieu Kérékou, who took power in a coup. Under Kérékou, the country had no freedom of speech or of the press and a very poor human-rights record. It changed its name to the People's Republic of Benin in 1975. In 1990 the word “People's” was removed from the country's official name, and in December 1991 a new constitution was ratified with the goal of establishing a nation in which “the rule of law, fundamental rights, public liberties, human dignity and justice are guaranteed, protected and promoted as the prerequisite for the harmonious development of each Benin citizen.”
Under the new constitution, democracy was restored in Benin in 1991. In the elections held that year, Kérékou lost to Nicéphore Soglo and accepted the results of the vote. He was returned to power in the 1996 elections and re-elected in 2001; the 2006 elections, in which Kérékou did not run, was considered free and fair. Wikipedia |
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