PANEL OF HIGH-LEVEL PERSONALITIES HIGHLIGHTS AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

19 September 1996

Press Release
ENV/DEV/382

PANEL OF HIGH-LEVEL PERSONALITIES HIGHLIGHTS AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

19960919 Recommends Focus on Debt, Governance, Human Resource Development

NEW YORK, 19 September (DPCSD) -- The Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development, meeting at United Nations Headquarters on 12 September, has recommended that debt, governance and human resource development should be priority areas for consideration at the current Mid-term Review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. The Panel also highlighted the importance of trade facilitation and resource mobilization, food security and agriculture, as well as greater flexibility and coordination of development support.

The High-Level Panel was established in 1992 by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to advise and assist him in ensuring the effective implementation of the New Agenda and to foster Africa's development in general. The 12 September meeting was convened and chaired by the Secretary- General.

Opening the meeting, Mr. Boutros-Ghali restated the United Nations commitment to African development and urged the Panel to consider its advocacy role with regard to enhancing Africa's image in the donor community and ensuring continued support. He asked the Panel to discuss the best ways of mobilizing African leaders to address critical development issues as well as how the resources of non-governmental organizations and the private sector in developed countries could best be harnessed in support of African development.

While stressing the need to reverse the generally negative perception of Africa, the Panel felt that publicizing African success stories might not be enough. Panel members therefore identified several priority areas for consideration by the Mid-term Review.

On debt, the Panel looked forward to a satisfactory outcome of current discussions on debt relief and, most importantly, to quick implementation. It urged that eligibility and other criteria for debt relief should be flexible enough to ensure that significant relief is provided to as many countries as possible.

On governance, Panel members noted the great efforts under way in many countries in the areas of democratization and human rights. However, they urged substantial support to strengthen capacities in the public and private sectors as well as in civil society, for efficient management of development.

Identifying human resource development as essential for Africa's economic recovery, the Panel said such efforts should not be subject to selectivity or conditionality. They should also receive proper attention during implementation of structural adjustment programmes. Without a healthy and well-trained population, Africa would not be able to benefit from globalization. Calling for more attention to be paid to the social sector, Panel members urged African countries to match public spending to their proclaimed commitment to human development, while donor countries were urged to increase their support in that critical area.

Trade was another essential factor in Africa's economic growth development, the Panel stated. To better integrate African countries into the global economy, the international community should support trade facilitation schemes which involved commodity diversification programmes. It should also support efforts to develop supply capability and market access. The Panel urged African countries to mobilize domestic resources and enhance savings for investment and faster economic growth. It also emphasized the importance of an enabling environment for attracting foreign direct investment, which had so far eluded African countries.

In several cases, rigidities in the support provided for African development had contributed to a reversal of progress, the Panel noted. It stressed the need for flexibility in applying pre-established performance benchmarks and welcomed the trend towards improved coordination between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. That should lead to more effective sectoral programmes which could receive financial support.

The Panel welcomed the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa and said the Mid-term Review should provide the opportunity to better articulate and also strengthen the links between the New Agenda and the Special Initiative, which was designed to strengthen United Nations support for African development. Through a focused effort, the Initiative could encourage the spread of "best practices" and also improve the efficiency of development implementation.

Emphasizing the importance of food security and agriculture, the Panel fully supported the objectives of the New Agenda and the Special Initiative in that area. The Panel decided to devote its next meeting to food security and agriculture, and also to revisit the issue of governance.

The Panel's current membership includes the following high-level personalities: Sir Ketumile Masire, President of Botswana; Poul Nielson,

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Denmark's Minister for Development Cooperation; Baroness Lynda Chalker, Minister for Overseas Development of the United Kingdom; Ambassador Andrew Young, former United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations; Philippe Jurgensen, former Director-General of the Caisse francaise de developpement and current Director-General of the Societe francaise de garantie des financements des petites et moyennes entreprises; Mohammed Sadli, Adviser to the President of Indonesia for South-South and North-South Cooperation; R. Barthelt, Director-General for Sub-Saharan Africa in Germany's Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); Graca Machel, Mozambique's former First Lady and current President of the Foundation for Community Development; Ambassador Yasushi Kurokochi of Japan, who served as Chairman of the Tokyo International Conference on Aid and Development; K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and Hazem El-Beblawi, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

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Note: Further information may be obtained from the Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries in the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, tel: 963-5006 or 963-4780.