SPECIAL HELP FOR MOST HEAVILY INDEBTED COUNTRIES WELCOMED BY OAU IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT
Press Release
GA/9158
SPECIAL HELP FOR MOST HEAVILY INDEBTED COUNTRIES WELCOMED BY OAU IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT
19961105 Plea for Conditions Not to Be Too Stringent; Holy See Asserts That Betterment of Poor Nations Need Not Be at Expense of WealthierForeign aid should not come with excessive conditions which today were so common, the observer of the Holy See told the General Assembly this afternoon, as it ended its discussion of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Experience taught that when developing countries grew richer, it was not at the expense of the wealthier ones. All of them benefited.
The initiative favouring the heavily indebted poor countries was a step in the right direction, said the representative of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). But to enable the more indebted African countries to benefit from it, the conditions should not be too stringent. He said the OAU would welcome substantial contributions to that initiative by both creditor countries and international financial institutions.
The representative of Botswana said the New Agenda lacked a clear operational framework in the United Nations system itself and at the country level. There was no framework for coordination between the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions on implementation. While he welcomed the Secretary-General's System-wide Initiative on Africa, it should be treated not as a replacement but a complement for the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s.
Statements were also made by Pakistan, Cuba, Colombia (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement) and the Philippines.
It was announced that at the request of several delegations, action on the draft resolution contained in section IV of the report before the Assembly (document A/51/48) would be taken up at a later date.
The Assembly reconvenes at 10 a.m. tomorrow to elect five members of the International Court of Justice.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its discussion of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. (For further information, see Press Release GA/9152 issued 4 November.)
Statements
PAUL MMOLOTSI RANTAO (Botswana) said the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s lacked a clear operational framework in the United Nations system itself and at the country level. There was no framework for coordination between the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions on implementation. While he welcomed the Secretary-General's System-wide Initiative on Africa, it should be treated not as a replacement but a complement for the New Agenda. Reports before the Assembly indicated that official development flows to Africa fell well below the minimal annual $30 billion target level required to implement the New Agenda.
Not all overseas development flows could be channelled through the United Nations system, he said, but United Nations funds, programmes and agencies should be strengthened and provided with adequate resources to participate in the development process. African States had reaffirmed their primary responsibility for the development of their countries, but globalization of the world economy made global solutions to development imperative. Development of Africa would benefit the developed countries and would usher in trade with the rest of the world.
AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan) said the international community had little to show for the promises it had made to Africa. Although some efforts had been taken in the areas of debt, trade preferences and export compensatory mechanisms, they had been insufficient not only in what needed to be done but also in relation to the solemn commitments made by the international community. He said that it was ironic that resource flows to Africa had declined since the New Agenda for the Development of Africa was agreed upon.
He said that African countries themselves had made significant progress in several areas of development, particularly in macro-economic reform and governance. However, unless the incidence of poverty and the rate of population was reduced substantially, Africa's stability, both social and economic, would be threatened.
BRUNO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said that the report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) truly reflected the real dimensions and challenges of the problems of that region. The present debate should generate initiatives to relaunch the New Agenda, according to the mid-term evaluation.
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Assistance to Africa, he said, was without question a matter of elementary historical justice. Development in that continent would depend on the political resolve of each and every country, especially the developed nations. The resources extracted from the African continent should return to it, since it was with African resources that affluent and prosperous societies had achieved their wealth.
Citing the decline in official development assistance (ODA) for Africa, he said that Africa was receiving only 2 per cent of direct foreign investment. African participation in world trade had fallen to around 2 per cent in 1995. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 10 million people had contracted AIDS; more than half of them were women.
He said the problems of Africa were of such magnitude that they required a special and extraordinary effort. It was still premature to say that the isolated achievements in some countries of the continent were signs of tangible progress.
DIANA VALENCIA (Colombia), on behalf of the Non-Aligned countries, called for implementation of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, noting that the Agenda reflected recognition of the need to give the development of Africa a high priority. It also reflected profound recognition of the crisis on that continent, and the fact that new machinery and new directions were needed. That was still true.
She said some African countries had showed signs of economic recovery, but the burdens of the external debt, economic dependence on the export of a small number of commodities, the pressures of population growth and serious environmental problems such as desertification reflected the global marginalization of some countries. Some countries had taken initiatives to develop, but in many, the burden of debt had diverted resources from the economy. Protection from those burdens, and from the requirements of the international financial institutions, was needed. Targeted levels of overseas development assistance should be met. Africa, she asserted, was a continent of tremendous potential.
FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said that economic diversification was a compelling need for Africa, as its continued reliance on a small number of products had left it vulnerable to the fast-changing market of the world economy. He said the work of the Common Fund for Commodities in contributing to economic diversification for Africa needed to be encouraged.
Without trained, healthy and productive men and women, economic growth and progress in Africa would be impossible. The continued development crisis of Africa had seriously hampered its strides in this human resource development. Africa's debts were a major blow to its ability to recover and
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develop. An effective solution to multilateral debts must encompass a greater number of countries.
He said indications of recent growth shown by some African countries was not yet evidence of a pattern that could be sustained or emulated by other African countries, particularly the least developed among them. Africa's inability to maximize the benefits of its foreign trade could not be allowed to persist if the continent was to realize sustained economic growth and development.
RENATO R. MARTINO, Observer for the Holy See, said the action programme of the World Summit for Social Development merited greater attention. Many ideas had been put forward, in many cases with limited results. Improvements had taken place, but they were often too slow. In some parts of Africa, things had actually become worse. Since independence, countries had turned for guidance and growth to donor nations, often their former colonial rulers and to international financial institutions. Guidance had become a kind of economic receivership.
He said policies were often decided in a cycle of meetings with international agencies, banks, donors and creditors. Low rates of growth resulted in criticism and decreased assistance. They were actually linked to factors such as low rates of foreign investment. Africa was capable of growth, given rates of foreign investment in growing countries. The key to growth was granting producers and consumers incentives and providing safety nets in certain cases. Foreign assistance was sometimes questioned, but to achieve positive growth rates aid should be generous for a period of time and not reduced.
He said experience taught that when developing countries grew richer, it was not at the expense of the wealthier nations. If anything, the opposite was true. Developing countries also benefited when the others improved economically. He said foreign aid should not be overburdened with conditions and linkages, which today was so often the case.
He referred to the ongoing discussion regarding population issues and development and growth. While documentation on the issue clearly favoured population control, there was a lack of consensus on the issue. Specialists had not yet arrived at a conclusion.
Human beings were the potential valuable resource of Africa, he went on. Lack of peace had diminished development. The New Agenda stated that development was a fundamental human right.
IBRAHIMA SY, speaking for the Organization of African Unity (OAU), said the mid-term review had once again demonstrated the spirit of partnership for
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development which had evolved in the United Nations over the years. There was a clear understanding of what African countries themselves had done since the adoption of the programme. Some positive results had been produced, some basis for sustainable economic growth had been laid. But the problems of economic development remained acute.
At the same time, he went on, the review had acknowledged the commitment of the international community and the transformation of the international economy, the globalization and liberalization of which tended to marginalize the economically weak countries. The consolidation of the gains realized would be difficult without greater commitment and support from the international community. The implementation of the objectives of the New Agenda should consist in the prioritization of strategies for development.
The question of external trade was a cardinal one. The international community should effectively support African efforts at trade facilitation and market access. That process should be complemented by adequate support for the diversification of African economies. States participant in the African Development Fund would go a long way in assisting trade expansion by making adequate special contributions to finance the preparatory phase of commodity diversification projects and programmes.
The promotion of sustainable economic growth and sustained development in African countries during the remaining lifespan of the New Agenda might well hinge on the extent to which the question of resource flows was adequately addressed by the international community. New additional resources were urgently needed, and more efforts were needed to alleviate the debt burden of indebted countries. The initiative for heavily indebted poor countries was a step in the right direction, and the OAU would welcome substantial contributions to it by the creditor countries and international financial institutions. The conditions imposed through the initiative should not be too stringent, so as to ensure that the more indebted African countries could benefit from it.
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