SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS BEST WAY OF ENSURING PEACE IN AFRICA, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS AT SECURITY COUNCIL MINISTERIAL MEETING
Press Release
SG/SM/6335
SC/6421
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS BEST WAY OF ENSURING PEACE IN AFRICA, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS AT SECURITY COUNCIL MINISTERIAL MEETING
19970925 Calling for Greater Assistance, Says Development Not Possible without Peace; Peace Note Durable without DevelopmentFollowing is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statement delivered this morning at the Security Council's ministerial meeting on the situation in Africa:
I welcome your decision to hold a ministerial meeting of this Council on Africa. Africa, and Africa's relations with the rest of the world, are changing. Many developments are positive. It is, therefore, timely and appropriate for the international community to examine carefully how best it can support and assist Africa at this time of change and of hope.
Ten years ago, many African countries were in crisis. Bloody conflicts raged in various parts of the continent. Economies stagnated. The spectre of famine, malnutrition and disease stalked several African countries.
But now Africa has turned an important corner. Africa is rediscovering stability. Investment is returning to many African countries. Millions of Africans are recovering hope for themselves and their families as reform helps bring growth to African economies.
There is a new drive to democracy in much of Africa. Multiparty elections have underpinned democratic rule in some countries. In others, the democratization process is under way. The link between the democratization process and efforts to ensure social justice and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is recognized and understood.
The Swahili proverb says, "you cannot turn the wind, so turn the sail". Africans are working the winds of change blowing around our globe, and they are beginning to reap the benefits.
As a result, there is a shift in perceptions. There is a new consensus that the primary responsibility for the solution of Africa's problems rests with Africans themselves as we have heard from President Mugabe.
This new realization also calls for a re-evaluation of the role of the international community in support of Africa's goals. It places responsibilities as much on the shoulders of governments outside Africa as on African governments.
It challenges us to rethink precisely how best we can accompany the Africans on their path to lasting peace, stability, justice, and sustainable development.
In place of interventionism, it promises a mature relationship based on mutual support and trust. In place of papers, studies and document, it offers the prospects of targeted assistance and support based on common goals and shared analysis.
Formidable challenges remain. Despite all the advances that have been made, armed conflict, political instability and retreats from democracy are still preventing some African countries from moving forward. Too often, economic development remains fragile. In some parts of the continent, vast movements of refugees and displaced persons continue. In some African countries, political instability and conflict have worsened. Nationalism is on the rise in some countries with cleavages between ethnic groups, as they battle as much for economic as for political power. Internal conflicts are threatening the cohesion, and even the survival, of those countries.
The challenges of development are formidable. Of the 48 least developed countries, 33 are in Africa. This year's Human Development Repot from UNDP shows that of the 45 countries in the "low human development" category, 35 are in Africa. Statistics reveal that the gains of the 1960s and 1970s have been reversed in a number of African countries.
There have been falls in per capita income, in the number of people with access to clean water, sanitation, and health services, in school enrolment and in life expectancy.
Africa is the only region of the world where -- if present trends continue -- poverty is expected to increase in the next century.
We have dissected and debated Africa, and studied and summarized its challenges, for decades. Now is the time for action.
We -- and I speak not only of this Council, but of the United Nations and the international community generally -- must respond promptly and effectively to Africa's call. We must do so with specific measures and clear proposals for action.
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This is our agenda.
I, for my part, will continue to bring to the attention of the Security Council developments relating to peace and security that require timely action, to prevent conflicts escalating.
After the unprecedented humanitarian crises of recent years, preventive diplomacy is not an option: it is a vital necessity. That is why I ask you to support the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in its efforts to strengthen its capacity for preventive diplomacy.
We have established a close partnership between the Organization for African Unity and the United Nations. We can, therefore, build on very firm foundations.
The OAU has opted to concentrate on preventive diplomacy and peacemaking; the United Nations has experience and pre-eminence in peacekeeping, peace-enforcement and peace-building. In several countries, United Nations peacekeepers are helping to ensure that armed conflict is replaced by the search for peace. Regional efforts have been important, notably in Liberia and in the Republic of the Congo. The United Nations has worked to support these efforts. I believe that there is scope for enhanced partnership between regional organizations and the United Nations in African peacekeeping.
I welcome the initiatives of interested Member States to strengthen Africa's peacekeeping capacity. With your continued moral and material support, and undertaken in consultation with the OAU, such activities are beginning to make a real difference to Africa's capacity for peacekeeping.
Peace-building embraces a wide range of activities, including rehabilitation, reconstruction, maintenance of law and order, and good governance. But the crucial underlying need is for security in the lives of ordinary people -- security in the form of access to health, education, clean water, and a decent standard of living.
Security is no longer confined to preventing invasions. True security is built on a firm foundation of sustainable development.
The pursuit of peace and security, and the building of societies based on justice, democracy and human rights, are not mutually exclusive. They are mutually supportive and reinforcing.
Indeed, the goals of our Charter cannot be placed in orders of priority. We have to pursue peace and security, and economic and social development,
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together and at the same time. Without peace, development is not possible; without development, peace is not durable.
Because the best way of ensuring peace and security in Africa is to promote sustainable development, I urge you to do all in your power to increase official development assistance to African countries.
Africans and African governments share the primary responsibility, which is to mobilize and maximize their internal resources. But, over and above the increasing flows of inward private investment, external financing -- from both public and private sources -- will continue to be of vital importance for years to come.
Only a comprehensive approach -- combining poverty eradication and growth -- will succeed. Growth-oriented strategies need to ensure that the results of growth are equitably distributed. To alleviate poverty in the short run, and eradicate absolute poverty, development assistance should be directed to the poor rural areas. Greater resources must be allocated to health, education, water supply and other basic infrastructure, as well as capacity-building and job-generating activities.
That is the approach of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, or what we call UN-NADAF. It is being put into effect by the United Nations system's operational arm and through the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa.
More assistance should be given to African countries to help create an enabling environment -- that will release the creative and entrepreneurial energies of their citizens, their non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and society at large.
If Africa is to face the challenges of the global economy, including the need to diversify its economies, secure wider access to existing markets, and develop new markets, external assistance will be needed. Legal frameworks, infrastructure, education and training, transparency in business and in government affairs -- all have a part to play. Technical assistance and advice in such fields can make a crucial difference.
Another urgent priority is to relieve African countries of their heavy debt-service burden. The initiative of Bretton Woods institutions for the Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) is a step in the right direction. But more needs to done.
Members of the Group of Seven have expressed support for Africa's development agenda. They have called for a new partnership involving
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developed and developing nations and the multilateral institutions. I welcome these initiatives. The United Nations stands ready to contribute to their speedy implementation.
We have a wealth of international instruments, agreed at the intergovernmental level, focusing on African development and priorities. Development is a necessity in itself; it is also the only effective, long-term guarantee of lasting peace and security on the African continent.
These are my views and my proposals. I stand ready to take whatever action the Council may require of me.
Africa is showing the way. Today, the international community is called to action. Let us work together in response. Let us respond by producing an operational agenda, with clear and specific steps which we can take.
Let us not only pledge, but also act, to work better together, with Africa, and for Africa.
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