GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF CAUSES OF CONFLICT, PROMOTION OF DURABLE PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Press Release
GA/9803

GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF CAUSES OF CONFLICT, PROMOTION OF DURABLE PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Twenty Speakers Address Issues of Effective Conflict Settlement, Gap between Initiatives and Results, Paucity of Development Resources

The General Assembly this morning began its consideration of the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, with 20 speakers addressing a wide range of issues, among them the gap between the number of initiatives proposed for Africa and the lack of results, the need for the effective settlement of conflicts and the paucity of attention and resources directed to Africa compared to other efforts –- such as Europe in 1945.

The representative of Egypt told the Assembly that there had been many development initiatives for Africa in recent years, but results had fallen short. Indebtedness, poverty, disease and the shortfall in official development assistance (ODA) represented abnormal obstacles preventing achievement of the limited aspirations of the people of the African continent. As Africa faced the challenges of development, it was in need of an effective settlement of conflicts by the United Nations. The Secretary-General had shown that the real problem of conflict settlement was not the absence of the early-warning mechanism, but the need to respond to the warnings with speedy and effective measures.

Speaking on behalf of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the representative of Togo said that one could not talk about progress without stating that Africa was trying, through OAU mechanisms, to create conditions conducive to sustainable development. Africa had created conflict management systems, such as early-warning mechanisms, but those mechanisms needed financial support. Despite renewed interest of the Security Council in Africa, the continent had the greatest number of deadly conflicts and refugees. Any action to implement the Secretary- General’s recommendations regarding sustainable development in Africa was going to fail without peace and stability on the continent. Political will from both African countries and the international community was necessary, he said.

India's representative said Africa’s problems were not unique. The same problems had bedevilled countries in similar situations, in Europe and elsewhere, many times before. The solutions to those problems, therefore, had to be the same that were found for Europe after 1945, namely, aid, development, trade and cooperation. The crucial difference was that while a devastated Europe had received a generous and sustained infusion of capital under the Marshall Plan,

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resurgent Africa had seen prospects for its development and growth denied by a paucity of financial resources. Further, the issue of debt-cancellation deserved special consideration. Many African countries had been trapped in a debt-cycle, whereby even new aid was given to service existing debt stock.

The representative of Angola pointed to the need to strengthen implementation of decisions taken by the international community. One concrete example was in Angola and the many Security Council resolutions aimed at putting an end to the conflict. If they had been effectively implemented by concerned States, life would have been better for all Angolans. The same could be said of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and other African countries.

The representative of the United States said that, although there was a relationship between poverty and conflict, the issue in Africa was much more complex than one of simple cause and effect. Some of Africa’s most tragic countries were some of the world’s richest in natural resources, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Angola. On the other hand, some of its poorest were at peace, as was the case in Mali, where the people were building democracy without the challenge of armed conflict. She did not accept the view that attributed conflicts to ethnic hatreds, since there were no genetic codes for violence and conflict. Cynical leaders -- those who sought to exploit others for personal gain -– were responsible for the violence.

The representatives of Singapore, France (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), China, Senegal, United Republic of Tanzania, Malaysia, Algeria, Norway, Colombia, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Botswana and Argentina also spoke.

The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. to continue consideration of the subject.

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Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to take up admission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to membership in the United Nations and consideration of causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.

The Assembly had before it a draft resolution (document A/55/L.23) in which it would decide to admit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to membership in the United Nations. The draft is sponsored by Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

The Assembly also had before it a note by the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (document A/55/431). According to the note, an open-ended ad hoc working group to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by the Secretary-General in his report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace in Africa (A/52/871-S/1998/318), which had been submitted to the Security Council in April 1998, had been established. The working group which was chaired by the President of the fifty-fourth General Assembly, Theo-Ben Guirirab (Namibia) and held a total of 14 meetings, prepared and adopted a substantive report on its work. That report (document A/55/45) covers the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General in such areas as: peacemaking and peacekeeping; protection of civilians in armed conflicts; refugee security issues; mitigating the social and environmental impact of refugees; post-conflict peace-building; financing recovery; working towards a coordinated response; promotion of human rights and the rule of law; the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women; emphasizing social development; food security; debt relief; opening international markets; support for regional cooperation; and harmonizing current international and bilateral initiatives.

The report also highlights the obstacles to the effective implementation of the recommendations in the areas of political will, governance, armed conflict, financial resources, human resource capacity, public health, private sector and structure of economies, access to technology and coordination.

The report concludes with observations for further action in poverty eradication, debt relief, financing for development, HIV/AIDS and malaria, conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building, refugees and internally displaced persons, coordination and the need for follow-up.

In the need for follow up, the working group proposes that: its mandate be extended to enable a review of the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General; benchmarks be developed to assess impact and measure performance; and a limited number of thematic working groups be established to make specific proposals on a number of remaining issues that were not covered in the previous three sessions of the working group, or which have not been adequately discussed.

Statements

AHMED ABOULGHEIT (Egypt) said many initiatives and thoughts for supporting African development had been developed over the last years, but results had fallen short. Despite the fact that the development of any society fell on the shoulders of that society, that society would not be able to do so, as long as the international community was not willing to help. Indebtedness, poverty, disease and shortfall of official development assistance (ODA) all represented abnormal obstacles preventing achievement of the limited aspirations of the people of the African continent. Neither the historical origin of those crises and conflicts nor the role of the former imperial forces in demarcations of borders and fomenting ethnic strife should be ignored.

He did not accept the claims blaming the tribal nature of the African people for the crises in development and causes of conflict in Africa. Furthermore, he did not accept the claims that there was an absence of so-called good governance. If there were any truth to those claims, then the whole picture had also to be considered. As Africa was facing the challenges of development, it was in need of an effective settlement of conflicts by the United Nations. The Secretary-General had shown that the real problem of conflict settlement was not in the absence of the early warning mechanism, but in the need to react to warnings with speedy and effective measures, something which had not been done so far. He hoped that the United Nations would take the events that had recently picked up speed on the borders of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia -- a new regional conflict -- seriously.

More than two-and-a-half years ago, the Secretary-General had issued a report on the causes of conflict in Africa, he said. Since then, there had been many developments, such as an increased determination by Africa itself, for settlement of disputes on its own. That determination had been seen on more than one occasion, such as in the involvement of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Sierra Leone, and the activities of President Nelson Mandela in Burundi. Egypt had always supported those efforts, but reiterated that an increasing African role should not spare the United Nations and the Security Council of its responsibilities and should not marginalize the role of the international organizations. There was a great gap between the commitment of the international community and the actual steps taken by the international community to overcome the root causes of conflicts. The open-ended working group had underlined that there was an absence of sincere political will by the international community. He hoped that the United Nations reaction to the conflict in Sierra Leone would be the rule, and not the exception.

KISHORE MAHBUBANI (Singapore) began by offering his condolences to families who lost their loved ones in the crash of the Singapore Airlines aircraft in Taipei. He began his formal remarks by thanking the President of the fifty-fourth General Assembly, for inviting him to serve as a co-vice-chair of the open-ended ad hoc working group on the causes of conflict in Africa. The mandate of the working group was to monitor the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s April 1988 report, as well as proposals made by the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session in 1999. The working group’s final session was spent negotiating the final report, and the group had been pleased to reach a consensus. The good news was that there was now near universal recognition that Africa had special needs. The bad news was that there seemed to be little tangible progress on the ground.

Africa, as a whole, held 13 per cent of the world’s population, but only 2 per cent of its economic output, he continued. Africa was also the region in the world that was likely to almost double its population in the next 25 years. Today, at least 45 per cent of Africans lived in poverty, barely surviving on less than $1 a day. Two hundred million Africans had no access to health facilities while 2 million children died before the age of five. It was estimated that African countries needed annual growth rates of 7 per cent or more to eliminate poverty in 15 years, the goal that had been set by the Secretary-Generals’ Millennium Report. However, African countries were only growing at an average of 3 per cent annually. Those were depressing statistics. More had to be done to reverse those trends.

There had been a lot of significant new initiatives on Africa; for example, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the recent Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area. Some effort should be made to coordinate all those initiatives and to ensure that they worked together to help Africa. The key test of the success of the working group, as well as of that and other initiatives, was that it must show substantive results on the ground. Enough papers had been written on Africa’s needs. The time had come for concrete results. Success would ultimately be possible only if the global community became stakeholders in Africa’s progress. In a shrinking globe, as the international community moved towards becoming a true global village, no section of the village community could afford to be left behind. He urged all members of the global community to participate more actively in the working group on Africa and hoped that it would not suffer the fate of similar working groups.

JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE (France) spoke on behalf of the European Union and associated States, which aligned themselves with his present statement on the report of the working group. He reiterated the importance attached by the European Union to establishing an integrated approach to Africa, one that must effectively take into account the political, social and economic dimensions of conflict prevention and resolution. That was one of the essential recommendations of the Secretary-General’s Report on Africa in April 1998, and had been highlighted by the Brahimi Report on United Nations Peace Operations: development without peace was no more possible than peace without development.

The working group had made intelligent and intensive use of the Internet, and its proceedings were published on a web site enabling delegations to keep themselves constantly abreast of the progress of discussions. On the content of the working group’s report, the Union regretted that sufficiently strong emphasis had not yet been placed on the decisive issue of conflict prevention. The United Nations must provide more and better support for regional efforts towards peace and security, including making financial or human resources available. The European Union, for its part, had played an active role in the mediation exercise conducted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict, and intended to continue with that effort.

Initiatives taken by the Security Council for gaining a better understanding of the economic origins and commercial aspects of certain African crises were fully supported by the Union, which took note of the establishment of the follow- up mechanism for the implementation of sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the setting up of panels to investigate the illegal exploitation of the resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to inquire into illegal trafficking in diamonds and arms in Sierra Leone. He said the European Union hoped for better coordination of all those initiatives within an expert structure. In regard to the comments of the working group on debt, the Union considered the reinforced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative to be an essential element in combating poverty and attaining the objectives of sustainable development. In conclusion, he called on eligible countries to implement their international political commitments and to take the political and economic measures needed to engage in that process.

BETTY E. KING (United States) said that the report of the Secretary-General was a broad investigation of the roots of conflict and a host of other ills that continued to bedevil the African continent. While conflict had existed on every continent, it appeared particularly acute in Africa. Although there was a relationship between poverty and conflict, the issue was much more complex than one of simple cause and effect, she pointed out. Some of Africa’s most tragic countries were some of the world’s richest in natural resources, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Angola; on the other hand, some of its poorest were at peace, as was the case in Mali, where the people were building democracy without the challenge of armed conflict.

She did not accept the view that attributed conflicts to ethnic hatreds, since there were no “genetic codes for violence and conflict”. Her Government felt that cynical leaders -- those who sought to exploit others for personal gain and who chose to exacerbate and magnify minor differences within humanity for their own ambitions -- were responsible for the violence. Nor did religious differences cause conflict in Africa: until very recently, for example, there had never been any tensions between Christians and Moslems in Côte d’Ivoire. But unscrupulous leaders often tried to create sectarian violence as a means of political influence, which was an indictment of those individuals, not of the of millions faithful who lived in harmony. Similarly, the idea that colonial boundaries made conflict inevitable did not produce violence in Zambia, while its neighbours were wracked by conflicts.

The United States called upon African people in conflict situations to ask, among other things, why parliamentarians did not question the commitment of State resources to conflict; why courts did not insist on investigating charges of human rights abuses; why newspapers and radio stations did not ask who had made the decision to go to war; why civil society did not tell armed movements to lay down their weapons; and why opposition political parties did not demand votes of confidence in governments that made war. She felt the United Nations and the Security Council could address the effects of conflicts and even alleviate many of their symptoms. But it was only through the advancement of the universal principle of accountable governance that the international community could live up to the principles embodied in the United Nations Charter.

SHEN GUOFANG (China) said the African economy had looked up in recent years. However, according to statistics, the general situation in Africa was still cause for concern, and the gap between its development level and that of the world, as a whole, continued to widen. Given the opportunities and potentials brought about by globalization, it was a shame that the vast majority of African countries had been excluded from globalization, marginalized or even forced to bear the negative impact of the process, something that no one could accept with peace of mind. On the one hand, African countries should bear the responsibility for their own prosperity, stability and development. On the other, it was also a common task of the international community.

The international community must pay attention to the special needs of Africa and help African countries to integrate into the world economy and achieve economic growth and sustainable development. In discussions of international, financial and trade policies, it was extremely important to ensure the participation of African countries and the protection of their interests. There should be a stronger flow of funds to Africa, and steps must be taken to increase market access for African countries. External debts of African countries must be further reduced or cancelled, and real actions must be taken to promote the transfer of technology, including efforts to create digital opportunities for African countries. It was important that the great number of proposals on the issue of Africa be sorted out and narrowed down, so that there could be a fuller use of precious resources, an improvement in efficiency and the right conditions for African development.

At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China had undertaken to provide, within its capacity, all forms of assistance and aid to African countries, in accordance with their specific economic conditions. China had also undertaken to reduce or cancel debts amounting to 10 billion RMB yuan owed by the heavily- indebted poor countries in the coming two years. China would also set aside special funds to support and encourage investment by Chinese enterprises in African countries. An African Human Resources Development Fund would also be established to increase cooperation in the fields of human resources development, science and technology, and education. He hoped that the Forum would make great contributions to peace and development in Africa.

ROLAND KPOTSRA (Togo), speaking on behalf of the President of the OAU, said this was the third time the Assembly had considered the agenda item. This year, it was discussing the item in light of the report of the open-ended working group, but the discussion would also take place in the context of references made to Africa in the Millennium Declaration. The working group had arrived at the conclusion that, despite progress made, there were still many obstacles to overcome in order to implement effectively the recommendations of the Secretary- General. New guidelines were necessary in order to outline ways to implement those recommendations quickly, and innovative solutions were needed.

There was a new dynamic in the Security Council concerning peacekeeping and peacemaking in Africa. It was revealing that the Council was trying to acquire greater knowledge of the continent by missions and direct dialogue. Any action to implement the Secretary-General’s recommendations regarding sustainable development in Africa were going to fail, unless there were peace and stability on the continent. Political will from both Africans and the international community was necessary, he said..

One could not talk about progress without stating that Africa was trying, through OAU mechanisms, to create conditions conducive to sustainable development. Africa had created conflict management mechanisms, such as early warning systems. Those mechanisms needed financial support, however. Despite the renewed interest of the Security Council in Africa, the continent had the most deadly conflicts and the most refugees. The partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Bank had not particularly improved the situation of refugees. It was disturbing to see the imbalance between care for refugees in Africa and in the rest of the world.

The relief of African debt was one area where recommendations had begun to be implemented. He recognized that, in recent years, the international community had striven to find right solutions for debt servicing. Those solutions, however, would not enable sub-Saharan countries to spend the bulk of their resources on basic social services, because debt reimbursements diverted resources from them. The HIPC Debt Initiative should be accorded to all African countries. Lack of financial resources was the greatest obstacles to Africa’s development. The ODA had been declining since 1990, and the trend was continuing. It was encouraging that some countries had reached or gone beyond the goal of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP), and he urged all donor countries to raise their ODA levels. He also urged that the mandate of the open-ended working group be extended, and he welcomed the Economic and Social Council initiative to plan for a high-level segment on the role of the United Nations system in African development.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said that from the conclusions of the working group, it could be seen that important progress had been made with regard to the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s report. Progress in the domain of peace-building, the protection of human rights and social development objectives, access to markets, the alleviation of the debt, and in the process of cooperation and regional integration was all noteworthy. Those achievements should, of course, be stressed, but the international community should also take into account the factors still impeding development in Africa. There were many obstacles preventing the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General. They included lack of political will on the part of the international community, insufficient resources and capacities, the persistence of internal or inter-State armed conflicts and the weakness of the national private sector.

There was no doubt that at the national level African countries should invest more in good governance, the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It was equally important that regional and subregional mechanisms for preventative diplomacy should be operational. The signing, in Lomé last June, of the Constitution of the African Union was a major step in the right direction, which the international community should support. Furthermore, African public authorities had the responsibility to conceive and put into place durable and inclusive social development policies to reinforce gender and strive against poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Africa could not achieve those objectives in the context of armed conflicts. When the bulk of African national resources were diverted for military purposes, for example, how could Africa combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS?

The basic question was one of financing for development. That was crucial today, since ODA continued to drop in quality and in quantity. Because of limited access to private capital markets and the ODA decline, it was important that the international community should deal with that basic question. Moreover, the heavy debt burden and high tariffs continued to limit access to markets. Urgent, bold action was required to reverse that negative trend, particularly in the context of globalization. Globalization could only be beneficial if an effort was made to build a common future. That effort should produce policies and measures on a global scale, consonant with the needs of the developing countries. His delegation called for a methodical follow-up on the proposals of the working group by the General Assembly and by all the bodies within the United Nations system, which would focus on the six thematic areas selected by the working group.

DAUDI N. MWAKAWAGO (United Republic of Tanzania) believed that the root causes of Africa’s underdevelopment and conflicts were well known and understood. The challenge was the implementation of various agreed measures to address those problems. With regard to the report of the ad hoc working group, the first step was to forge a strong partnership between the international community and the countries affected by the crisis. His Government supported the call for a sustained tripartite effort by the African countries, the United Nations system and the donor community.

Tanzania felt that it was important to increase support to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution of the OAU. The fact that Africa recently established the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa was noted. However, what was needed, he said, were resources to enable those mechanisms to prepare better for the task of conflict prevention and resolution. His country supported efforts aimed at conflict resolution in the Great Lakes region, and called upon the international community to support the Lusaka Agreements on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also welcomed the agreement reached in Djibouti on the formation of the Government of Somalia, which would need assistance from all peace-loving people.

Continuing, he said, there was a direct linkage between conflicts and the incidence of refugees and internally displaced persons. It was estimated that Africa had over 7 million people who were refugees and displaced person, with Tanzania hosting more than 800,000 refugees. On the matter of ODA to Africa, he urged development partners to increase both ODA flows and investments, because many African countries had undertaken structural adjustment programmes and economic reforms. There was an urgent need to find a solution to the debt burden, which had drained valuable resources from rehabilitation and construction of essential development infrastructure and programmes aimed at poverty eradication. For there to be an accelerated development in African countries, the international community should direct its support in technology transfer and education to address the widening technological gap and the deepening digital divide between Africa and the developed world.

KAMAL YAN YAHAYA (Malaysia) said that high on the list of priorities for Africa was the need for the international community to muster the political will to assist African countries in their development efforts. Many a time, the international community had heard the call for good governance in Africa, based on the argument that responsible governance brought about the political stability, essential for Africa as it sought to attract external resources, including foreign direct investment (FDI). It was regrettable that Africa continued to be besieged by armed conflicts and the other perceived risks and instability that served to push donors and investors away from Africa. Malaysia noted from the working group’s report that, in spite of some progress on that front, a number of countries in Africa still lacked the political will to govern responsibly and to implement accords designed to resolve conflicts.

Armed conflict only served to harm Africa, resulting in more than 8 million Africans becoming refugees and internally displaced persons. In assisting Africa, the international community should seek ways and means of continuing to strengthen the early-warning capacity not only of this Organization, but also that of the OAU and the subregional organizations, to respond to conflict situations on the continent. The crucial role of African regional and subregional organizations in the field of preventative diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes could not be overemphasized. However, while Malaysia welcomed Africa’s commitment and willingness to shoulder increasing responsibility for the resolution of its own conflicts, it was important to ensure that this would not lead to an abdication of the Security Council’s primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The pressing concerns regarding United Nations involvement in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, must be adequately addressed.

There could not be peace without development, he continued. With a population close to 800 million, Africa remained the world’s poorest region. Poverty eradication should continue to be high on the agenda, as poverty only impeded efforts at long-term peace and security. Crippling external debts, limited market access, declining share of FDI and marginalization from global capital markets were just some of the factors impeding Africa’s growth. Malaysia joined the call for the international community to assist Africa in a more sustained fashion. Clearly, Africa continued to need development assistance. It did not help matters when Africa, already marginalized from international private capital as a result of perceived risks, was further burdened by a declining ODA. Only a handful of countries had consistently met or exceeded the target of 0.7 per cent of GNP, as agreed to at the 1992 Rio Summit. That was, indeed, regrettable, and vigorous and committed efforts must be put in place to reverse the trend.

ABDELKADER MESDOUA (Algeria) said the main obstacle to implementation of the Secretary-General’s recommendations seemed to be the lack of political will to work for peace and sustainable development in Africa. The international community had not fully gauged the existing challenges in Africa. The Secretary-General had said the continent was always faced with problems of unprecedented complexity. It was true that the situation in Africa was still one of the highest of United Nations priorities, but that concern should not be limited to discussions in the international community. Concrete actions were needed.

He reiterated his country’s appeal for a more consistent involvement of the international community in overall efforts to preserve peace and security in the African continent. It should show greater solidarity by participating more consistently in United Nations operations in Africa. The African States had shown willingness to assume responsibility by playing an important part in maintaining peace in Africa. It was obvious that the needed requirements for that effort exceeded the means of African countries. Post-conflict countries needed special programmes for avoiding a resurgence of the conflict. The integration of veterans would greatly contribute to the success of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes.

He stressed the weight of external debt and debt servicing. It was a key question, and its solution would have a decisive impact on development efforts in Africa. The ravages of HIV/AIDS were a challenge and threat to the stability of many countries on the African continent. The international community should take urgent action commensurate with the challenge. He felt that, after one year of the working group’s existence, its mandate should be extended under the authority of the President of the Assembly. The group should establish thematic working groups to review those issues not analysed sufficiently in previous sessions. It would be useful for one of those sub-groups to focus on the definitions of parameters and indicators to measure progress achieved.

J. CHITHARANJAN (India) said Africa’s problems were not unique, and they were not problems because they were African. They were problems that had bedevilled countries in similar situations, in Europe and elsewhere, many times before. The solutions had to be the same as those that were found for Europe after 1945, namely, aid, development, trade and cooperation. The crucial difference was that while a devastated Europe received a generous and sustained infusion of capital under the Marshall plan, resurgent Africa had seen prospects for its development and growth denied by a paucity of financial resources. He said economic growth over the last decade in Africa had been neither strong nor sustained enough to increase per capita income and to achieve substantial and sustained reduction in poverty levels. Without growth, there could be no increase in household or government spending, in private or public capital formation, in health or social welfare.

He said he issue of debt-cancellation deserved special consideration. Clearly, deteriorating social spending was largely due to rising claims of interest payments on public debt. Many African countries had been trapped in a debt-cycle whereby even new aid was given to service existing debt stock. This was clearly unacceptable. Additional resources, apart from ODA, were urgently required to finance fully the envisaged debt-cancellation. Africa desperately needed funds not only for development but also to further its valiant efforts in staunching corruption and to ensure that bribes of a corrupt international economic system did not impair the development of the honest people of the continent.

African countries, he went on, were basically primary produce exporters who had suffered sharp deterioration in terms of trade. Tariff peaks, tariff escalation, and agricultural support policies and restrictive agricultural safeguards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries severely impeded the development of export-oriented growth of many African nations. How could an African farmer compete with his western counterpart when the latter received an average annual subsidy of $25,000 in 1996 and when the OECD spends more than Africa’s total gross domestic product (GDP) to subsidize it farmers?

It had been estimated, he said, that as a result of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade negotiations, Africa stood to lose up to $1.2 billion every year. Effective actions must be taken to redress this situation.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said economic growth in Africa was not keeping pace with population growth. Most African countries were far behind the 7 per cent annual growth rate required to reduce poverty by 50 per cent by the year 2015. Armed conflict was a major reason for the slow economic growth in many African countries. There was an urgent need for a stronger commitment, both from the African countries and their leaders, as well as from the United Nations and the international community at large.

He noted with appreciation that important progress had recently been made with regard to resolving some of the ongoing conflicts in Africa. It was, however, important that the political leaders followed up such progress with the necessary commitment and political will. Only then could the international community be able to provide the necessary resources to create a basis for a sustainable development.

Poverty was both a cause and effect of conflicts, he said. The ongoing efforts in many countries to develop their own strategies for poverty reduction must be actively supported. Furthermore bilateral donors must ensure that their activities were well coordinated with the work of the multilateral institutions, and within an overall framework. The Norwegian Government was determined to go beyond the current 0.9 per cent ratio of ODA to GDP, raising the level to 1 per cent.

He said health was an essential factor for development. It was a tragic fact that more than 23 million Africans today lived with HIV/AIDS, and the economies of many African countries were seriously threatened by the outbreak. If unchecked, it was estimated that HIV/AIDS, over the next 20 years, would reduce the economies of the sub-Saharan Africa by a quarter. In some of the hard-hit countries, life expectancy had already been reduced by as much as 20 years. Norway had decided to double the funding for HIV/AIDS programmes and to give priority to that issue in cooperation with development partners. He said Norway would also increase significantly its contribution to combat tuberculosis and other preventable diseases prevalent in many parts of Africa. It had recently pledged $110 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, in order to save and protect the health of some 25 million poor children who annually failed to receive immunization against easily preventable diseases.

ALFONSO VALDIVIESO (Colombia) said the achievement of a durable peace in Africa was an aspiration of all members of the international community, especially the peoples of Africa who each day suffered the impact of conflicts in their daily lives. He said Colombia regarded the working group’s activities as a contribution to the cause of peace in Africa, and he commended the chairman and co-chairmen of the group for the excellent conduct of their deliberations.

He said his Government was pleased by two pan-African initiatives to overcome adverse conditions and regain peace on the continent. He cited the decision, adopted by the heads of State and the OAU, to create the African Economic Community as a platform to build a better future and link countries, and also the Action Plan on security, development and cooperation in Africa, elaborated in the Ministerial Conference of Abuja in May this year. That initiative deserved the full support of the international community, he added.

He said Colombia took note of measures within the United Nations system to promote cooperation with African countries, as indicated in the working group’s report. He supported the high level discussions scheduled for next year, and the decision for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to lead on the dilemmas of food security and agricultural development in the Horn of Africa.

In the matter of post-conflict countries, he said Colombia urged acceptance of the recommendation to the General Assembly for the Economic and Social Council to develop a consultative group to examine the needs of those countries with especially fragile infrastructures. On the issue of foreign debt and international trade, he said his country believed the heavily indebted poor nations should receive special attention. The Government of Colombia recommended the extension of the working group’s mandate to further evaluate the Secretary- General’s report on Africa of 1998. BADER MOHAMMAD E. AL-AWDI (Kuwait) said that his delegation had followed the discussions on Africa since 1997 and had advocated the fact that initiatives in Africa needed to be sustainable and implementable. His delegation had followed the work of the ad hoc working group and supported the majority of its contents. His Government had reached some primary convictions with regard to promoting development in Africa. It was important that the follow–up to initiatives taken for development in Africa be undertaken by one organ inside the United Nations, and that international efforts inside the United Nations be coordinated.

The role of the African States was critical in realizing stability, he continued. He shared the view that the political will must be provided by the African States, the United Nations and the donor countries. Debt relief was vital in order to assist the continent in its development. The international community must steer away from complicated development programmes that were not commensurate with the actual reality in Africa. His Government had always been keen to move within its capacity to assist. A significant percentage of Kuwaiti development assistance was directed to Africa, and Kuwait had provided low interest loans to several African States. The international community must make its approach towards Africa a positive example, to be emulated in the future.

MOHAMMED ABDUS SHAHID (Bangladesh) said that he welcomed the initiatives taken by the Security Council with regard to Africa. A comprehensive response to Africa’s complex and interrelated security and development challenges was needed. The prevention of conflict began and ended with the promotion of human security and human development. Like in other places, conflicts in Africa had their roots in social discrimination, economic deprivation and the lack of accountability in the use of political power. At the same time, the colonial legacy, and its continuation under different forms and manifestations, was still at work. That legacy prevented social and political assimilation and equitable distribution of resources.

There was little justification in lamenting human and material loss in conflicts in Africa and elsewhere, when political divisions in every society were feeding today’s violence, he said. The report outlined the area in which action was to be taken at the national and international level. Bangladesh believed that no domestic efforts could be successful in the developing countries, in Africa in particular, unless those were matched and supported by the international community. He called upon creditor countries to make a firm commitment to take action to write off the HIPC debt in a timely way, consistent with the urgent need for poverty eradication and enhanced economic growth in Africa.

Bangladesh had been a major contributor in almost all peacekeeping and peacemaking efforts of the United Nations in the African continent, he said. His country and many African countries had had a similar struggle for independence and still shared similar values of life and outlook on the contemporary global situation. On the economic front, most of the African countries were least developed countries, leading to a shared common experience and common goals in the struggle to foster a stable social order, economic development and political independence.

SHAMSHAD AHMAD (Pakistan) said that the number of programmes of action adopted on Africa were perhaps higher than the number of such programmes adopted for any other region of the world. Yet, the overall situation on the African continent had not improved over the last two decades. The maladies of underdevelopment were not peculiar to Africa. Many regions of the world had overcome those difficulties and so could Africa. The international community must lend its full support to the regional and national efforts of the twin goals of peace and development. Africa could not face those challenges alone. That required a concerted international effort at two levels. In the first instance, there was a need to focus on the underlying political and security aspects of the instability in that continent. In parallel, economic and social problems afflicting parts of Africa needed to be tackled through a comprehensive assistance programme with adequate resources.

Pakistan had consistently supported United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, and had participated on a large scale in those operations, he said. Its military and civilian personnel had participated in United Nations operations in Somalia, Namibia, Liberia, Western Sahara, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As in the past, Pakistan would continue to lend its moral and material support to the development efforts of African countries. Pakistan’s Technical Assistance Programme for Africa was an ongoing process of training young professionals in diverse fields. As soon as the South Institute of Information Technology was established, Pakistan would be in a position to offer special facilities in information technology for students from Africa.

Despite the commitment to the cause of development in Africa, he continued, one of the major obstacles to the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General had been identified as a lack of political will. The international community had to re-dedicate itself to bringing the continent out of the quagmire of poverty and underdevelopment. Without ODA, increased investment, durable solutions to the external debt burden, market access to products and services from the African region, and the integration of the African countries into the global economy, efforts for the achievement of durable peace and sustainable development were not likely to make an impact.

JOAQUIM A.B.B. MANGUEIRA (Angola) said that the main goal of the working group was to seek modalities for further action to prevent conflicts in Africa, in order to promote peace, security and economic growth in that part of the world. Another task of the working group was to draw more attention to strengthening the mechanisms of implementation. The situation in Africa would have changed for the better weapons-producing countries and the Bretton Woods institutions had participated in working groups meetings. One concrete example -- the Security Council’s many resolutions to put an end to the Angolan conflict. If they had been fully implemented by concerned States and supervised more effectively, they could have made life better for all Angolans. The same situation could be found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and other African countries.

He said it was important not only to adopt a good resolution, but to reinforce the implementation mechanism of the decision, including sanctions, in order to be more effective. The development of Africa covered all areas of social life, such as politics, economics, social welfare, peace and stability. To achieve that, African States needed financial resources. It was necessary to find a way in which African countries could better benefit from FDI to be used in public health, development of the economy, human resource capacity, and education and poverty eradication.

He said that the report did not sufficiently consider the role of African organizations at the regional and subregional levels in the development process and the elimination of the causes of conflict in Africa. Those organizations played an important role in the matter, especially in the field of peace, settlement of disputes among member States and in the creation of conditions for regional cooperation on a single African economic market.

MOHAMMED RASHID AL-ABSI (United Arab Emirates) commended the efforts of the United Nations in helping alleviate the difficulties of Africa. The continent still suffered from obstacles that hampered its progress, such as armed conflict, increasing indebtedness, and the proliferation of dangerous diseases. Those obstacles were exacerbated by the fact that Africa could not reap the benefits of new technologies.

Despite the prominent role the United Nations had played in Africa, much remained to be done, he said. Efforts must be concerted regionally and internationally to promote African capacity-building. It was also essential that there was political will at the local level, accompanied by broader political will at the regional and international level, to contain new conflicts. Achieving a new system to avoid conflicts should be accompanied by strengthening the cooperation between the United Nations and the OAU.

Establishing a rapid response mechanism to contain conflicts was necessary. The role of the developed countries in that regard was significant, in supporting Africa through ODA, alleviating debt, improving investments and opening their markets to the products of developing countries. He hoped that the African community could overcome the obstacles hampering its progress, so that the African States could achieve the aspirations of their peoples concerning peace, stability and sustainable development.

LEUTLWETSE MMUALEFE (Botswana) said it was clear that the problems of underdevelopment and poverty afflicting many African countries were linked to both domestic and international factors and would require a holistic treatment if real and sustainable solutions were to be found. Despite the unremitting efforts by African countries to lift themselves out of difficulties and crises, only partial success had been achieved. That was, however, no surprise, because the underlying factors that influenced growth, development and peace had not yet been adequately addressed. Poverty was one such factor that caused a loss of human potential and led to the destabilization of societies. There was a pressing necessity for coordinated, cross-sectoral efforts to eradicate poverty, he said.

It was widely recognized that the full engagement of civil society organizations and the private sector was vital if the goals set out in the report, as well as those elaborated under the “United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa” were to be realized, he said. The task before the United Nations was a long and arduous one. What was required now were consolidated efforts by everyone to support the development of Africa. The United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions and the bilateral donors should aim at coordinated approaches that would have an impact on communities across the African continent.

It was evident that close monitoring and clear targets were needed if there was to be any benefit from an objective assessment of progress on the ground. That was why he believed that the working group should continue with its mandate of monitoring the progress. The continuation of the working group would allow the

General Assembly to examine other areas that were outside the mandate of the working group and also give room for the inclusion of emerging issues.

LUIS E. CAPPAGLI (Argentina) agreed with the fundamental premise of the working group’s report; that for a durable peace in Africa the minimal conditions of development must be created. The majority of African countries had made efforts to resolve disputes peacefully, to strengthen democratic institutions, to promote human rights and to reform their economies. Those tasks being carried out by the Africans themselves required help from the international community. With regard to armed conflicts, he believed that the adoption of an integrated strategy incorporating conflict prevention and resolution and post-conflict peace-building was essential. He supported strengthening the role of the OAU in the solution of African conflicts.

He stated that the world was made up of contradictions; integration and globalization co-existed with fragmentation and marginalization. Reality showed that economic prosperity co-existed with extreme poverty in some places in Africa. It was a fact that one fifth of humanity survived on $1 per day. He urged an increase in ODA, which had declined, because it was needed to combat inflation and fiscal deficits, as well as encourage savings and investment. His Government did not want development assistance confined to ODA, because African countries faced tariff barriers in international trade.

His country had shown its commitment to Africa, he said, first during the struggle against decolonization, and today when it supported the rule of law and the economic opening in the region. It had increased trade with African countries and made contributions in peacekeeping operations there, as well as in humanitarian assistance. Since 1998, his country had joined in linking three Latin American countries with 21 African States in a zone of peace and cooperation in the South Atlantic. In closing, he reiterated the importance of the role of the OAU in conflict resolution in Africa and called upon the United Nations to increase its capacity for involvement with peace and development initiatives on the African continent.

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