ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TO EMBARK ON IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION

ON RAISING AFRICA OUT OF CONFLICT, UNDER-DEVELOPMENT

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 13 July (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will embark on Monday, 16 July, on an in-depth discussion of ways and means to set Africa, a continent in the most harrowing circumstances, on the path to lasting peace and sustainable development.

With Secretary-General Kofi Annan, officials from the major financial institutions and many ministers in attendance, the Council will be seeking to “give impetus to the efforts of the United Nations, the United Nations system and the international community” to help Africa towards this dual objective.

The discussion will be taking place a few days after the end of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit meeting in Lusaka, at which the OAU paved the way for an African Union, a “historic effort,” in the words of

Mr. Annan, that “will require leadership, courage and a willingness to depart from the ways of the past, if it is to do for Africa what the European Union has done for Europe”.

In a report to the 54 member States of the Council, the Secretary-General makes no bones about the “multiple challenges” that must be tackled to set Africa on the path to development.  Echoing his sentiments, the current President of the Council, Martin Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon), describes the current situation in worrying terms.  He speaks of the need to pay special attention to the eradication of poverty against a constant setting of heavy debt burdens, stagnating or receding international development assistance, a withdrawal of foreign direct investment, armed conflicts and the ravages of the AIDS pandemic.

Mr. Annan will open what is traditionally known as the “high-level segment” of the current session, which began on 2 July, on Monday morning.  This will be followed by an extensive political exchange on important developments in the world economy and international economic cooperation with the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Koehler; the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn; the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Mike Moore; and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rubens Ricupero, taking part.

In the afternoon, there will be an African Forum on Investment Promotion which will be attended by the President of ECOSOC, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Nitin Desai, African ministers, representatives of private African companies and United Nations specialized agencies, trade unionists and investors.  Three round tables on the investment climate in African countries, financing investment, and priority infrastructure needs will run parallel with this event.

Mr. Annan will give a press conference at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, 17 July, will begin with a round table, attended by the ministers present, on a variety of subjects to do with the implications of globalization, poverty and employment, health, and AIDS in particular.

Mr. Desai will introduce the report of the Secretary-General on “the role of the United Nations system in supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development”, in which Mr. Annan voices the hope that the African countries will reach agreement on a single, integrated framework for African development and says that the international community “has an obligation” to help them in their efforts.  The United Nations has “a key role to play”, through its intergovernmental processes and in its operational activities, in “African renaissance and growth”.

The Secretary-General identifies six broad areas for action:  improving governance and preventing conflict; mobilizing resources for eradicating poverty; food security and increasing productivity in agriculture; diversifying Africa’s economies; rehabilitating infrastructure; and strengthening human capital.

A discussion on the link between peace and development will conclude the morning’s activities.  The principal speaker will be Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, who will address the gathering on video.

The general discussion will continue on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday,

18 July, and will culminate in a ministerial declaration.  This is likely to assign the United Nations a vital role in helping Africa move towards settlement of the remaining conflicts and make a start on sustainable development through a reduction in poverty, debt relief, improved market access, increased official development assistance, a resumption of foreign direct investment and technology transfer.

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