Ad Hoc Committee to Review

New Agenda for Development of Africa

AM & PM Meetings

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT STRESSES NEED TO RESPECT

COMMITMENTS IN SUPPORT OF AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT

Speakers Focus on Need for Peace, Cooperation

As Debate Starts on New Agenda for Region’s Progress

Peace and stability, increased and sustained support from the international community and a new international development cooperation paradigm were among the necessary conditions for Africa’s development, the General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Final Review and Appraisal of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF) heard today during its general debate.

General Assembly President Jan Kavan (Czech Republic) noted that with more than 80 speakers, the 16 September high-level plenary meeting on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was a source of reflection on the difficult issues facing the continent.  Emphasizing the need for both African countries and the international community to honour their respective commitments, he said special attention should be given to incorporating the lessons learned from the implementation of UN-NADAF into future policies and actions to support NEPAD’s implementation.

The Ad Hoc Committee was established by General Assembly resolution 56/218 of 14 January to review the implementation of the New Agenda, which was adopted in 1991.  That Assembly resolution called for a mid-term review, followed by a final review and assessment of UN-NADAF.  The report prepared by a 12-member panel of eminent personalities appointed by the Secretary-General to carry out that task served as the basis for the Committee’s deliberations.

Presenting the Secretary-General’s report on the independent evaluation of UN-NADAF'S implementation, Yvette Stevens, the special coordinator for Africa and the least developed countries, said that among the lessons learned was that there could be no development in the absence of peace, that international development cooperation required a new orientation and that commitments must be honoured.  Also, more effective monitoring mechanisms and more precise monitoring indicators should be put in place at the national and regional levels.

Future United Nations engagement in African development, she noted, should be based on:  promoting peace and development in Africa as a priority for the United Nations; the primary responsibility of Africans themselves for African development; the role of the United Nations in supporting African efforts rather than replacing them; and a comprehensive and coordinated approach by the

Organization in bringing the experiences of its agencies to bear on the implementation of NEPAD.

She said NEPAD should become the framework for African development and all United Nations efforts should support the initiative.  The Secretary-General had noted that there could not have been a better time for lending assistance to African development, with the entry into force of the African Union, the positive signs towards conflict resolution, the establishment of NEPAD and the strong expression of support by the international community and commitment of the United Nations system.  The United Nations must seize that opportunity in a collaborative way to assist in Africa’s development, she added.

Reporting on yesterday’s panel discussion on the implementation of UN-NADAF, and ways to promote Africa’s development in the years ahead, Committee Vice-Chairman Jean de Ruyt (Belgium) said it had been agreed that experiences with UN-NADAF were mixed.  The failure was due to both external and internal shortcomings, including declining official development assistance (ODA), slow progress on debt relief, and conditionalities associated with structural adjustment programmes.  Prolonged conflicts, poor governance and corruption had also hindered the implementation of UN-NADAF, he added. 

While UN-NADAF was a compact of mutual responsibilities between African countries and the international community, both parties had failed in living up to their commitments, he said.  The lack of ownership by African countries themselves was also a factor.  In that light, it was felt that it would be more appropriate for the United Nations system to provide support for NEPAD.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers welcomed the “new era” that was being ushered in with the birth of the African Union and the adoption of NEPAD, and stressed the need to extend full support to Africa’s development efforts.  That support, noted Brazil’s representative, would be most useful if it drew on past experiences, both good and bad.  That was why the current assessment of UN-NADAF was so timely.

The findings of the independent panel could not have come at a more appropriate time, agreed Ethiopia’s representative, who urged Africa’s development partners to take their commitments seriously.  It must be acknowledged that Africa’s development was not in the interest of Africans alone but also in the interest of the entire global community.  Only then would support for Africa be more than mere lip service, he said.

Amadou Kebe, Executive Secretary of the African Union, said the international community must do business differently in the coming years to promote sustainable development in Africa.  That called for renewed political will and genuine commitment to create a better international economic environment for the development of African countries.  “The partnership for development must be authentic and mutual”, he stressed.

Several speakers emphasised that peace was the most fundamental requirement for the realization of Africa’s development goals.  Development, noted the representative of the United States, simply could not happen if large portions of the continent were in conflict.  Peace was crucial for the development of markets and infrastructure, which were essential for the sustainable development of Africa.

The recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report, such as the need to increase aid to ensure NEPAD’s success, were endorsed by several speakers, including the representative of the World Bank, who stated that development partners must accept the challenge to increase the effectiveness of aid.  That would be the main focus of the upcoming annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Indeed, noted the representative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the major problem facing African countries was the unavailability of resources for accumulation and growth.  In general, they had been unable to establish a virtuous cycle of savings, investment and export.  Policies were necessary to grant African exporters access to markets.  To achieve lasting solutions to debt, resources for human and infrastructure development, there had to be a change in the international community’s attitude towards African countries.

The concept of national ownership was emphasized as another crucial factor for NEPAD’s success.  Calling on the international community to take concrete steps to help Africa achieve its development objectives, China’s representative stressed the importance of respecting the choices that African countries made for themselves.  The Secretary-General’s report, noted India’s representative, had made clear the importance of each country being allowed to determine its own economic policies and priorities.  “They wear the shoe”, said Gambia’s representative.  “They know where it pinches.”

Namibia’s representative said that while it was true that African countries must enlist the support of their own people, that did not provide the justification for developed countries to abdicate their responsibilities.  Although African countries had the primary responsibility for their region’s development, they should not be left entirely on their own.

Expressing the opinion of many delegations, Canada’s representative said full support should be given to NEPAD rather than developing new programmes and structures.  United Nations funds and programmes, especially the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), should continue to devote a large proportion of their regular resources to Africa and strengthen their efforts to mobilize additional resources for countries implementing NEPAD.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, Denmark’s representative felt the key questions to be answered by the review revolved around how the United Nations system could respond effectively to the development needs of its African partners.  How could the United Nations funds, programmes and agencies, each in its own area of expertise, ensure that they lived up to the expectations raised by NEPAD?

To maintain support for NEPAD within the Organization, South Africa’s representative suggested the Secretary-General should consider the creation of an office within the Secretariat to coordinate, monitor and report on the international community’s support for NEPAD.

Highlighting the role of civil society in Africa’s development, the representative of Network Movement for Justice and Development in Sierra Leone said that ordinary people who would be implementing the various programmes.  Transparency was imperative to allow for popular intervention in ensuring proper accountability.  The challenge, said Zambia’s representative, was for all civil

organizations to contribute to the continent’s development.  The African Union and NEPAD needed wide publicity.

The representative of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) recommended that progress in a few of the key Millennium Development Goals, as they related to children, be used as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism.  The agency was ready, with other United Nations system partners, to collaborate with African countries to help devise a peer review system that would contribute to creating an “Africa Fit for Children”, which ought to be NEPAD’S ultimate goal.  The representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that his organization, which had a strong commitment to education through its school feeding programme, would be particularly active in rural areas where enrolment rates were lowest.  Food aid had also been used to help educate girls, he noted.

Also participating in today’s debate were the representatives of Nigeria, Russian Federation, Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Japan, Angola and Switzerland. 

Others who made statements were the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Ad Hoc Committee will continue its general debate at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 26 September.

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