AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP, NEEDS OF WORLD’S POOREST COUNTRIES

FOCUS OF DISCUSSION AT HEADQUARTERS MEETING

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) had been initiated for Africa by African countries themselves, and to make the Partnership a success, it was necessary to focus on the needs of the world’s least developed countries, Anwarul Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States said this afternoon.

Addressing a meeting, which was organized by Non-Governmental Organizations’ Committee on Sustainable Development to discuss the issues related to NEPAD and the least developed countries, he pointed out that his Office dealt with the three most vulnerable groups of countries, many of which were situated in Africa.  For example, 34 out of 53 African countries belonged to the least developed category, and their needs were determined by their particular vulnerabilities. 

NEPAD -- an initiative adopted by the African Union in July 2001 -– was endorsed by the General Assembly in 2002 as the successor framework to the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF).

Continuing, Mr. Chowdhury emphasized the essential role not only of international donors, but also of the least developed countries themselves, which needed to demonstrate their commitment to the implementation of the goals determined by recent international conferences, including the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (Brussels, 2001) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002).  

The General Assembly had emphasized the need to mainstream the implementation of the Brussels programme of action in several resolutions during the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh sessions, and many agencies of the United Nations system had major least developed countries-related programmes in place, he continued.  Also required were:  strong support from non-governmental organizations; South-South cooperation; and participation of civil society and the private sector.

“Barbados [SIDS Conference] plus 10” –- to review the 1994 Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States -- would take place in 2004, and his office was working with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to mobilize appropriate attention to that event.  Global policy guidelines for land-locked countries were expected to be elaborated at an Almaty, Kazakhstan, meeting this year.  During a major meeting on the Brussels follow-up, which was held in Benin last August, the least developed countries had come together to decide what they themselves needed to do in implementation of the Brussels programme.  In his message to that meeting, the Secretary-General had

stressed the importance of forging partnerships involving all stakeholders.  The success or stagnation of most vulnerable countries depended on that.

Today’s second key speaker, Yvette Stevens, Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries (OSCAL), said that one of the criticisms of past initiatives for Africa was a lack of African ownership of those initiatives.  In preparation for the discussion of the final review and appraisal of UN-NADAF, an independent evaluation was carried out by 12 experts.  Among the lessons learned was the need for commitment, African ownership, and continued advocacy.

The NEPAD, she noted, was an initiative developed for Africa by Africans.  There was a genuine commitment by the leadership in Africa, at the highest level, to promote and implement NEPAD, the primary objective of which was to reduce poverty and promote development in Africa.  Responding to Mr. Chowdhury’s assessment that it was necessary to examine the problems of least developed countries to solve the problems of Africa, she noted that to solve the problems of least developed countries, it was necessary to look at the problems of African countries. 

The United Nations system had come together to bring about a coordinated response to NEPAD, she said, including by holding two inter-agency consultations.  A structure had been developed at the Headquarters and regional levels to support NEPAD.  It seemed that the United Nations Development Assistance Framework would be the vehicle for support at the country level. 

Speakers in an ensuing interactive dialogue shared their national experience in the promotion of the least developed countries development, stressing the need to coordinate international, regional and country-level efforts in that respect.  Highly visible structures were needed to take care of least developed countries’ concerns, because in the preceding two decades, little progress had been achieved on the programmes of action related to those countries.  Now, the Office of the High Representative acquired particular importance in that regard.  High-level structures were also needed in implementation of NEPAD.

It was not enough to establish structures, however, several participants said.  It was also necessary to provide them with adequate staffing and financing to ensure their smooth functioning.  With the establishment of NEPAD, it was necessary to underscore concrete achievements on the ground, without waiting for high-level structures to be set up.  Government and civil society involvement on the ground were also indispensable.  Sustainability was a major issue, and it was also important to draw lessons from the past.

Questions were asked about the efforts to reduce maternal mortality by two thirds by 2015, as proclaimed by the Brussels programme of action, and the role of the United Nations in promoting civil society participation.  Among the issues highlighted in the discussion were the problems of small island developing States and the questions of eco-tourism, micro-credit and education.  Also stressed in the debate was the important role of United Nations Development Programme resident coordinators.

Summarizing the debate, Mr. Chowdhury said that the countries themselves needed to determine their priorities and decide how to handle international assistance.  While coordination was important, it lost relevance without adequate monitoring.  The international community needed to provide support to the most vulnerable countries in the implementation of the outcome of major international conferences of the last decade.  

Ms. Stevens added that, in building new structures, it was important to preserve the African ownership of NEPAD.  Regional, international and national efforts needed to be clearly defined and carefully coordinated. 

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