DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR COOPERATIVE EFFORTS TO HELP

AFRICAN ECONOMIES, PROGRESS ON MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Opening Remarks at Regional Meeting of Involved United Nations Agencies

This is the text of remarks, made in Addis Ababa today by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, to the eighth regional consultation meeting of United Nations agencies and organizations working in Africa in support of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD):

It is a great pleasure to join you today.  I am especially pleased to see most of you with whom I had the privilege of working together in my previous capacity with the Tanzanian Government.  Allow me first to thank the Government and people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality accorded to me and my delegation.

Let me also thank Mr. [Abdoulie] Janneh, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), for inviting me to chair this important meeting, and more for the good work he is doing in support of our common development objectives in Africa.

I bring with me warm regards and best wishes from Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who, as you know, has made Africa’s development one of his top priorities.  I am particularly honoured to have this opportunity to attend the first regional consultation meeting held since I took office.

The Secretary-General and I very much appreciate ECA’s efforts to promote regional integration and good governance, to build the capacities of the regional economic communities, and to focus more attention on Africa’s special needs, particularly within the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  The establishment of a division in ECA devoted solely to supporting the African Union and NEPAD will no doubt help strengthen our work to advance Africa’s development agenda.

My appearance before you today testifies not only my own commitment to support your important endeavours, but also that of the entire United Nations family.  At a broader level, it will also help me to support further strengthening of the relationships between the United Nations Headquarters and the regional commissions.

This regional consultation meeting represents an excellent opportunity to generate improved cooperation and coordination between UN agencies and African continental organizations such as the African Union, the African Development Bank and the regional economic communities.

I am sure our deliberations will also help us strengthen our collective endeavour to support Africa as it strives to achieve its development objectives.  I am particularly pleased to see the ECA, the African Union and the NEPAD Secretariat working closely together.

In this regard, this meeting also provides us with a unique opportunity to enhance inter-agency coherence, coordination and cooperation at the regional levels.  By facilitating better pooling of efforts, regional consultation meetings can help redress, at least partly, the constraints of capacity and resources faced by the UN system agencies, thus getting more out of our resources.  This is an essential aspect of our efforts towards “delivering as one”.

It is heartening to see that the consultation process has led to some much needed improvements.  That the Economic Commission for Africa is moving from its role of convenor to a strategic coordinator will fill an important leadership vacuum.

The eighth regional consultation meeting addresses an important theme -- “Post-conflict reconstruction: UN coordination efforts in Southern Sudan, Burundi and Sierra Leone”.  Reconstruction is key to consolidating peace in fragile post-conflict environments.  To prevent a relapse into conflict, it is crucial that the affected populations experience a real “peace dividend”, that people’s living conditions be improved, that national capacities be strengthened at all levels.  The United Nations is working to ensure more effective support to countries in their transition from war to lasting peace.

In the Sudan, the United Nations is working closely with the Government of Southern Sudan in the strengthening of commissions and institutions to ensure that the Government is able to take the lead in the recovery and development process.  The Government, the United Nations and the World Bank are preparing for the next meeting of the Sudan Consortium, scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

Burundi and Sierra Leone are the first two countries on the agenda of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.  Representatives of the African Union have participated in the Peacebuilding Commission’s meetings.  There is much scope for strengthening that relationship. For example, the integrated strategies now being developed by the Peacebuilding Commission could serve to galvanize additional support for AU initiatives in Burundi and Sierra Leone.

In these and other post-conflict contexts, strengthened cooperation between the United Nations, the AU and its NEPAD programme would be of great benefit to our reconstruction and development efforts.

International support for the African Union and its NEPAD programme is crucial.  NEPAD is an African-owned and African-driven blueprint for the continent’s recovery.  It is a shining example of the resolve demonstrated by Africans to take full responsibility for their continent’s future.  And it is a vital tool to advance progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.

NEPAD has enabled Africa to come up with comprehensive programmes in agriculture, infrastructure, the environment and other important sectors.  As a programme of the African Union, NEPAD has also enabled Africans to speak with one voice in its dialogue with the Group of Eight (G-8) and other major development partners.

I know that NEPAD faces many challenges.  But its implementation is critical to Africa’s overall development.  The UN system is already supporting NEPAD in numerous ways -- from advocacy and institutional support to practical assistance for the implementation of specific programmes and projects.

Over the past year, progress has also been made in strengthening the cluster system under which United Nations system support to NEPAD is organized.  Much more needs to be done to get the cluster system functioning as well as it should.  I urge the concerned agencies to renew their dedication to the cluster approach.  In particular, we need to follow through on past regional consultation meeting recommendations.

These include:

-- organizing more frequent and regular meetings of the clusters and the regional coordination mechanism;

-- undertaking a clear alignment of cluster programmes and resources with the priorities of the AU and NEPAD; and

-- further enhancing coordination and joint programming.

Beyond NEPAD, the United Nations is working to strengthen its partnership with the African Union itself.  The 2005 World Summit called for the establishment of a 10-year capacity-building programme for the African Union.  Last year, the United Nations and the AU signed a declaration on “Enhancing UN-AU Cooperation” as a framework for the capacity-building programme.  It reflects our joint commitment to further solidify the already productive partnership between the two organizations.

The programme places special emphasis on peace and security.  Already, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has established a dedicated unit for supporting the AU’s peacekeeping activities.  The UN is actively involved in supporting the establishment of an AU early warning system, a crisis centre, and the African standby brigade.

The United Nations programme of support for the AU also addresses development issues.  Indeed, peace, development and human rights are the three pillars of the UN’s work.  And all three are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.  That is why progress towards the MDGs is also progress towards peace, security and respect for human rights and dignity.

Many African States have made good progress towards the MDGs.  But, as you know, overall, the continent is not on track to reaching these essential development goals targeted for 2015.  Achieving the Goals requires a strengthened global partnership.  It demands shared responsibility, including on the part of the United Nations system.  And it needs the implementation of all existing commitments on the part of developed and developing countries alike.

In an effort to address the implementation gaps, the Secretary-General has established the MDG Africa Steering and Working Groups, which bring together major multilateral and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations system and the African Union, Breton Woods institutions, the African Development Bank and the European Commission.  During our deliberations over the next two days, we should give some thought to how the regional consultation meeting can best contribute to the work of these two high-level groups.

Beyond advocacy, what is needed most now is to translate the current consensus on meeting the special needs of Africa into concrete and actionable sets of measures that would help transform peoples’ lives in the short and long term.

Let me conclude by appealing for a positive spirit of inter-agency collaboration and partnership in support of the African Union and NEPAD.  We must use all possible resources to support Africa’s development.  The regional consultation meeting is an essential regional tool for promoting effective strategies to deliver better and more a t the operational level. When our many assets are brought into an integrated and more effective whole, the United Nations can better support post-conflict reconstruction efforts as well as the efforts of African States to achieve durable peace, sustainable development and human rights for all their people.

I hope that our deliberations here will lend momentum to these endeavours.  And I pledge my personal commitment to serve as a catalyst in the implementation of the recommendations that emerge from this meeting.

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