Theme : UN
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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