| United Nations | A/50/575 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
17 October 1995
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
Fiftieth session
Agenda item 43
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE
ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 13
II. CONSULTATIONS AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ............2 - 33
III. COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT ..........................................4 - 723
A. Centre for Human Rights of the United Nations
Secretariat ...................................... 4 - 63
B. United Nations Children's Fund ................... 7 - 94
C. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 10 - 125
D. United Nations Development Programme ............. 13 - 145
E. United Nations Environment Programme ............. 15 - 176
F. United Nations Population Fund ................... 18 - 196
G. United Nations International Drug Control
Programme ........................................ 20 - 227
H. World Food Programme ............................. 23 - 257
95-31362 (E) 011195/...
*9531362*
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
I. Economic Commission for Africa ................... 26 - 328
J. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat) ........................................ 33 - 3510
K. International Labour Organization ................ 36 - 4010
L. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations .......................................... 41 - 4511
M. United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization ............................ 46 - 5212
N. World Health Organization ........................ 53 - 5514
O. World Bank/International Finance Corporation ..... 56 - 5714
P. International Monetary Fund ...................... 58 - 6015
Q. International Fund For Agricultural Development ...61 - 6315
R. United Nations Industrial Development Organization 64 - 6816
S. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees ......................................... 69 - 7217
IV. COOPERATION IN OTHER AREAS ...........................73 -8818
A. Department of Political Affairs of the United
Nations Secretariat .............................. 73 - 8018
B. International Civil Aviation Organization ........ 81 - 8220
C. Universal Postal Union ........................... 83 - 8520
D. World Meteorological Organization ................ 86 - 8820
I. INTRODUCTION
1. On 15 December 1994, the General Assembly, by its resolution 49/64,
took note of the report of the Secretary-General on cooperation between the
United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (A/49/490) and
noted with appreciation the continued and increasing participation of OAU
in the work of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and its
constructive contribution to that work. The Assembly also called upon the
United Nations organs to continue to involve OAU closely in all their
activities concerning Africa and to cooperate with OAU in the context of
the pacific settlement of disputes and the maintenance of international
peace and security in Africa, as provided for under Chapter VIII of the
Charter of the United Nations; endorsed the agreement reached between the
organizations of the United Nations system and OAU on the convening of a
meeting between the secretariats of those organizations, to be held in 1995
at Addis Ababa, to review and evaluate the progress made in implementing
the proposals and recommendations agreed upon in September 1993 on
cooperation between them in 1994-1995 and to adopt new and effective joint
action; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation of the resolution
and on the development of the cooperation between OAU and the organizations
of the United Nations system.
II. CONSULTATIONS AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
2. In a message to the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly
delivered on his behalf by the Foreign Minister of Tunisia on 3 October
1994, Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of the Republic of Tunisia and
the then Chairman of OAU, stressed the need to deal with the fundamental
issues which confront many African countries, namely, political reforms and
the modernization of the economy under conditions of security and
stability.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations met on 7 April 1995 with
members of the Central Organ of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,
Management and Resolution. They exchanged views on the conflict situations
in Africa and discussed actions that could be considered to ameliorate
them. The Secretary-General also met the current Chairman of OAU,
President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, and the Secretary-General of OAU, at
Addis Ababa on 17 July 1995. He discussed with them the situation in Africa
and the importance of cooperation between the two organizations in efforts
to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development in the region.
III. COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
A. Centre for Human Rights of the United Nations Secretariat
4. The Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat maintained and
strengthened its contacts and cooperation with the African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights in various areas. In 1993-1994, the Centre gave
a grant to the Commission to enable it to reinforce its office of
information and documentation, to organize seminars and training courses on
human rights and to hire the staff and acquire the facilities required for
the accomplishment of its mandate. Moreover, under its human rights
advisory services programme, the Centre helped the Commission to implement
its programme of activities for 1993-1995.
5. In October 1993, the Centre organized at Geneva and Bordeaux a training
course on information techniques in the field of human rights in
cooperation with the Institut Raoul Wallenberg and the Agency for Cultural
and Technical Cooperation. Nineteen participants including 13 from Africa
were selected to attend this course. In June 1994, the Centre organized a
regional seminar on techniques for drafting and presenting the periodic
reports which States parties to human rights conventions are required to
submit to the committees established under those conventions. That seminar
involved 14 French-speaking African countries which were experiencing
difficulties in drafting and submitting their reports. Seven of the 26
training fellowships awarded by the Centre under the 1993 fellowship
programme were allocated to Africa. In addition, 15 fellowships were
awarded to African candidates for training and refresher training in the
field of human rights in 1994.
6. Under its advisory services and technical assistance programme, the
Centre dispatched an advisory mission to Ethiopia in 1994 to make specific
recommendations to assist the Special Prosecutor responsible for
investigating cases of persons accused of human rights violations under the
former regime. It was also involved in electoral assistance to several
African countries.
B. United Nations Children's Fund
7. In January 1995, representatives of 45 African countries attended a
three-day conference at Tunis organized by OAU on the mid-decade and decade
goals for child survival, development and protection. The United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) collaborated with the host Government and the OAU
secretariat in designing the substance of the meeting. Similar UNICEF
support was provided for the OAU conference on youth and development
planned for 1995. UNICEF collaboration with OAU has also focused on the
promotion of humanitarian diplomacy, with emphasis on advocacy for
children's rights and conflict resolution in the emergency-affected
countries of eastern Africa.
8. On 16 June 1995, Heads of State, First Ladies, ministers of youth and
other high-ranking government officials participated in educational,
cultural and sporting events throughout Africa to mark the Day of the
African Child. OAU and UNICEF played key roles by co-sponsoring this
event, particularly at United Nations Headquarters in New York. At the
request of OAU, UNICEF also prepared a paper for the meeting of African
Ministers of Health that was held at Cairo in April 1995.
9. In advance of the sixty-second ordinary session of the Council of
Ministers of OAU and the thirty-first ordinary session of the Assembly of
Heads of State and Government, held at Addis Ababa in June 1995, UNICEF
provided technical support to the OAU secretariat in the preparation of the
report of the OAU Secretary-General on the mid-decade goals emanating from
the Consensus of Dakar, requested by the Council at its sixtieth session,
held at Tunis in 1994. It also assisted in preparing the draft resolution
on that question that was submitted to the Council of Ministers at its
sixty-second session, adopted by it (CM/Res.1599 (LXII)) and subsequently
endorsed by the Assembly. During the session, the UNICEF delegation was
able to assist the OAU secretariat and delegations in their consideration
of the question, including, specifically, the drafting of an amendment
dealing with the 20/20 concept that was incorporated in the final version.
Earlier, national delegations had been briefed in their countries on the
resolution, and on other issues concerning children and women that were
expected to be addressed at Addis Ababa.
C. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
10. The work of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) in the implementation of the Treaty Establishing the African
Economic Community has been carried out in the following areas: currency
convertibility, harmonization of policies, rationalization of existing
integration organs and transport.
11. UNCTAD has had regular consultations with OAU during 1994-1995,
particularly with regard to the preparation of a cooperation agreement and
the preparation of the UNCTAD contribution to the Second Afro-Arab Trade
Fair, which is to be held at Johannesburg in October 1995. At the request
of OAU, the Government of Egypt and the League of Arab States, the UNCTAD
secretariat also organized a round-table meeting on trade, economic
cooperation and investment between African and Arab countries for both the
African and Arab public and private business sectors.
12. The UNCTAD secretariat has continued to provide the OAU secretariat
with its studies, in particular on commodity price risk management. The
UNCTAD secretariat has also cooperated with OAU in striving to achieve the
objectives of the Second Transport and Communications Decade in Africa.
UNCTAD, as coordinator of the subsectoral working group on shipping, ports
and multimodal transport, has been very active in technical assistance
projects in these subsectors.
D. United Nations Development Programme
13. Under the fifth cycle which began in 1992, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) continued to extend support for strengthening
the OAU secretariat through capacity-building and management development,
together with the establishment of the African Economic Community and the
establishment of a Women in Development Unit in OAU.
14. The specific projects implemented were: improvement of administrative
and managerial capabilities of OAU (RAF/87/101; UNDP input: US$ 4.1
million); preparatory assistance for the establishment of a Women In
Development Unit in OAU (RAF/94/004; financial inputs by UNIFEM and UNDP
are respectively US$ 64,410 and US$ 80,000); and promotion of Africa's
economic cooperation and integration through the establishment of the
African Economic Community (RAF/94/008). The latter programme promotes
collaboration among OAU, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the
African Development Bank (ADB), all three forming the joint secretariat
which receives support.
E. United Nations Environment Programme
15. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) participated actively
with OAU, the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office (UNSO), ECA and ADB in
the joint secretariat, on questions relating to Africa and the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development; in the substantial input
of OAU to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those
Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly
in Africa; and in the OAU ad hoc group of experts. In October 1994, UNEP,
together with OAU and ECA, and under the auspices of the African
Ministerial Conference on the Environment, convened a ministerial session
to discuss the African common position on the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
16. The fifth session of the African Ministerial Conference on the
Environment accorded particular importance to the Rio Statement of
Principles on forests. As a follow-up, UNEP, OAU and ECA have initiated
plans, within the framework of the Conference Committee on Forest and
Woodlands, to facilitate the active participation of African countries in
the regional consultations envisaged and relating to the Statement of
Principles. A project was implemented in 1993 for the primary purpose of
contributing towards the strengthening of the institutional capacities of
OAU to deal with current and emerging environmental management issues.
17. At the request of OAU, UNEP is co-sponsoring the OAU Pan-African
conference on youth and development, on the theme "African youth in the
1990s and beyond: peace, participation and development", planned for 1995,
which will be an important forum for reviewing the role of major groups
like youth in the implementation of inter- and intra-African commitments on
the environment, such as the African common position on environment and
development, and global agendas for action, including the Rio Conference
agreements.
F. United Nations Population Fund
18. The main channel for the collaboration of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) with OAU has continued to be through the UNFPA-
funded project, support to population and development activities of OAU
(RAF/91/P11). Substantial progress has been made in the reporting period in
achieving the immediate objectives of the project: a Population and
Development Unit was set up at OAU with staff funded by UNFPA, while an
African Population Commission was inaugurated in May 1994. The training
elements of the project include workshops, symposia, attendance at
conferences and study tours within and outside the continent for a cross-
section of the constituent members of the African Population Commission.
19. The research agenda being developed will assist OAU in taking account
of the linkages between population and development, and there are already
discussions within OAU regarding research activities on the impact/role of
population in the area of peace, security and democracy; on refugees and
displaced persons; and on the situation of African women and children.
Brochures and newsletters on African population continue to be issued and,
from 1995, will be translated into the official languages of OAU.
Representatives of OAU, ADB, the country support team at Addis Ababa and
the local UNFPA office have constituted the Project Steering Committee.
Meetings are held quarterly to assess the implementation of the project.
G. United Nations International Drug Control Programme
20. In November 1993, a United Nations International Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP) delegation met with OAU at Addis Ababa and discussed
issues pertaining to cooperation in drug control. It was agreed that OAU
and UNDCP should take further steps to develop cooperation within a defined
and agreed legal framework.
21. This contact resulted in an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding
between OAU and UNDCP which provides for a regular exchange of information,
provision to OAU of drug control reference material, joint participation in
drug control events, sharing of expertise and specific activities to be
determined. Following the signing of the Memorandum in September 1994,
UNDCP approved a specific project to provide a survey on drug abuse among
African youth for the OAU Pan-African conference on youth and development,
planned for 1995. Under the same project, UNDCP also undertook to assist
in the elaboration of the OAU action plan for drug control in Africa in
response to the request of the Council of Ministers at its fifty-eighth
session, held at Cairo in 1993. Such joint undertakings have constituted
the initial and promising stage of the implementation of the Memorandum of
Understanding.
22. The OAU secretariat has been invited to participate in UNDCP-sponsored
technical meetings in Africa with a view to developing a common
understanding of the drug problems in the region and a spirit of
partnership to deal with them. OAU participated in the meeting of Heads of
National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies in Africa, held at Addis Ababa in
1994. More recently, it attended the forum for drug demand reduction at
Yaounde, during which western and central African experts shared
experiences in this field and identified elements of an appropriate
strategy for future actions.
H. World Food Programme
23. In 1994, the operational expenditures of the World Food Programme
(WFP) amounted to US$ 872 million in OAU member States. Projects worth
$727 million were approved in support of humanitarian and development
activities in African countries. The highest priority was given to sub-
Saharan African countries, which received 60 per cent of total WFP
assistance during the year. Humanitarian assistance provided by WFP to OAU
member States in 1994 exceeded $616 million, $321 million of which was
channelled towards helping the victims of both natural disasters and armed
conflicts. The sum of $109 million was provided to areas stricken by
drought or crop failure, and resources amounting to $186 million were
provided to protracted refugee and displaced person operations.
24. In addition to the high level of relief activities which the Programme
was called upon to support in Africa in 1994, WFP maintained its
development assistance to the region. This assistance was channelled in
accordance with priority sectors identified by OAU. Assistance to human
resources development totalled $64 million, and included school feeding at
the primary and secondary levels, technical and vocational training and
institutional feeding in social centres. Increased attention continued to
be given to mitigating the negative effects of structural adjustment on the
very poor. A total of $47 million was spent in support of rural
development activities throughout Africa, and an additional $145 million
was channelled to OAU member States from WFP extrabudgetary resources.
25. WFP also supported OAU member States in the following areas: it
purchased food commodities worth $121 million, an increase of 66 per cent
over the previous year in the region, thus contributing to the development
of intra-African trade; various non-food items, including trucks,
warehouses and kitchen equipment, were provided to the region in order to
ensure efficient implementation of WFP-assisted projects; resources were
provided to least developed countries to reduce the burden of project
implementation by meeting part of the costs of internal transport, storage
and handling of commodities supplied by WFP; and over 2,241 counterpart
staff from the region were trained in various fields, such as project
identification and implementation, monitoring, reporting and food storage.
I. Economic Commission for Africa
26. In January/February 1994, the joint OAU/Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA)/ADB secretariat identified two areas of immediate action to make the
African Economic Community operational: the formulation of the initial
work programme of the Community and the mobilization of resources to
support its operational activities. To facilitate such action, the joint
secretariat considered that the work programme required harmonization with
those of the regional economic communities, and consequently fielded
missions in March/April 1994 to those communities whose reports provided
ample information on the stage reached by each in various sectors. Those
reports were consolidated into a single report, which was submitted in
August 1994 to the meeting of the OAU Permanent Steering Committee held at
expert level. The basic elements of the work programme of the African
Economic Community are now in place and, subject to adequate funding being
secured, the implementation of some components could start.
27. In February 1994, the joint secretariat decided to set up a Resource
Mobilization Committee which would recommend to it measures aimed at
obtaining the financial resources required to support the operational
activities of the African Economic Community. ECA agreed to carry out a
study on alternative solutions to the assessed contributions of member
States, which are increasingly difficult to collect. The joint secretariat
also prepared a programme support document which was submitted to UNDP in
December 1994 for funding. UNDP financing will supplement the support
already lent to the African Economic Community by ADB and ECA.
28. ECA and OAU prepared joint papers for and serviced the African Group's
preparatory meetings for and during the International Conference on
Population and Development, held at Cairo in 1994. The first meeting of
the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration
was organized by ECA in 1994, in which OAU actively participated. The two
institutions continue to cooperate in the follow-up to that Declaration and
the Programme of Action of the Cairo Conference and plan to organize a
meeting of experts and non-governmental organizations at Abidjan during
1995. ECA also participated in two meetings on population which were
organized in 1994 by OAU -the first meeting of the African Population
Commission and the Seminar of Ambassadors on Population Issues.
29. ECA worked closely with OAU and undertook several major joint
activities, notably, preparation of the African common position on human
and social development in Africa, which was presented at the World Summit
for Social Development (1995); preparation of a national seminar on youth,
drugs and health in Ethiopia (1994); organization of the ad hoc Expert
Group Meeting on the Impact of Economic and Social Changes on the African
Family (1993); and the session of the OAU Labour Commission.
30. OAU is involved in all major activities organized by ECA, especially
in meetings of the intergovernmental experts (1993) and the preparations
for the African Conference on Science and Technology (1995). Similarly,
ECA is on the panel of judges on African inventors organized by OAU. In
1993, ECA organized the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Minerals in
which OAU participated. Joint activities are also undertaken in the follow-
up to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. ECA
provided technical support to the African Organization for Cartography and
Remote Sensing, which is based at Algiers, and to the African Regional
Centre for Technology at Dakar.
31. The joint OAU/ECA/ADB secretariat of the Ministerial Contact Group on
Africa's external indebtedness organized a meeting of the Group at Tunis in
1994. The joint OAU/ECA/ADB/African Centre for Monetary Studies
secretariat of the enlarged Libreville Committee on the establishment of
the African Monetary Fund organized a meeting of the Committee at
Libreville, also in 1994. ECA organized an international conference on the
Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and African economies, in
which OAU participated, at Tunis in 1994.
32. In 1994, ECA and OAU organized jointly the meeting of member States on
the Common African Agricultural Programme and a meeting on under-exploited/
non-conventional food resources in Africa was organized by OAU with support
from ECA and FAO. Within the framework of the joint OAU/ECA/UNIDO
secretariat to the Conference of African Ministers of Industry, a session
of the Conference was organized in Mauritius in 1993 on the implementation
of the Second Industrial Development Decade in Africa. ECA also
contributed to the preparation of the protocol on industry to the Abuja
Treaty.
J. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
33. In March 1994, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat), in collaboration with OAU and ECA, convened a meeting of African
Ministers responsible for human settlements at Habitat headquarters at
Nairobi, to develop strategies and mechanisms which would enable African
countries to participate effectively in the United Nations Conference on
Human Settlements (Habitat II).
34. A regional technical cooperation project was signed by Habitat and OAU
to facilitate the mobilization of support and resources for African
regional programmes within the framework of the human settlements programme
of Agenda 21. The first phase of the project was completed at the end of
October 1994. The project itself entered the implementation stage on 1
December 1994, with periodic monitoring and evaluation provided jointly by
Habitat and OAU.
35. Habitat, in association with the World Bank and with core-sponsorship
from UNDP, is implementing a 10-year (1986-1996) urban management programme
designed to strengthen the contribution that cities and towns in developing
countries make towards human development, including economic growth, social
development and the reduction of poverty. The programme's activities in
sub-Saharan Africa and northern Africa are being developed and supported
through its regional offices at Accra and Cairo, respectively, with
decentralization as a core theme. In the northern African Arab States, the
programme has added a component on urban heritage, and regional initiatives
have been planned for exchanging experience on municipal solid waste
management. In eastern and southern Africa a research project on urban
poverty has been implemented with financial support from the Ford
Foundation.
K. International Labour Organization
36. Through its liaison office at Addis Ababa and the East Africa
Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, also located at Addis Ababa, the
International Labour Organization (ILO) continued to maintain close working
relations with OAU and its secretariat, mainly with respect to the
organization of relevant expert meetings and the annual session of the OAU
Labour Commission. As in the past, ILO also continued to provide technical
and financial support for capacitybuilding and training programmes carried
out under the auspices of OAU. The ILO Employers' and Workers' Relations
Bureaux at Geneva and its Regional Office for Africa, at Abidjan, continued
to maintain close relationships with, and to provide support for, the OAU-
sponsored employers and workers organizations at the continental level,
namely, the Pan-African Employers Confederation and the Organization of
African Trade Union Unity.
37. ILO assisted OAU in preparing ad hoc technical papers for the
officials meeting and special reports for the seventeenth ordinary session
of the OAU Labour Commission, held in 1994, on employment and related
issues. It financed and coordinated the preparation of five background
technical papers - one case-study for each of the five OAU subregions for
the meeting of experts on international labour migration in Africa in 1995.
Financial assistance and advisory services were provided by ILO to OAU in
1994 towards the organization of the Pan-African Youth Congress (1995).
ILO financial and technical assistance has been made available to OAU for
the preparation of the OAU/ILO Regional Tripartite Meeting on Labour and
Social Issues in Export Processing Zones/Multinational Enterprises (1995).
ILO inputs included technical background papers, fellowships for
participants and the services of specialists.
38. ILO provided support for and participated fully in the OAU workshop on
post-conflict demobilization in Africa, held at Kampala in November 1994,
and, as a follow-up, agreed to collaborate with OAU in organizing a meeting
on the training and employment of ex-combatants.
39. OAU participated in the fourth Biennial Meeting of African Employment
Planners, held at Accra in December 1994 on the basis of financial
assistance provided by ILO. At the request of OAU, ILO prepared a paper on
child labour in Africa, which was initially presented at the sixteenth
session of the OAU Labour Commission in 1993. Later, the document served
as the basis of further OAU/ILO collaboration on policies and programmes
directed towards the elimination of child labour. ILO continued to work
closely with OAU in the implementation of the activities of the ILO
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour in the Africa
region.
40. Since late 1993, ILO has been involved in preparatory work for the
fifth Conference of African Ministers of Health (1995). In addition, ILO
has provided both material and technical support to various regional and
subregional institutions sponsored by OAU in the areas of vocational
rehabilitation and training, occupation safety and health and social
security.
L. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
41. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
continued to provide technical support to OAU during 1993-1994 within the
framework of the development of a Common African Agricultural Programme
(CAAP) as an operational tool of the African Economic Community. FAO
contributed to the organization of an inter-agency meeting on CAAP and an
intergovernmental meeting of experts on CAAP, both held at Addis Ababa in
March/April 1994. FAO also cooperated with OAU on the development of a
strategy on underutilized food resources, as well as a regional nutrition
strategy for Africa. The eighteenth session of the FAO Regional Conference
for Africa, held at Gaborone in October 1994, endorsed the principles and
strategies of the Framework for a Common African Agricultural Programme.
42. FAO contributed towards the strengthening of subregional economic
communities and their integration programmes by assisting in the conversion
of the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern African States into
a Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. FAO assisted in the
development of a Common Agricultural Policy and Programme for Eastern and
Southern Africa and a food security strategy for the subregion and also
contributed to the finalization of an OAU draft protocol on food and
agriculture in accordance with article 47 of the Treaty Establishing the
African Economic Community.
43. The Organization has provided technical assistance to OAU for the Pan-
African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (PANVAC). Since August 1992, PANVAC has
operated largely on funds provided by the FAO technical cooperation
programme, although some support has also come from UNDP and the European
Community. A new three-year project, on strengthening veterinary vaccine
production and quality control in Africa, is being executed by FAO with EC
funding. FAO activities in crop protection have focused on the promotion
and strengthening of technical cooperation among African countries in the
monitoring and control of major pests, diseases and weeds of regional
importance. FAO continued to cooperate with the Inter-African
Phytosanitary Council, an OAU organization.
44. FAO cooperation with OAU is also reflected in the Coordinated Multi-
donor Programme for Tick and Tick-borne Disease Control in eastern, central
and southern Africa. OAU has participated in the programme's annual
meetings where progress is discussed and has actively collaborated in the
setting up of quality control standards for tick-borne diseases in Africa.
45. FAO is a serving member of the Executive Committee of the
International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control
(ISCTRC), which is the OAU/IBAR (Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources)
body with responsibility for convening the biennial international meeting
and for addressing technical aspects of control. The twenty-second meeting
of the Executive Committee was held at Kampala in October 1993, with the
active participation of FAO. OAU/IBAR was invited to attend FAO statutory
meetings relating to the Programme for the Control of African Animal
Trypanosomiasis and Related Development, the most recent of these being the
meetingof the regionalliaison officers(East Africa) held atNairobi in 1993.
M. United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
46. The Secretary-General of OAU participated in Audience Africa, held at
UNESCO headquarters in February 1995 and the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) participated in the meetings
of the governing bodies of OAU. UNESCO was represented at a number of
meetings on education organized by OAU, including the first subregional
conference of Ministers of Education, held in the Sudan. UNESCO also
supported the implementation of projects related to the work of the OAU
Ministerial Council on Education, Culture and Development, notably in the
area of education for girls.
47. UNESCO is assisting in the preparation of a protocol concerning
education, training and culture to the Treaty Establishing the African
Economic Community. OAU participated in the first session of the
Consultative Committee on Regional Cooperation in the Field of Education of
Africa, held at Dakar in March 1994, which also served as a regional
preparatory meeting for the forty-fourth session of the International
Conference on Education. OAU was represented at the latter session, which
was held at Geneva in October 1994.
48. UNESCO supported OAU activities through its Regional Office for
Science and Technology for Africa at Nairobi. This support took the form
of cooperation with the OAU Scientific, Technical and Research Commission
at Lagos. In 1993-1994, the Office made a financial contribution to the
Commission and helped to implement the OAU programme on the use of new and
renewable sources of energy, including solar energy, in Africa. The two
organizations have also cooperated in the implementation of the Lagos Plan
of Action and the follow-up to the Regional Conference of Ministers
Responsible for the Application of Science and Technology to Development in
Africa (CASTAFRICA). OAU and UNESCO continued to provide moral and
material support to the African Network of Scientific and Technological
Institutions, which is based at Regional Office headquarters. Since UNDP
discontinued its assistance to the project, the Network has received most
of its resources from UNESCO. The Regional Office participated in the
first meeting of the OAU Inter-African Scientific Council (April 1994), and
OAU is a member of the Board of the International Fund for the
Technological Development of Africa, established in February 1994.
49. The two organizations have continued to cooperate in launching and
implementing the Dakar Plan of Action, relating to the development of
cultural industries in Africa. In particular, UNESCO provided a financial
contribution for a sectoral study on potential cultural industries in West
African countries. Moreover, UNESCO provided an intellectual and financial
contribution for the organization of the OAU Conference of Ministers of
Education and Culture, held at Cotonou, Benin, in 1993.
50. In collaboration with OAU and ECA, UNESCO organized an international
symposium on the definition of new strategies to promote African languages
in a multilingual context, held at Addis Ababa in November 1994. UNESCO
donated a set of publications in African languages to OAU; an exhibition of
these works was held in January 1995. Following up the Dakar Plan of
Action, OAU participated in a pan-African symposium on the living and
working conditions of artists, held at Brazzaville in July 1994.
51. On various occasions, OAU has expressed an interest in the historical
study of the causes and modalities of the slave trade and the analysis of
the cultural interactions it generated. Following the project's
inauguration at Ouidah, Benin, in September 1994, it was decided that OAU
should be closely associated with all of the project activities.
Consequently, OAU was represented at a joint World Tourism Organization
(WTO)/UNESCO meeting at Accra, on cultural tourism along the slave route.
In addition, WTO invited OAU to participate in the Committee of African
Ministers of Tourism, which adopted the programme of tourism along the
slave route at its session held at Durban in April/May 1995. UNESCO
participated in the seventh session of the Conference of African Ministers
for Information, which took place at Sun City, South Africa, in October
1994.
52. Since February 1993, UNESCO has cooperated with OAU in reorganizing
and strengthening the Pan African News Agency (PANA) by seconding a staff
member to act as General Coordinator of PANA and by providing a financial
contribution of US$ 10,000. The reorganization plan was drawn up by UNESCO
and adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of OAU at its
twenty-eighth session, held at Dakar in July 1992.
N. World Health Organization
53. The World Health Organization (WHO) Working Group on Continental
Africa was established in March 1994 to facilitate the contribution of WHO
to the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development
of Africa in the 1990s. WHO also assisted OAU in formulating a draft
health protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community,
which will provide an important framework for health and development in
Africa as a whole. WHO, in collaboration with OAU, is playing an important
role in the implementation of the Africa 2000 initiative for water supply
and sanitation, requested by the Regional Committee for Africa in September
1993.
54. A WHO delegation headed by the Director-General attended the thirtieth
ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of OAU
(Tunis, June 1994), at which the Assembly adopted a Declaration on AIDS and
the Child in Africa. Building on the Dakar Declaration on AIDS in Africa
(1992), the Tunis Declaration was based on a background document prepared
by WHO and reviewed by OAU Ministers of Health at an extraordinary session
of the Conference of African Ministers of Health held during the forty-
seventh World Health Assembly.
55. Recommendations were provided by WHO on the OAU medical clinic serving
some 3,000 people at Addis Ababa and on the health information needs of the
OAU secretariat. WHO participated actively in the preparation of the Fifth
Conference of African Ministers of Health, which was held at Cairo in April
1995, by identifying the following major objectives for the Conference: to
update and reaffirm the rationale for putting health at the centre of
national development in accordance with the Declaration on Health as a
Foundation for Development (July 1987); to emphasize the important policy
implementations of women's health for national development; and to
identify, within national development plans, areas of action critical for
family health for consideration by the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of OAU at its 1995 session.
O. World Bank/International Finance Corporation
56. The World Bank has a representative to OAU, based at the Bank's
Resident Mission at Addis Ababa, who attends all OAU meetings, meets OAU
officials on issues of mutual concern and ensures the open flow of
communication between the two organizations. In addition, World Bank
officials from headquarters regularly visit OAU for consultations with
officials and attend meetings.
57. The Bank also supports operational cooperation with OAU via the
African Capacity-Building Foundation, of which the Bank is a co-sponsor.
The Foundation has supported establishment of an economic policy analysis
support unit within the OAU secretariat to enhance macroeconomic policy
analysis capabilities, especially with respect to policies of regional
integration. The Bank has sought to recruit nationals from member
countries at levels of policy decisionmaking. In future, the World Bank
will be increasing the role of field staff relative to headquarters, and
the consequent expansion of capacity in the Bank's resident missions in
Africa will be largely derived from the hiring of qualified local
professionals.
P. International Monetary Fund
58. The International Monetary Fund continued to cooperate with OAU
through its member States that are also Fund members and with the United
Nations through contacts between the Director of the Fund's Office at the
United Nations (who is also the Special Representative of the Fund at the
United Nations) and the OAU Steering Committee in relation to Africa's
Priority Programme. The main vehicles for cooperation include financial
assistance, external debt and aid coordination, policy advice, surveillance
and technical assistance.
59. The Fund continued to provide its own financial resources under its
different facilities, especially under the structural adjustment
facility/enhanced structural adjustment facility, to African countries in
support of their structural adjustment programmes. As at the end of
February 1995, there were 26 programmes in place in various African
countries. These included nine stand-by arrangements; two arrangements
under the extended fund facility; and 15 arrangements under the structural
adjustment and enhanced structural adjustment facilities. In addition,
there is a rights accumulation programme in place. Total Fund credit and
loans outstanding to OAU member countries amounted to SDR 6.66 billion at
the end of 1994. The Fund, in its catalytic role, further continued to
mobilize additional resources for the African countries in the context of
multilateral conferences on aid coordination (e.g., consultative group
meetings and UNDP-sponsored round-table discussions) as well as debt
rescheduling.
60. The Fund exercised its policy advice and surveillance functions
through its regular consultations with OAU member States and by helping
those countries design adjustment programmes that could be supported by the
Fund. It also continued to collaborate actively with regional
organizations in Africa, and to provide extensive technical assistance for
the effective management of policy reforms in many areas, including public
finance, monetary policy, debt management and exchange rate management, as
well as in the design of social safety nets. It offered training, both at
headquarters and in the field, in financial analysis, public finance and
the balance of payments.
Q. International Fund for Agricultural Development
61. By the end of 1994, assistance of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) to the African continent under the regular
programme amounted to SDR 1,233.5 million (US$ 1,541 million) in loans and
grants for 165 projects in 49 countries; of the total project costs of
$5,530.4 million, IFAD contributed 27.8 per cent. Assistance refers to
loans for projects (SDR 1,227.4 million, or $1,533.8 million) and grants
for projects (SDR 6.1 million or $7.2 million). The 165 projects include 8
which were financed from both the regular and special resources for sub-
Saharan Africa. The latter amounted to SDR 36 million ($48.1 million)
which is included in the total project cost. In addition, under its
Special Programme for Sub-Saharan African Countries Affected by Drought and
Desertification, IFAD provided by the end of 1994 SDR 275.88 million
($364.3 million) for 29 projects in 19 countries, including grants for
projects of SDR 7.29 million ($9.12 million). Under the regular and
special programme combined, sub-Saharan Africa received SDR 89.3 million
($129.6 million) in assistance in 1994 for 13 projects in 14 countries. Of
the total project costs of $244.8 million, IFAD contributed 53 per cent.
62. Through its technical assistance grant programme support for
agricultural research and training in Africa, IFAD continues to focus on
improving the technical basis for its investment portfolio. Two IFAD
grants through the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
are financing research conducted by national agricultural research systems
within the Alley Farming Network for Tropical Africa, coordinated and
supported by IITA, the International Livestock Centre for Africa and the
International Council for Research in Agroforestry.
63. During 1993/94, the Agricultural Management Training Programme for
Africa collaborating agencies (OAU Scientific, Technical and Research
Commission, ADB, IFAD and World Bank) made concerted efforts to design a
second phase of the programme, aimed at internalizing and
institutionalizing the approach and putting its long-term implementation
and replication on a sustainable basis. On this basis, all countries in
the region would eventually participate in the programme which would become
a standing feature of the curriculum of national training institutions and
be included in the training programmes of all agricultural and rural
investment projects.
R. United Nations Industrial Development Organization
64. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
cooperated with OAU and ECA in the organization of the eleventh Conference
of African Ministers of Industry held at Port Louis in May/June 1993 and
the preceding meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of the
Whole on Industrialization in Africa. Apart from helping to prepare the
African common position, UNIDO cooperated with OAU in ensuring effective
African participation at the fifth session of the General Conference of
UNIDO held at Yaounde, in December 1993. OAU attended the thirteenth
session of the Industrial Development Board, held at Vienna in November
1994, and UNIDO participated in the meetings of the Council of Ministers
and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of OAU held during the
reporting period.
65. Within the framework of the African Economic Community, apart from
making substantive contributions to the preparation of the protocol on
industrial cooperation to the Abuja Treaty, as well as that on technology
and energy, UNIDO continued to cooperate with OAU in identifying areas of
industrial cooperation among member States and intergovernmental
organizations. Following the adoption of the programme for the Second
Industrial Development Decade for Africa by the General Assembly in its
resolution 47/177 of 22 December 1992, the Joint Committee of OAU, ECA and
UNIDO on the implementation of the programme has continued to meet to
review the progress made in its implementation.
66. Given the important roles which OAU, ECA and ADB have been playing, in
concert with UNIDO, in promoting the industrialization of Africa, the
DirectorGeneral of UNIDO had initiated consultations with the three
organizations with a view to identifying ways to reach a common and
coordinated approach in their joint efforts to assist African countries to
meet the future challenges. A meeting of technical experts of OAU, ECA,
ADB and UNIDO was held at Vienna in November 1994 and recommended a
memorandum to the heads of the four organizations. A meeting of private
sector experts on the industrialization of Africa was held at Abidjan in
January 1995 and helped lay the foundation for a private sector forum, held
at Gaborone in June 1995 with a view to enhancing the participation of the
private sector in the industrialization of Africa.
67. UNIDO participated in the African Ministerial Conference on the
Environment at Addis Ababa in November 1993, which was jointly organized by
OAU, ECA and UNEP, and at which the UNIDO agenda for a "better world with
clean industry", in particular its programme for ecologically sustainable
industrial development, was presented to the Ministers. As a follow-up to
that Conference, UNIDO is intensifying its cooperation with OAU, ECA, UNEP
and the Conference secretariat in initiating a programme in response to the
issues delineated in Agenda 21.
68. UNIDO prepared and presented a background paper on the utilization of
sorghum in malt and beer processing at the Regional Symposium on Progress
in the Processing and Utilization of Sorghum and Related Cereals, held at
Ouagadougou in November 1993, which was organized by the OAU Scientific,
Technical and Research Commission. The UNIDO paper contributed to the
recommendations of the Symposium on measures to enhance self-sufficiency in
food production in Africa.
S. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
69. The underlying objective of the cooperation between the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and OAU has been to
promote legal arrangements, policies, practices and other actions for the
more effective provision of protection and assistance to refugees in Africa
and for the identification of solutions to their plight. In legal terms,
the culmination of the efforts of the two organizations in this respect is
the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in
Africa, which was elaborated with the assistance of UNHCR and adopted in
September 1969.
70. Towards the end of 1993, UNHCR and OAU started to collaborate in
organizing the OAU/UNHCR Symposium on Refugees and Forced Population
Movements which was held at Addis Ababa in September 1994. The Symposium
adopted, inter alia, a series of recommendations on the root causes of
refugee flows and other forced population movements; assistance to
refugees; internally displaced persons; solutions for refugees; other
populations in need of humanitarian assistance; emergency preparedness and
response; the relationship between humanitarian assistance and socio-
economic development; and issues relating to institutional reform. UNHCR
and OAU are following up the implementation of the recommendations.
71. The convening of the Regional Conference on Assistance to Refugees,
Returnees and Displaced Persons in the Great Lakes Region, which was held
at Bujumbura in February 1995, was called for by the Council of Ministers
of OAU at its sixtieth ordinary session and endorsed by the General
Assembly in its resolution 49/7. The Conference addressed a wide range of
issues concerning refugees, returnees and displaced persons in the Great
Lakes region and adopted a Plan of Action covering such matters as the
security and protection of those groups of persons; refugee repatriation;
international solidarity and burdensharing; addressing the root causes of
displacement; financial and material resources; and strengthening the
social, economic and environmental infrastructures of the host countries.
UNHCR and OAU are currently cooperating in promoting the implementation of
the Plan of Action.
72. UNHCR has committed itself to supporting, in appropriate ways, the
conflict resolution activities of OAU and the accompanying mechanisms are
being developed or strengthened within the OAU secretariat. Already, the
two organizations are systematically sharing information on problems and
issues that cut across their respective mandates. UNHCR has also indicated
its readiness to participate in an appropriate way in the regional
activities of OAU in the social and economic fields, with particular
reference to their implications for the effective execution of the
responsibilities of the office in Africa.
IV. COOPERATION IN OTHER AREAS
A. Department of Political Affairs of the
United Nations Secretariat
Conflict prevention and peacemaking
73. In accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations,
the United Nations and OAU consult regularly on key African questions with
a view to coordinating initiatives and actions on a broad spectrum of
political issues, including the prevention and resolution of conflicts in
Africa. In recent years, the two organizations have cooperated on
initiatives to prevent or resolve conflicts in many African countries,
including Burundi, Lesotho, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Africa.
They have also cooperated in the implementation of peace processes in
several African countries where the United Nations has undertaken peace-
keeping operations. Examples include Angola, Mozambique and Somalia.
74. In his report entitled "An Agenda for Peace", the Secretary-General
drew attention to the untapped potential of regional organizations like OAU
in working for peace and in the Supplement to that report offered to help
OAU and other regional organizations develop a capacity for preventive
action, peacemaking and, where appropriate, peace-keeping. In order to
exchange views on this matter and to consider how the cooperation between
the United Nations and regional organizations can be adapted to the
changing world situation, he convened in New York in August 1994 a meeting
with the heads of several regional arrangements and organizations,
including OAU.
75. The key to closer cooperation and coordination between the United
Nations and OAU in preventive diplomacy lies in a structured and constant
exchange of information on emerging crises at a sufficiently early stage.
Efforts are being made to help build the institutional capacity of the OAU
secretariat in these areas. Consideration is also being given to assisting
OAU in the establishment of an early-warning capability by providing
technical assistance, including staff exchanges, to enhance its capability
to collect and disseminate information, as well as to monitor political
developments in Africa.
76. The two organizations have exchanged views on how the United Nations
could help mobilize financial and logistic support to specific peacemaking
activities of OAU and for the development of training programmes on the
settlement of disputes. Similarly, arrangements are being made to involve
OAU in devising and implementing programmes of rehabilitation and
reconstruction in post-conflict peace-building efforts in Africa, as well
as those that address the needs of refugees, displaced persons, demobilized
combatants and others affected by conflicts.
Electoral assistance
77. In the past year, the United Nations has provided technical assistance
in such fields as electoral systems, election organization and budget
preparation, boundary definition, civic and voter education, informatics,
logistics, procurement of election materials (such as ballots, staining
ink, ballot envelopes, ballot boxes, etc.), election law and training
election administrators. Since 1992, electoral assistance has been
provided in response to 35 requests, including those received before 1992.
78. In field operations where the United Nations has provided an umbrella
framework for the coordination of diverse international observers,
cooperation has often been exemplary. In Malawi, for example, coordination
with OAU and other organizations was essential for effective observation
coverage of the elections. Electoral assistance in Malawi included support
for over 250 international observers, including those from OAU, as well as
coordination of technical assistance provided by the United Nations, the
European Union, the Commonwealth and the International Foundation for
Electoral Systems.
79. The United Nations undertook a major role in coordinating the
international observation of South Africa's first general elections in
April 1994. It deployed 2,120 observers and coordinated the observation of
the elections and deployment of 102 OAU observers who participated in the
final polling phase of the elections. In Mozambique, 21 OAU observers
worked in close cooperation with the United Nations during the final
polling phase of the electoral process.
80. The Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political
Affairs co-sponsored a colloquium with the Department for Development
Support and Management Services, the African-American Institute, the
International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the National Democratic
Institute at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in November 1994. The objective of
the colloquium was to contribute to the democratization process in Africa
by the strengthening of electoral institutions. Participants included
representatives of OAU, as well as election administrators and
representatives of civil society directly involved in the electoral process
in 31 African countries.
B. International Civil Aviation Organization
81. OAU continues to be invited to the meetings of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) within its sphere of interest, including
sessions of the ICAO Assembly. ICAO has provided information, particularly
on the implementation of ICAO regional air navigation plans by African
countries, for the study of air transport in Africa being undertaken by
Egypt, which was endorsed by the Council of Ministers of OAU at its fifty-
eighth session, held at Cairo in 1993.
82. ICAO continued to maintain a close and continuous working relationship
with the African Civil Aviation Commission and provided the Commission with
expert advice and secretariat assistance upon request. Documents and
studies of interest to the Africa region are provided to OAU on a regular
basis to allow it to maintain basic documentation on civil aviation
matters.
C. Universal Postal Union
83. Cooperation between the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and OAU continues
in the form of activities, mainly in the area of technical assistance,
carried out jointly by UPU and the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU), a
specialized agency of OAU. Under the cooperation agreement concluded in
that regard, UPU and PAPU coordinate their programmes and carry out joint
technical assistance activities, co-financed by the parties concerned.
During the period from July 1994 to March 1995, two joint projects/seminars
were carried out in English-speaking African countries, on methods of
market studies (Nairobi, July/August 1994) and on management methods and
organization (Nairobi, November/December 1994).
84. In addition, UPU has provided substantial technical assistance to
States members of PAPU for the following activities, funded from UPU
resources and carried out within the framework of UNDP projects:
consultant missions involving operational activities, studies and the
organization of services; individual and group training fellowships; and
the provision of postal equipment. It has participated actively in the
work of the Second Transport and Communications Decade in Africa, inter
alia, in efforts to find financing for proposed postal projects.
85. UPU is helping to implement the 1993-1996 programme of PAPU, in
particular through group training activities. It is also continuing to
cooperate with OAU and PAPU to achieve the objectives set in the Abuja
Treaty and spelt out, as far as the postal sector is concerned, in the
protocol on transport and communication. The presence in the field of
three regional advisers from UPU has provided continuing support for the
postal administrations in ArabicEnglish-, French-, Portuguese- and Spanish-
speaking African countries.
D. World Meteorological Organization
86. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) continues to accord high
priority to OAU member States, particularly to sub-Saharan countries, in
its technical assistance activities. In 1995, the three continuing
technical cooperation programmes under implementation in Africa are:
African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development; programme
for the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel
(CILSS); and a drought monitoring programme for eastern and southern
Africa.
87. Within the framework of the African Ministerial Conference on the
Environment, WMO continues to participate in the Inter-Agency Working
Group. WMO is also collaborating closely with OAU and ECA member countries
in the assessment and development of coordinated strategies related to the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the International Convention to
Combat Desertification, with emphasis on the roles of the national
meteorological and hydrological services. In addition, WMO, in cooperation
with ECA, organized a conference on water policy and assessment, management
and development in Africa.
88. WMO is working in close cooperation with African regional economic
groupings in the development and implementation of regional common
programmes and strategies. A regional meteorological programme for the
Economic Community of Western African States is under negotiation with
development partners. Furthermore, WMO continues to provide support to the
national meteorological and hydrological services, regional meteorological
training centres and regional specialized meteorological centres of African
countries through the various scientific and technical programmes of WMO.
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