Finance ministers of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations (G-7) meeting in Bonn on 20-21 February agreed in principle to proposals that would grant faster debt relief to more of the world's poorest countries. Key to achieving consensus was the attitude of the new German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, which has dropped its predecessor's policy of opposition to some proposals. While the decision on the exact amounts of debt to be written off will have to wait until the G-7 summit meeting scheduled for June this year, reforms proposed at the recent ministerial meeting would cancel some $50 bn in debt over a period of just under two years.
G-7 finance ministers resolved to reform the Highly Indebted Poor Countries' (HIPC) initiative, which has been widely criticized for being ineffective in reducing debt burdens of the world's poorest countries.
Of the 41 countries (33 of them African) originally classified as HIPCs when the initiative was launched in 1996, only two have had actual debt relief -- Uganda and Bolivia, in April and September 1998 respectively. Five others have qualified -- Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guyana, Mozambique and Mali -- while conflict in Guinea-Bissau has delayed its qualification, which was set for the first half of 1999. Mozambique is to get actual debt relief in mid-1999, Burkina Faso in April 2000 and Côte d'Ivoire in March 2001).
One proposal would ease HIPC eligibility criteria by lowering the threshold ratio for "sustainable" debt to exports from 200-250 per cent at present to around 150 per cent. Another proposal, tabled by Germany, would shorten from six to three years the policy track record that countries need to maintain in order to qualify for debt relief.
Ministers also considered a proposal that would fund extra debt relief by selling off 10 per cent of the International Monetary Fund's $30 bn in gold reserves and reinvesting the proceeds.
The conflict in Sierra Leone is not just internal but a regional problem that demands the attention of the Security Council and other members of the international community, said Mr. James Jonah, Sierra Leone's finance minister and a former UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, at a press conference held at UN headquarters on 29 January.
Mr. Jonah urged Security Council members and other major powers to address the crisis in Sierra Leone with urgency. "You cannot pursue rogue states in the Middle East and in Europe and not pursue rogue states in Africa," he said, adding that the international community and the Security Council "must be more even-handed in dealing with this crisis."
Accusing Liberia and Burkina Faso of providing economic and organizational means for the recent rebel invasion of Freetown, Mr. Jonah asked the Security Council to make clear that it would not tolerate the intervention of these countries in the conflict. He also accused Liberia of assisting the rebels by providing military training and refuge.
Freetown was devastated by intense fighting in early 1999 between the RUF and the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). More than 3,000 lives have been lost since the renewal of the rebel offensive last December, and many more people have been maimed in atrocities committed by rebel fighters.
The Joint Africa Institute (JAI), a new institution providing policy-related training to African government officials, is being established by the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, but making extensive use of information technology for distance learning, the JAI will offer courses in areas such as macroeconomic management, poverty alleviation, gender, governance and the environment. The JAI is expected to open in the second half of 1999.
Appointments:
The other Africans newly appointed to the Board were Egypt's ambassador
to Japan, Mr. Nabil Fahmy, and South Africa's Deputy Permanent Representative
to the Conference on Disarmament,
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Kenya's internationally recognized social critic, environmentalist and
human rights campaigner, Ms. Wangari Maathai (left) was among four
Africans recently appointed to the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters,
a United Nations think tank set up in 1978 to advise the Secretary-General
on disarmament and arms control issues. Ms. Maathai, an academic, is best
known for her leadership of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya.
Ms. Keita Rokiatou N'Diaye (below, left) of Mali, founding member
and Director of Mali's International Institute for Peace and Security and
Vice-President of the Administrative Council of the West African Rice Development
Association, also was among the appointees to the Board. Ms. N'Diaye was
in charge of implementing the peace accord between Mali's government and
Tuareg rebels.
Mr. Peter Gooson (right).
Mr. Fahmy heads the Egyptian delegation to the Middle East peace process.
Mr. Gooson has been responsible for disarmament and non-proliferation affairs
for over 14 years at the South African Mission in Geneva.
Renowned Nigerian author Mr. Chinua Achebe (right, below) has
been appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Population Fund. UNFPA Executive
Director Nafis Sadik said Mr. Achebe would help promote the Fund's work
on population control and improving reproductive health services, particularly
in Africa. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has increased the need for reproductive
health services, making sub-Saharan Africa a UNFPA priority region, added
Ms. Virginia Ofosu-Amaah, Director of the Fund's Africa Division, at a press
briefing in January. Mr. Achebe said he was pleased to accept the appointment
because he supports the aims of the UN.
Professor Amartya Sen (left) , the 1998 Nobel Laureate for economics,
has been named "Distinguished Adviser on Human Development" to
the UN Development Programme. A prolific writer on social choice, human
capabilities, poverty and famine, Mr. Sen has been closely associated with
UNDP's Human Development Reports and, with the late Mr. Mahbub ul
Haq, devised the Human Development Index which ranks countries by various
measures of their population's well-being.