From Africa Renewal, Vol.16 #4 (February 2003), page 6
Focus on African partnership
Africa's new continental development strategy, the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), has been endorsed
by the UN General Assembly as the main framework for international
support for the continent. Meanwhile, in Africa, discussions
about the ambitious programme are intensifying.
The decision of the UN General Assembly on 4 November to officially endorse the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) symbolizes "a new start for the international community in its interaction with Africa," South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo said as he introduced the resolution. It also means "that Africa has again given notice before the international community of its commitment to take responsibility for its own future."
Promoting
African plan at the UN on 16 September: South African President
Thabo Mbeki (left) and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.
Photo : ©UN
The resolution (A/RES/57/7) was the fruit of eight days of "difficult" negotiations, Mr. Kumalo noted more than two weeks earlier, after a late-night session brought final agreement on its wording. Originally set for 7-11 October, the talks had to be extended until 17 October, as delegates from both developing and developed countries haggled over the precise language.
Ultimately, the developing countries' Group of 77 (G-77), which produced the resolution's initial draft, achieved its basic objective: to secure approval for the official endorsement of NEPAD as "the framework, around which the international community, including the United Nations system, should concentrate its efforts for Africa's development." The New Partnership had already been formally approved by African governments in 2001, and won support at the June 2002 summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries. But strong backing for NEPAD by the UN General Assembly represents a more universal commitment towards its success.
While judging that "this first effort seems somewhat hesitant," Mr. Kumalo nevertheless said that Africa appreciates the resolution's recognition of the continent's particular development needs. He expressed confidence that it will be possible to build on that recognition through "future deliberations."
Much work lies ahead, Mr. Ihab Gamaleldin, an Egyptian delegate and chair of the Africa Group, also observed at the close of the resolution's negotiations. To forge genuine partnership between Africa and the international community, he said, "It will take the efforts of the two sides to tango."
Since African governments had already negotiated NEPAD, there was no need for the General Assembly to go into detail about its objectives. The resolution therefore simply welcomed the New Partnership's priorities and encouraged African governments to integrate them into their national programmes.
The bulk of the resolution focused on support actions by the international community. Sticking closely to previously negotiated international commitments, these points included:
Africa does not view such actions as a list of separate items, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, one of NEPAD's central promoters, made clear during a 16 September General Assembly debate on the plan. Africa's partners, he said, "should contribute to the fulfillment of an integrated approach, embracing trade, ODA and investment." For example, Mr. Bouteflika pointed out, improving aid and lifting barriers to African exports would both help attract more investments to Africa.
The resolution underlined the importance of UN support for the New Partnership's implementation. It called on the UN system "to align its activities in Africa with the priorities of NEPAD," to enhance the coordination of all its work on Africa and to strengthen its cooperation with the African Union and other African institutions. Some initiatives are already under way. Others await specific decisions by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, including the establishment of a structure in New York to review and report on UN and international support for NEPAD.
As Mr. Annan noted to the General Assembly on 16 September, there is a very close fit between the priorities of the New Partnership and the international development goals adopted at the September 2000 UN Millennium Summit. Those goals, in fact, have been explicitly incorporated into the African plan.
"There is a symbiotic relationship between NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals," he emphasized. "The NEPAD will not be a success if Africa fails to achieve the goals - and the world as a whole cannot achieve the goals unless they are achieved in Africa."