Remarks by President of the General Assembly
H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis
at the 18th plenary meeting of the General Assembly
Joint Debate on Agenda Item 65(a) “New Partnership for Africa’s Development: progress in implementation and international support”, and Item 65(b) “Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa”
16 October 2023
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Africa – a cradle of ancient human civilization – is also a continent of great promise for peace, human rights, prosperity, and development in the 21st century.
If given the opportunity and well supported by the international community, the continent would be indeed unstoppable – with its great potential not only for a strong take- off, but to rise.
That promise, however, requires us to address the urgent challenges to get the continent back on track to achieve the 2030 and 2063 Agendas.
Africa is facing cascading and overlapping challenges, and I commend the emphasis placed on development financing, energy, and food security in the Secretary-General’s report on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
While Africa is rich in financial resources, it is experiencing such a severe debt crisis that it is losing 500 to 600 billion US dollars annually.
This is more than the GDP of 35 African countries combined.
Therefore, reforming our international financial architecture and achieving debt sustainability must be our top priority.
For a continent so rich in energy resources, half the African population struggles to access energy, particularly electricity.
We must intensify our efforts on ensuring affordable, clean, and sustainable energy across the continent in line with SDG 7.
And while Africa has an extraordinarily rich endowment of natural resources, almost 58 per cent of its population suffers from moderate or severe food insecurity – almost double the world average.
We will not be successful in attaining full sustainable development in Africa, if we do not prioritise implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 2, that is, end hunger and achieve food security.
Excellencies,
Africa is home to the world’s youngest population, with 60% of its people under the age of 25.
I applaud the African leaders and the AU for continuing to exert all efforts to turn this demographic dividend into reality, by making meaningful investment in youth initiatives.
But truth be told, their futures are obscured by political instability and conflicts, including armed violence, extremism, and terrorist attacks, with devastating consequences for peace and prosperity.
The African continent needs an enabling environment to achieve peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability, and to harness its own resources and capacities for development.
This is why it is so critical that we have an international financial system that addresses historical injustices; and that promotes an open, inclusive and fair global economy that better represents African voices in its governance.
Just a few weeks ago, the 78th Session’s General Debate and the SDG Summit provided opportunities to directly hear African voices on how to pursue economic recovery and sustainable development.
The ongoing discussions on the Global Digital Compact, the New Agenda for Peace, and the Summit of the Future offer platforms to highlight peace and development efforts in Africa, through a participatory effort and reinforced multilateralism.
For that to happen, we need to re-dedicate ourselves to the basic tenets that must guide our work in this pursuit – the respect for international law, including for the UN Charter, and in that regard, the critical importance of human rights law.
Excellencies,
We know that poverty and economic inequalities are a trigger of conflict.
We must strive to promote economic opportunities, access to education – especially for girls – and job creation, particularly for Africa’s youth, women, and marginalized communities.
We must support African countries to integrate conflict prevention and peacebuilding into sustainable development efforts – recognizing that both are intrinsically intertwined.
We must also provide robust humanitarian and development assistance to conflict-affected countries and regions in Africa to save lives and to help rebuild communities.
I therefore call on all Member States to forge strong international partnership to address common challenges in Africa, aligning our efforts with those of the African Union and other regional organizations.
I also call on development partners, stakeholders, and the private sector to scale up sustainable investment in Africa’s development to make sure that no country on the continent is left behind.
Excellencies,
The 2063 Agenda: The Africa We Want is a blueprint to transform Africa into the peaceful, prosperous, progressive, and sustainable global powerhouse it is meant to be.
Let us not forget that Africa’s development is inextricably linked to global peace and prosperity.
The recent uncontrollable spate of coups in the continent takes the continent decades back and does not augur well with the quest for sustaining peace and silencing the guns in Africa.
We owe it to the continent to continue to ensure that the special needs of Africa and its development remains at the centre of our strategic frameworks throughout the United Nations system organizations. That is why I have set myself the strategic objective of prioritizing the LDC’s, LLDC’s and the SIDS during my presidency, bearing in mind that out of the 46 LDC’s 33 are in Africa. It is these countries in special situations, particularly the LDC’s that are most in need of our urgent help and support to achieve the SDG’s.
Together, we can pave the way for durable peace, prosperity, demonstrable progress, and sustainable development for all the people in Africa. Let us commit in earnest, to devoting ourselves to that task.
I thank you.
