Deputy Secretary-General's remarks to Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting, ECA

Your Excellency Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency,

Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of ECA,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be back with you in Addis Ababa for this Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting.

Last year, at our 10th session, I was impressed by the high-level participation of UN agencies and organizations. Today I am happy again to note that all of you -- including UN agencies, the African Union Commission, NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency, and the Regional Economic Commissions -- continue to show such strong commitment to the cause of African development. Thank you and welcome to you all.

I am also grateful for the close partnership between the UN family and the African Union Commission. In 2002, the UN General Assembly mandated the entire UN system to support the AU's NEPAD Programme. This expression of support was followed in 2006 by a more ambitious declaration on a Ten-Year Capacity Building Programme for the AU and the continent's Regional Economic Communities. And now, this year, the Secretary-General has established a high-level liaison office at the AU.

I thank my brother, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, for his competent stewardship of the African Union and for his leadership in developing a strong partnership with the United Nations in pursuit of Africa's peace, security, development and human rights.

I also thank my brother Ibrahim Mayaki for his support in fostering efforts to help achieve Africa's blueprint for development.

Let me also thank the Executive Secretary of the ECA, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, under whose leadership the RCM has taken a central role in ensuring that UN activities are aligned with the African States priorities and AU's programmes.

I am happy to note that the joint RCM Africa secretariat, made up of the AUC and the ECA, is operational. I am also happy to note progress in efforts to establish a sub-regional coordination mechanism for Eastern and Southern Africa and in Central Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This session of the RCM is taking place at a momentous period for Africa. The broad impacts of climate change and the multiple crises, including the global financial crisis, the food and energy crises, continue to hamper development efforts in Africa and threaten to scale back

hard-won development gains.

In spite of these challenging trends, Africa's economic performance rebounded and has remained steadfast, with growth projected to be 4.8 per cent in 2010, driven mainly by recovery in mineral exports, ODA inflows, strong government expenditure on infrastructure development, and remittances.

At the recent MDG Summit in New York, world leaders noted the remarkable achievements that have been made, especially in terms of reducing poverty and expanding education and access to clean water.

And they sent a clear message: if we step up our efforts, the MDGs remain achievable by 2015, including in the least developed countries.

However, the Summit also stressed that more concerted efforts are needed, particularly in Africa. The outcome document set out some of the key challenges: addressing climate change, reducing inequalities, advancing the well-being of vulnerable groups, and continuing to implement the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, thirty-three of which are in Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are all aware that climate change poses serious risks, not only to the environment but to Africa's growth prospects, to social and economic development, to rural livelihoods and even to peace and security in general.

As we look to Cancun, I welcome the efforts -- already under way -- of the AUC, ECA and African Development Bank, supported by UN system agencies and development partners, to address this spectrum of issues, including through last month's Africa Development Forum here in Addis.

The consensus statement at the end of the forum recognized not just the threat but also the opportunities that climate change can provide in spurring the integration of climate-resilient strategies into development planning, and in generating movement toward a green economy.

Now that preparations are under way for the Rio+20 conference in 2012, we have another opportunity to press for the implementation of Agenda 21, and to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development. The RCM in Africa has a profound interest in making the most of this process.

I urge the RCM to take advantage of the presence here today of colleagues from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, to articulate how to facilitate substantive preparations of African States, and contribute to a successful outcome in Rio.

Beyond the Rio + 20 process, my sense is that the RCM Africa should continue to play a central role in supporting Africa's efforts to meet the MDGs.

At the margins of the MDG Summit in New York, the African Group discussed ways to do this. But to qualify for this role, there must be better and increased coordination at all levels. There must also be a focus and active cooperation at this eleventh session -- to strengthen the secretariat and to improve cluster management. We also need to focus on more efficient strategies to meet the capacity building needs of the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency and the Regional Economic Commissions. This is a crucial task for the RCM to undertake during these two days.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Declaration for the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme for the AU stipulated that the Programme should be reviewed at three-year intervals. The 10th Session of the RCM mandated the ECA, the UN Liaison Office with the AU, and the AUC to undertake the review and to ensure the involvement and ownership of all stakeholders in the process. The review has been successfully completed and I look forward to our discussion of the draft report later this afternoon.

In that respect, I call on you all to take a final look at the report and its recommendations in order to provide specific, practical and action-oriented inputs. These should include measures aimed at aligning activities of the UN System in the context of RCM-Africa and its clusters.

I thank Mr. Janneh and his colleagues for the successful outcome of the review process and for ECA's continued efforts in coordinating UN support to Africa's development priorities and programmes.

In closing, let us all remember Africa's boundless potential, and its amazing human and material wealth. The continent's people need neither pity nor charity, but rather the tools, institutions, stability and freedoms to create incomes and jobs. International solidarity and a level playing field -- especially in global trade –will go a long way toward helping the continent realize its noble objectives for its people, its prosperity and its stability.

The United Nations will remain Africa's close partner, including through the valuable work of the RCM.

Thank you very much.