ECOSOC PANEL DISCUSSES NEXUS BETWEEN PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

ECOSOC
17 July 2001
Morning





Former South African President Nelson Mandela and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata were among the participants on an Economic and Social Council panel this morning, discussing the link between peace and sustainable development on the African continent.

Mr. Mandela, speaking via video link, said Africans must themselves take on the responsibility to shape their future and must assume full ownership of the development process. Recently established regional development initiatives were testimony to their determination to enhance cooperation among themselves. African leaders needed to act together to further enact policies and to win international support and resources for sustainable development initiatives.

Africa could not do it alone, Mr. Mandela continued. Its partnerships with the world community, especially with the developed countries, multi-lateral institutions and private sector actors, had to be extended to long-term development support.

Mrs. Ogata said wars compelled people to flee. As victims of persecution and violence, refugees had to be given asylum and protected while in exile. Large-scale human displacement induced by conflicts inevitably had a negative impact on development. The very existence of people in refugee camps who were not integrated in their communities negated the conditions for country development.

According to Ibrahim Gambari, Advisor for Special Assignments in Africa, there were a few countries in Africa which were relatively poor but experienced no major conflicts. There were others that were rich in natural resources where conflicts were endemic. And there were countries that were resource-rich and peaceful. The point was that conflicts and wars in Africa had multiple causes and that was why efforts to prevent or resolve them should also be multi-faceted. The New African Initiative linked peace and development, and African leaders had made commitments through the Initiative to address the root causes of conflict, of which the main one was poverty, Mr. Gambari said.

Bruce Alberts, the President of the United States National Academy of Sciences, said science and technology were advancing at an ever-increasing rate, and it was therefore necessary to plan in Africa, as elsewhere, for a very different world. Every region of the world, including every nation in Africa, needed ready access to scientific knowledge and the ability to use science's intellectual resources and its methodologies, Mr. Alberts said. There was an urgent need for wise decision-making based on the highest-quality science, on how best to use Africa's limited natural resources -- its soil, water, energy and materials -- at both the national and village levels.

Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflicts, said, among other things, that it was important to invest in the youth of Africa. They constituted the vast majority of the African people, and were deeply alienated from their countries and their societies. Often they were not in schools, they could have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and many were child soldiers. That was what African youth were doing, while other children around the world were learning on the information superhighway. This had to be addressed, otherwise the violence and conflict would simply be recycled.

Summarizing the dialogue, Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that it was clear that Africa had to take charge of its own peace and development; that it had to focus more on cases of "fragile peace" -- post-conflict situations; that more had to be done to foster the scientific and technological aspect of development and peace; and that greater knowledge had to be developed and implemented related to the political and social basis for peace.

Earlier in the morning meeting, the Council carried on with its annual high-level segment, hearing from a series of Government ministers calling for a renewed international commitment in support of African undertakings to spur sustained economic development.

Sule Lamido, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and giving the keynote address, said among other things that Africa was not only confronted with myriad socio-economic problems but ethno-cultural and political conflicts as well which hampered development. He went on to call for concerted action to combat HIV/AIDS and for a close look at development models that had been applied in Africa in the past, in order to avoid past mistakes as a new course was charted for the region.

Kwesi Nduom, Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the Africa Group, said the outcome of the recent Lusaka Summit, called the New African Initiative, was a culmination of efforts to achieve sustainable development -- it also re-asserted Africa's leadership and responsibility for its own development and rested on rich human, intellectual and natural resources and on the keen recognition that Africa's many problems were not insurmountable.

Also addressing the morning meeting were Government Ministers or Ambassadors of Iran (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Belgium (on behalf of the European Union), Morocco, Germany, Cuba, Croatia, Cameroon, Belarus, South Africa, and Indonesia. In addition, the Director-General of the Swiss Direction for Development and Cooperation spoke.

The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. to carry on with the general debate under its high-level segment on supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development.


The role of the United Nations system in supporting sustainable development in Africa

Under this agenda item the Council has before it a report (E/2001/83) of the Secretary-General entitled the role of the United Nations system in supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development which notes that "Recent African initiatives for renewal and growth and for African ownership of its own development, together with the improved policy environment in many countries, provides a sound basis for building a real partnership between Africa and the international community to put the continent on the path to sustained growth and improved living conditions for its people. The United Nations system must play a key role in forging such a partnership. The challenge is to build on African ownership and sound economic policies. This can be done with an adequate mix of resource flows, debt relief and much-improved market access for African exports, combined with support for the diversification of the region's economies and the replication of success stories being implemented by or in collaboration with the United Nations system."

Statements in General Debate on Sustainable Development in Africa

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introducing the report of the Secretary-General, said African development had been a priority item on the United Nations agenda for some time. A new element that needed to be paid attention to was giving further importance to initiatives coming from the African countries themselves. This required the United Nations to place many resources in its regional capacities. African development was also going to be given special emphasis in all economic and social efforts of the UN system. This high-level segment on African development had begun on a promising note.

SULE LAMIDO, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, on behalf of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, said Africa at the beginning of the twenty-first century century was not only confronted with myriad socio-economic problems, but also ethno-cultural and political conflicts, which hampered development. In the same vein, the opportunities and potentials that existed for development were equally immense and challenging, so much so that a focused and concerted action was required to pull Africa out of the doldrums and help to ensure sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development was both multi-sectoral and holistic and, for Africa, nothing encapsulated the spirit of this seemingly abstract concept more than Chapter VII of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted last year in New York. However, there still remained the concern that the United Nations and the international community needed to address, as a matter of urgency.

Without doubt, the single most devastating menace threatening Africa's socio-economic development was the HIV/AIDS pandemic. With an estimated 30 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's active labour force likely to be wiped out in the next five years because of the disease, it was an illusion to think of sustainable development in Africa, or any kind of development for that matter, without first check-mating the menace of this lethal disease. Another serious problem facing Africa was the external debt overhang, which continued unabated despite various debt-relief initiatives, including the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. At present, Africa's total debt stock as a percentage of gross domestic product was over 60 per cent, while debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services was about 30 per cent. This situation was not only economically unsustainable, but also portended a real threat to the survival of the region's fragile democracies.


A close look at the development models that had been applied in Africa would also be necessary as a new course was chartered. Africa had been subjected to numerous externally designed models as a panacea to its economic problems over the last three decades. The Bretton Woods institutions with the support of the international community had designed some of these models. However, in spite of the good intentions of their authors, these experiments had not achieved the desired results. In some cases, the results had caused so many pains and social upheavals that their local advocates -- politicians, administrators, and even academia -- had to be branded foreign lackeys. The major cause of the failure of these models was the use of pure economic logic to address problems that were found out to be sometimes political, socio-cultural and often very complex.

Although Africa had not in the past been given enough attention and prominence, there was satisfaction with the positive changes and attention accorded by the United Nations. It was hoped that this renewed partnership would continue to make a positive impact and improvement in Africa.

KWESI NDUOM, Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that for some two decades, many African countries had taken painful economic measures to improve the lives of their people. The outcome of the Lusaka Summit, called the New African Initiative, was a culmination of efforts to achieve sustainable development -- it also re-asserted Africa's leadership and responsibility for its own development and rested on rich human, intellectual and natural resources and on the keen recognition that Africa's many problems were not insurmountable. By creating an "Africa Union", Africa had seized an historic opportunity to accelerate regional integration; the process had to focus on improving Africa's competitiveness through integrating markets through trade liberalization, harmonizing monetary policies and promoting private-sector investment. The Union could not succeed, however, in an atmosphere of endemic political instability and conflict, nor could Africa achieve sustainable development without an end to its wars.

Partnerships with the international community should be guided by four principles: Africa's ownership of development goals, objectives and policies; mutual accountability of African countries and their development partners to achieving shared objectives; predictable, long-term donor support; and a bold and comprehensive approach. Africa's political and economic reforms required that its economic take-off be matched by aid, debt relief, and market access. Imbalances in the global trading system, including a number of WTO agreements, were serious impediments to growth and development in Africa; there also was an urgent need to make imaginative use of official development assistance (ODA) and to carry out a vast campaign to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, and to develop Africa's human resources.

BAGHER ASADI (the Islamic Republic of Iran), on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said much had been said and written about conflicts in Africa and their devastating impacts on the overall development of the continent. There was no need to further attempt to enumerate the causes or the real ingredients in the repertory of tragic local conflicts gripping Africa. It was high time for the international community to put an effective end to the involvement of foreign companies and governments in fomenting and protracting these deadly conflicts. Beyond such meddling, however, the real long-term culprits remained to be the state of underdevelopment and lack of democracy. Development was the best contribution to peace. They were simply indivisible. Achieving development and economic growth and poverty eradication should be at the heart of conflict prevention strategies. At the same time, there should be a coordinated and comprehensive approach towards combining peace building, emergency assistance and longer-term development support measures, including the destruction of weapons and reconstruction of economic, social and physical infrastructure.

Looking at Africa and judging from various indices, one could not but arrive at the rather inevitable conclusion that despite a large number of wide-ranging efforts and initiatives of the past, the overall economic and development situation of the continent as a whole and most of its member countries was disquieting. These efforts and initiatives simply failed to deliver. Figures on Africa's share of the world trade and foreign direct investment, meagre average annual rates of growth of GDP and sustained rates of growth of various African economies spoke for themselves and for the saddening state of underdevelopment. Worse still, due to lack of investment, transport infrastructure in Africa had seriously deteriorated in the past 20 years, thereby seriously hampering international competitiveness. Many African countries remained dependent on the export of raw materials for their export income -- little in practical terms had been done to assist them in diversifying their exports. And it was most unfortunate that their terms of trade had suffered substantially during the past two decades. Added to this, the HIV/AIDS pandemic was taking a catastrophic toll on many African societies, paralysing their economies and ruining their social fabric.

What Africa needed at this critical junction and in the midst of this still unfolding globalization process and all its attendant tumult and uncertainty was a renaissance. The African renaissance, the rebirth, could only be initiated and undertaken in all earnestness by Africans themselves and by African countries, individually and collectively. And there was a role for others, the rest of the international community, inclusive of the United Nations system. The United Nations should undertake integrating all its various plans, programmes, and initiatives into a comprehensive policy framework, comprising of all political, economic and social components, and with clear well-defined roles and mandates for the relevant executing agencies and departments.

EDDY BOUTMANS, Secretary of State for Development Cooperation of Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, said Africa contained 34 of the world's 49 Least Developed Countries, or LDCs, and the continent remained a priority of the European Union, which based its strategic partnership on the Cotonou Agreement and the Euro-Mediterranean partnership recently reaffirmed at the Africa-Europe summit in Cairo. It was understood by the European Union that African countries should take charge of their own development; that there should be an integrated approach to helping Africa, led by the United Nations; that the approach should be qualified, making allowance for broad general problems and the specific situations of specific countries, and taking into account such factors as level and stability of democracy and the extent of debt burdens; and that "partnership" was an inclusive term, allowing for such things as public/private partnerships.

Although there was bad news from Africa, for example in terms of GDP decline, there also were positive signs. The European Union felt it was important for the General Assembly to continue to seek peace and sustainable development in Africa, and urged the United Nations system and the World Bank to intensify efforts to coordinate and harmonize development programmes. African countries needed, for their part, to focus on good governance, conflict prevention and resolution, establishment of the rule of law, and promotion of enabling environments for economic growth and the growth of democracy.

MOHAMED BENAISSA, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, said the leaders who pledged at the Millennium Summit to halve poverty by 2015 could have been too ambitious. However, the objective could be achieved if the United Nations system took into consideration the link between economic development and the social dimension. Also, if the link between the political climate and the investment climate was considered. Africa faced economic,
political, social and cultural difficulties today, but they were not insurmountable. One area that needed to be addressed was the issue of debt burden, which affected the poorest countries. Also needing attention was foreign investment. Another area was developed countries opening their markets and lifting barriers placed against exports from the developing countries of Africa.

LUDGER VOLMER, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, said Africa was often and wrongly referred to as the stepchild of global development dynamics. But despite alarming facts with regard to health and education issues, there were also positive developments. Africa played a key role when it came to the attainment of international development goals. Two plans for the promotion of Africa's development were successfully merged into the "New African Initiative" during the recent Lusaka summit. It seemed that African countries had worked out this road map for Africa's future, containing important ideas and concepts for reducing and eventually closing the still-widening gap between many countries in Africa and other parts of the world. What was extremely important was that this initiative would be firmly based on those political and humanitarian values now endorsed the world over -- values such as democratic participation, good governance, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, environmentally sustainable economic growth combined with social justice and, most importantly, respect for human rights -- all factors which would hold the key to Africa's future. There could be neither long-term economic success nor social progress worthy of the name without respect for human rights and rule-of-law principles.

Some two decades ago African pessimism was rife and many observers considered Africa a hopeless case. But African leaders proved the pessimists wrong. Today, in quite a number of African countries, there were more than just glimmers of hope to be seen. On the other hand, positive trends continued to be undermined by the conflicts that every year destroyed much of the economic and social progress people had toiled long and hard to achieve. This was an area where the UN system, working closely with African regional and sub-regional organizations, had an important role to play. Here, too, African ownership was called for, hence Germany's strong support for all efforts by individual countries as well as region or sub-regional organizations to resolve the conflicts still besetting the continent.

To create an environment conducive to conflict prevention, it was crucial that the ongoing UN Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects should produce substantive results. Vigorous action was required on the preventive side if there was to be a break of that vicious circle of violent conflict leading to excessive and destabilizing accumulations of small arms and light weapons. The way forward here had been clearly set out by African leaders in the Bamako Declaration, and also in a comprehensive document drawn up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Unless security issues were addressed, there could be no prospect of sustainable development.

Germany was committed to improving its African partners' integration into the world trade system. The World Bank estimated that free access to the markets of the OECD countries could bring the developing countries substantial additional income. It was satisfying to see that the Brussels conference in May had achieved a decisive breakthrough on trade. All participants made it their aim to ensure quota- and tariff-free market access for all goods from the poorest countries. Given the large number of Least Developed Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, this breakthrough should be viewed as a major success for this region in particular.

RICARDO CABRISAS RUIZ, Minister of Government of Cuba, said Africa's complex social and economic problems had been the focus of the international community for 20 years; this attention had gone through various phases and numerous programmes and initiatives; it was now time to ask why, after 20 years, the situation in Africa had not only not improved but had actually declined to alarming levels. Some 52 per cent of the population currently lived on less than $ 1 dollar a day; sub-Saharan Africa received less than 2 per cent of foreign direct investment; and over 40 per cent of the population was illiterate, creating a major challenge if Africa was to join the information-based globalized economy. Worse, wars and conflicts were frequent and numerous.

The long-term solution to the problems afflicting Africa would not be achieved through half-measures. There should be favourable rules for trade for Africa; there should be greater debt relief, as current measures did not get to the root of the problem; and much greater resources should be dedicated to combatting HIV/AIDS. Even Cuba, with its modest resources, was implementing an Integral Health Programme in some African countries. Following the recent Special Session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS, Cuba had offered a series of services to the poorest and most needy countries, including doctors and health workers, lecturers for the creation of schools of medicine, and medical equipment.

TONINO PICULA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, said his country firmly believed that efforts were needed to continue to make ECOSOC more responsive to the needs and concerns of developing countries in the rapidly changing global economy. As it seemed that globalization was unavoidable, it should be ensured that nobody was left behind or was victimized. Everyone should benefit from it. Despite the fact that globalization was market and technology driven, it should be a consideration in the reform of the United Nations' economic, financial, social and development areas. The United Nations should use its comparative advantages and universal nature to be at the forefront of promoting global economic governance and policy coherence. The policy dialogue between ECOSOC and the Bretton Woods institutions held in New York in May this year was a step in the right direction. The forthcoming International Conference on Financing for Development should foster further cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions and ensure the forging of a global alliance for development and governance of globalization for the benefit of all -- those least developed in particular. The functional commissions of ECOSOC which dealt with development, as well as social and environmental issues, should be important actors in promoting policy coherence. Emphasis should be continued to be placed on the United Nations contributing its expertise, avoiding duplication within the system and working in synchronization through all of its operational activities for development.

An important aspect of the work of ECOSOC was the periodical assessments of the progress made in the area of economic and social development. It was believed the Council should take on a greater role in the ten-year review process, particularly focusing on an integrated and coordinated follow-up to intersectional and cross-cutting issues. The functional commissions of the Council should primarily be in charge of the implementation and follow-up to United Nations conferences. The participation of all relevant stakeholders would also ensure the pursuit of conference goals and policy implementation. Renewed international efforts to accelerate development in Africa should build on Africa's political commitment in all aspects of the process. Development could not be achieved without political stability, nor could stability be achieved without good governance and respect for human rights. In order for Africa to take the path of sustained growth and improved living conditions, everyone had to do their part.

FRANCOIS-XAVIER NGOUBEYOU, Minister of State in charge of External Relations of Cameroon, said Africa, more particularly sub-Saharan Africa, was disaster-stricken: laden with debt-burdens, shackled with poverty, hindered by inadequate infrastructure, and afflicted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In addition, African economies were not very competitive. Among the causes were a lack of government transparency and flawed or ineffective efforts to spur development. New avenues had to be explored, and that was the challenge African leaders had decided to take up. Only last week, Heads of State at the OAU summit held in Lusaka had launched the New Initiative for Africa aimed at an African renaissance. The plan set priorities and specified goals and the resources needed to achieve them.

The new approach should make it possible to develop infrastructure, to establish better links with information technology, to battle HIV/AIDS and to expand health and educational services. International help was needed, however; donor countries had to reverse the recent drop in official development assistance and in donations to United Nations development programmes. Significant increases were necessary, and multi-lateral institutions needed to design programmes better suited to Africa. The thorny question of African debt also had to be resolved.

WALTER FUST, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, said perhaps the most important contribution of the United Nations in the early years towards Africa was its support of decolonization. Colonialism was now a thing of the past -- poverty, however, was not. African countries knew best which and what form of assistance was most welcome. Switzerland had been a bilateral partner in Africa for many years. Peace and security came first -- armed conflicts were the major reason for the lack of development in at least three African regions. The United Nations had the mandate, the means and the expertise to help resolve conflicts, to promote and secure peace, and thus to remove the obstacles to development. Also, Africa as a continent was over-supplied with arms, be they in military or private hands. Switzerland fully supported ongoing efforts to restrict possession and the trade of arms. The UN system should also increase its support to African governments and African civil society to improve governance. It should build capacities to create conditions for sustainable human development. Africa's situation in terms of development indicators was dramatic -- the 28 lowest ranking nations were African. The emphasis on good governance in Africa was not a neo-colonial plot. All industrialized countries continuously struggled for better governance as well as for more transparency and less corruption.

Globalization was, first of all, a consequence of technological progress, of better communications and means of transportation. It brought change, big changes for everybody. Globalization produced new winners and new losers. The UN system was best placed to defend the interests of the disadvantaged people in these times of accelerated change. But it should act in a coordinated way, offering answers to the burning questions raised by globalization. Action should be done with a constructive attitude, with intelligence and wisdom, but it should be done vigorously. There was pride about what international cooperation had achieved. However, it was well known that assistance and investment from the outside was only part of the answer. To develop a nation, every citizen and every civil society organization was needed. The driving forces for sustainable development were in Africa, and had to be in Africa.

ALEXANDER SYCHOV, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, said Africa was the only continent where poverty was on the rise and productivity in decline, and the situation was being made worse by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, armed conflict, and natural disasters. The continent had huge potential for more diversified production and exports and should become a full partner in the global economy. Recent decisions concerning debt relief and free access for export products were therefore welcome, as was the outcome of the recent Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Lusaka.

Belarus agreed with African countries that just and non-discriminatory conditions for international trade should be established; it also agreed that official development assistance (ODA) needed to be increased. It felt that good governance and transparency in financial, monetary and trade systems were imperative for African progress. The HIV/AIDS catastrophe required priority-driven attention from the international community. The Economic Commission for Africa could play a more active role in fostering regional, sub-regional and bilateral cooperation, complementing United Nations efforts, and could elaborate specific recommendations for improving national plans for sustainable development. Belarus, despite its own problems, had provided financial assistance through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in response to humanitarian emergencies in Congo and Ethiopia.

IVY MATSEPE-CASSABURRI, Minister of Communications of South Africa, said the Organization of African Unity meeting in Lusaka had adopted the "New African Initiative", which affirmed Africa's resolve to take charge of its destiny. The Initiative was an expression of the commitment to decisively address the ills that had beset the continent for so long, whether they were caused by actions of Africans or those of others. South Africa appreciated the solidarity that had been expressed by other regions of the world, particularly those that faced the same challenges of poverty and under-development that Africans did. The Initiative spelled out the economic and sustainable development priorities and called on the international community to join the historic partnership to effectively tackle the problems that had beset Africa for centuries, once and for all. These were based on the recognition that peace, democracy, human rights, including the promotion of women in society, good governance and sound economic management were preconditions for development. The Initiative spelled out the sectors which required immediate attention. It also identified the following as immediate priority programmes which required urgent actions -- communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculoses; information and communication technology; debt relief; and market access.

It was quite clear that without the requisite resources, few of the priorities contained in the Initiative would be achieved. It was therefore important that there was engagement in all the necessary actions that would maximize the resources that could be put at the disposal of meeting the challenges outlined in the Initiative. These actions included the possible creation of a mechanism for the coordination of United Nations activities, particularly those related to bridging the digital divide, which would create the conditions that would maximize private resource flows. With this Initiative, the Africans had committed themselves to a plan for achieving sustainable development. This was a historic opportunity which development partners could not afford to miss. It was also a framework for the future relationship between the United Nations system and the continent. South Africa looked forward to the practical formulation of the new partnership, and remained ready to play its full role in the development of Africa.

ALWI SHIHAB, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, said the development of Africa was a matter of great importance to his country which supported the premise of the Secretary-General's report whereby the United Nations would do its utmost to build a strong partnership between Africa and the international community on the basis of African-owned development initiatives. Obviously, the constraints of Africa's development were multiple and overwhelming, and they continued to defy the concerted efforts of the developing countries across the whole spectrum of social, economic and political activities. Economic stagnation in Africa was widespread, financial flows, particularly official development assistance (ODA), had greatly declined and its external indebtedness was excessive. In addition, it was extremely difficult to attract foreign investment as long as technology transfers were inadequate. Combined, these constraints further aggravated the existing economic gap and digital divide. Moreover, conflicts, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases had exacerbated these long-standing challenges, while globalization coupled with finance and trade liberalization had served only to bring additional pressures and a greater risk of further marginalization. Thus, the stakes were high -- a whole continent was locked in a life struggle to break away from underdevelopment and poverty and, in many cases, to overcome almost insuperable social and ethnic tensions and political conflicts.

It was therefore important that, in the ongoing struggle to overcome these formidable challenges, past mistakes were learned from, and achievements were built upon until success was finally attained. African ownership was a critical concept. As emphasized in the Secretary-General's report, the primary responsibility for promoting sustainable development in Africa resided with the continent's governments and peoples themselves, which presupposed that this was where leadership should be generated. A plan which focused on sound economic policies, combined with measures to strengthen democracy and combat corruption, was a critical prerequisite to achieving the sustainable development of Africa. There was no doubt that through the United Nations efforts and activities that the critical issues confronting Africa would be kept at the forefront of the international agenda. This session would greatly reinvigorate the momentum for sustainable development in that region of the world. Indonesia reaffirmed its long-standing commitment and support in favour of the sustainable development and well-being of Africa in the coming years.

Panel of Eminent Personalities Debate on “the Nexus between Peace and Development”

NELSON MANDELA, former President of South Africa, speaking via video link, said Africans must themselves take on the responsibility to shape their future and must assume full ownership of the development process. Recently established regional development initiatives were testimony to their determination to enhance cooperation among themselves. African leaders needed to act together to further enact policies and to win international support and resources for sustainable development initiatives. Africans also were working more effectively to resolve and end conflicts in many parts of the continent. Peace was a fundamental requirement for durable sustainable development, and sufficient care had to be given to preserving peace in post-conflict situations.

Africa could not do it alone, Mr. Mandela said; its partnerships with the world community, especially with the developed countries, multi-lateral institutions and private sector actors, had to be extended to long-term development support. Peace-building policies had to be backed up with sufficient commitment for post-conflict reconstruction and development. One way the United Nations could assist African countries was to combine humanitarian relief, peace-building and long-term sustainable development. There was a need for further coordination and harmonization in United Nations efforts to that end. The success of Africa's new vision required strong political will on the part of both African countries and the international community; he trusted the international community would participate with renewed enthusiasm so as to ensure the ultimate victory of peace.

SADAKO OGATA, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said wars compelled people to flee. The work of UNHCR was to negotiate with the countries receiving refugees to provide them with safety while mobilizing assistance from the international community. As victims of persecution and violence, refugees had to be given asylum and had to be protected while in exile. Large-scale human displacement induced by conflicts inevitably had a negative impact on development. The very existence of people in refugee camps who were not integrated in their communities negated the conditions for country development. Even if refugees camps turned into markets for local goods, and provided some work opportunities, all key elements of the social, economic and environmental fabric of host communities -- prices, jobs, salaries, food commodities, clean water, forested areas, law and order -- were profoundly affected. This was why early conflict resolution efforts were important, in order to keep the period of refuge as short as possible.

When peace came, refugees flocked back. The first sign of peace was usually seen in the repatriation of refugees. However, massive movements of people returning to their own country added a heavy burden on societies trying to rebuild themselves, especially in post-conflict situations. The re-establishment of peace did not necessarily mean that stable conditions immediately prevailed. In fact, they were often extremely fragile. These situations of fragile peace required much more policy scrutiny than had been the practice in the past. The paradox of repatriation to situations of fragile peace was that it was a positive solution to displacement, and as such should be promoted. However, when repatriation was on a large scale, the returning country could have serious difficulties in absorbing these people, particularly if it had undergone war and destruction. To avoid transforming a solution into an obstacle, well planned and well supported peace building and development activities that included reintegration projects should begin immediately after the end of the conflict.

There was a need to build a new paradigm for peace and development. Efforts to solve and prevent war should veer much more towards development, while development endeavours should be carried out with the solution and prevention of war in view. The importance of controlling the transfer of small arms as a means to achieve either of these objectives must also be emphasized. There would be no development without peace, but peace alone would not bring better human life without ensuring better social and economic infrastructure. Peace and development were inseparable.

IBRAHIM GAMBARI, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Africa, said there were a few countries in Africa which were relatively poor but experienced no major conflicts (Mali was an example). There were others that were rich in natural resources where conflicts were endemic (Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola). And there were countries like Botswana that were resource-rich and peaceful. The point was that conflicts and wars in Africa had multiple causes and that was why efforts to prevent or resolve them should also be multi-faceted. It was clear that development could not be sustained in an atmosphere of conflict and chaos, and it was probably no coincidence that with 17 conflicts going on in Africa, the continent contained the largest number of Least Developed Countries in the world.

The New African Initiative linked peace and development, and African leaders had made commitments through the Initiative to address the root causes of conflict, of which the main one was poverty, Mr. Gambari said. All agreed that poverty created conditions that easily escalated into violence. Economic growth was clearly a key for eradicating poverty, and so it was the basic condition for durable peace. To meet the targets of the Initiative and the Millennium Declaration, Africa needed the help of the international community, as vast resources were needed and African countries could not alone supply them. Development assistance needed to be more effective; donors should strive to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their aid to Africa was spent in Africa; African capital should be kept from leaving, which was currently a major problem; debt relief had to be deepened; and industrialized countries had to help African nations to expand trade through improved market access and by helping them to diversify their economies.

African countries in some cases, furthermore, needed to meet rigorous technical standards for their exports as required by all players in the global market, yet also were facing standards that sometimes exceeded those imposed by competent international bodies, Mr. Gambari said. Both domestic and external resources would continue to be indispensable for Africa's development, and a package of increased foreign investment and official development assistance, which could help to leverage even more investment, coupled with debt relief, was essential for providing an enabling environment for Africa's emerging private sector.

BRUCE ALBERTS, President of the United States National Academy of Sciences, said science and technology were advancing at an ever-increasing rate, and it was therefore necessary to plan in Africa as elsewhere for a very different world. Although generally invisible to political structures, there was a unique culture shared by scientists around the world based on values such as honesty, generosity, and a respect for evidence. Because scientists shared those values, scientists could easily communicate across political boundaries and had formed strong international networks based on personal trust.

Every region of the world, including every nation in Africa, needed ready access to scientific knowledge and the ability to use science's intellectual resources and its methodologies, Mr. Alberts said. There was an urgent need for wise decision-making based on the highest-quality science, on how best to use Africa's limited natural resources -- its soil, water, energy and materials -- at both the national and village levels. At the same time there was a great opportunity now to connect scientists and engineers throughout the world in tackling Africa's problems. What was vital, however, was that every country, including every country in Africa, needed its own skilled scientists and strong institutions to mobilize and support them. Even the poorest nations must have scientists deeply involved in education at all levels so as to produce the human capital on which so much of development depended. Any country without such a core of scientists and technologists could expect to be completely cut off from the invaluable knowledge and know-how of the world's scientific community.

Each country needed to help its scientists to create an honest and effective mechanism for impartial, scientific and technical advice to Governments and policy-makers, Mr. Alberts said. The Governments of the world needed to join in a new partnership to that end so that pressing global issues could be faced effectively.

OLARA OTUNNU, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflicts, said there was agreement that a significant number of African countries had managed to maintain peace, in spite of great odds. The link between development and peace must first pass through a normative bridge or a normative framework. One part of that was a building of national cohesion, in place of fragmentation. Another was a credible sense of the distribution of the benefits of development, replacing excluding significant segments of the population. Also needed was a simple democracy which was transparent. Further, the use of national and state resources should be questioned. Were they being used for the benefit of the population? On leadership, it had to be faithful to its own people. It could not be one that thrived on self-aggrandizement. These together formed the normative framework. These criteria should inform the debate.

It was important to invest in the youth of Africa. The youth of Africa, which constituted the vast majority of the African people, were deeply alienated from their countries and their societies. Often they were not in schools, they could have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and many were child soldiers. That was what African youth were doing, while other children around the world were learning on the information superhighway. This had to be addressed, otherwise the violence and conflict would simply be recycled. Education and schooling was necessary. Another aspect of investment in African people was identifying the intellectual class. Why were they marginalized in their own countries? Africa had a wealth of intellectual capital. There was also a struggling business class, people prepared to invest in Africa. They needed support to became a capitalist class. Further, there were activists groups -- international organizations, NGOs -- they were distant from the people, and they needed to be reached. Unless these three groups -- the intellectuals, the business people and the activists -- could be reached, all of this talk was just lip service.

The large countries had to do more by setting examples for other countries. Their examples would pull their neighbours along with them. The international community should support these efforts.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said, in summary of the dialogue on "the nexus between peace and development", that it was clear that Africa had to take charge of its own peace and development; that it had to focus more on cases of "fragile peace" -- post-conflict situations; that more had to be done to foster the scientific and technological aspect of development and peace; and that greater knowledge had to be developed and implemented related to the political and social basis for peace.




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