Mr. Chairman,
Esteemed Heads of State and Government, Honourable ministers,
Distinguished delegates,
My colleagues in the United Nations system, Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour and privilege for me to be invited to take part in the Silver Jubilee anniversary of the Economic Commission for Africa and to represent the United Nations Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs which is located in Vienna, Austria.
In coming to Addis Ababa, we are honouring a great city and a proud country with an ancient civilization. Addis Ababa is home to the Organization of African Unity as well as the host to ECA. Addis Ababa, in important ways, symbolizes the unity of purpose to
which all Africans aspire, i wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the Ethiopian Govern
ment under the leadership of Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam for the warm hospitality they have accorded all of us.ECA and the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs have enjoyed close and cordial relations and during my administration as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, we have paid much attention to the priority needs of Africa in the fields of women, youth, the handicapped, aging, and crime prevention.
For this reason, and because this is my very first visit to the great African continent, it is with pride and joy, as an international civil servant, as a citizen of the Philippines and as an Asian, to be able to participate in this important event. To be able to hear first-hand state ments from the highest leaders of the African continent has been a profound and moving ex perience for me as well as an opportunity to meet numerous African brothers and sisters.
We at the United Nations feel proud that the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cu£llar, attended the opening ceremonies. The presence of Mr. Shuaib Yolah, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for International Economic and Social Affairs, himself a son of Africa, and who, in this position, has jurisdiction over the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, also attests to the importance United Nations Headquarters attaches to ECA.
Increasingly, policies and programmes in the economic and social fields are being formu lated and implemented at the regional level. This welcome trend as envisaged in the restructuring of the United Nations is recognized by those of us at Headquarters as a con tinuing manifestation of collective self-reliance, increasing awareness of national identity and a sharper sense of national priorities on the part of Member States themselves. This-has been demostrated in the case of ECA.
In the 25 years of its existence, the Economic Commission for Africa has done much to articulate the economic and social goals of this continent and its people. ECA has done this job ably, showing a great understanding of the problems which loom large on this vast horizon. It has managed to do this notwithstanding the profound changes that have oc curred during this period which witnessed an unprecedented transition from colonial rule to national independence. The winds of nationalism dramatically transformed the political map of the continent over this past quarter of a century. From the handful of independent countries that existed when ECA was established in 1958, the number has grown to fifty. In no part of the world has independence come to so many lands in so short a time.
We wish to congratulate most warmly Mr. Adebayo Adedeji and his staff as well as those who have been associated with ECA in the past for the many achievements of ECA.
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We also wish to congratulate Mr. Adedeji and his staff for the successful preparations for the memorable Silver Jubilee celebrations.
Unfortunately, we are celebrating the Silver Jubilee of ECA at a time of deepening economic recession throughout the world. The internationalization of national economies
through world trade has heightened the vulnerability of most developing countries to cyclical economic trends. Africa, wich accounts for more of the least developed countries than any
other region, has been greatly affected by recession. As it is the case of many developing countries, the terms of trade of many African States have deteriorated as a result of falling prices for primary commodities and rising costs of imported manufactured goods and energy; to cover this widening earnings gap, they have had to borrow at high rates of interest.
These developments have had a serious effect on the economic and social development
of the region. Wedged between rising expenditure and falling income, many Governments, as stated in the documents prepared by ECA, find it difficult to deal with the serious problems of their people. Population groups, notably women, youth, disabled persons, the aging and migrant workers have had to bear the heaviest burden of these unhappy circumstances.
In his inspiring statement yesterday, His Excellency The Honourable Daniel Arap Moi, President of the Republic of Kenya and current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity, emphasized the need for Africa to develop its human resources in order that
it can grapple with its problems of underdevelopment and through collective self-reliance
and an equitable international economic order, eliminate hunger and poverty. This is an im portant declaration.My statement today before this distinguished body will focus on the theme of developing the vast potential of population groups such as women, youth, the aging and disabled persons for which population groups the United Nations Department of International Economic and Social Affairs as well as the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs are directly respon sible.
In charting a course for development, the United Nations has emphasized the need to pay attention to the concerns of all population groups in society—women, youth, the aging, disabled persons and migrant workers. In many countries, both developed and developing, these population groups are sorely discriminated against in terms of employment, education and access to community services.
Government, if it is to create a just and dynamic society, must fashion policies and programmes to assist the population groups I have mentioned in ways that will enable them to become the agents and beneficiaries rather than victims and pawns of development. Long and bitter experience has proven time and again that economic growth policies do not, by themselves, in the fullness of time, trickle down to the masses of the people. Economic growth should be sustained by policies that encourage savings and promote investment in productive assets. These, in turn, should be closely linked to distributive programmes whose benefits are made accessible to the vast majority of the people and not to the privileged elite. Women, disabled persons, the aging and youth must be assured access to such oenefits otherwise it will be difficult for them to realize their full potential as productive members of society. These population groups constitute the vast majority of the population, and their numbers will grow. The number of women alone will increase fourfold between 1975 and the year 2025, to reach a total population which is estimated at 500 million people.
At present, the youth, that is, young people, male and female from the age of 14 to 25, total 64 per cent of the population of Africa. There are at present 500 million handicapped people all over the world. By the year 2025, the elderly will also reach the 500 million mark.
The United Nations has performed an inestimable service in raising human conscious ness on behalf Of these population groups. The Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, I am proud to say, has played an important role in this effort. The Centre had the responsibility for organizing in 1981 the International Year of Disabled Per sons and the World Assembly on the aging which was held last year. It is currently organiz ing three major events to take place in 1985. These are: the International Youth Year; the Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements Gained and the Obstacles Encoun tered during the Decade for Women; and the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. We hope that the African region will participate actively in these events.
Concerning disabled persons, the General Assembly adopted at its last session the landmark Resolution (AjyilSl) on the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons. It also proclaimed the period 1983-1992 as the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons. Only last week, I had the honour in Vienna of officially launching the Decade on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The World Programme of Action, truly a milestone in the field, contains a set of principles that will guide us in the years ahead in the advancement of disabled persons and the prevention of disability.
The Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs has provided technical co operation, advisory services and financial support to the African region as part of the fol low-up to IYDP. The Centre provided financial support from the IYDP Trust Fund holding last November in Swaziland the East and Southern African. subregional Workshop on Dis ability Prevention and Rehabilitation. Discussions have been carried out with the OAU-sponsored African Rehabilitation Institute on ways of promoting more effective co-opera tion among African countries in the field of disability prevention and rehabilitation. Modest funding was made available to ECA to help in the preparation of a coherent regional programme for disability prevention and rehabilitation. I might also note that most of the national committees that were established in Africa during the International Year of Dis abled Persons continue to function, and we are in continuous contact with them.
Mr. Chairman, the General Assembly, in Resolution 37/51, inter alia, endorsed the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging which was adopted by the World Assembly on Aging. The World Assembly, which met in Vienna from 26 July to 6 August 1982 and in which were represented 38 African States, calls upon Governments to make continuous ef forts to implement the principles and recommendations contained in the Plan of Action in accordance with their national structures, needs and objectives. This Resolution also re quests the Secretary-General to continue to use the Trust Fund to promote the well-being of the aging in developing countries,in particular in the least developed countries. Two African States have made contributions to the Trust Fund, and I appeal to others to follow this example. Numerous requests have already been received from Afriran States for tech nical co-operation support in the field of aging and we are giving priority to these requests.
Preparations are far advanced in the Centre for the International Youth Year which will be observed in 1985. The Centre has been designated as the lead entity within the United Nations to organize the Year, whose theme is "Participation, Development and Peace"
This theme has served as the basis of the specific Programme of Measures and Activities which will be undertaken prior to and during the International Youth Year. The.commit ment of all States Members of the United Nations, to improving the situation of youth by according to them an important role in the development process, remains the key to ensur ing the success of this most important event. To this end, I am happy to say 53 Member States, including 17 from Africa, have established or are in the process of establishing IYY national co-ordinating mechanisms. Numerous countries have held or are planning to hold meetings and seminars on IYY with a view to identifying appropriate areas of action. Al-223
though emphasis in the activities of IYY is at the national level, the youth of all countries must be educated to work for the establishment of the new international economic order and thus contribute to peaceful relations among nations.
Of special importance is the convening in 1983 of four regional seminars on IYY in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Western Asia under the auspices of the respective United Nations Economic Commissions. These meetings will review the situation of youth in each region and formulate a regional plan of action. The first of these meetings will take place at ECA in June. I am happy to learn that at the meeting of the ECA Tech
nical Preparatory Committee of the Whole held last week, IYY was considered to be of high
priority by the Governments of the African region.The Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs is moving ahead in the preparations for the Seventh Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. The nature of work of the United Nations in this field has shifted over the years to reflect the changing priorities of Member States. A major step forward was the decision by the Caracas Congress of 1980 to view crime prevention and treatment of offenders in the context of development. Such an approach, we believe, is particularly relevant to" the African scene. Crime prevention must be regarded not as a matter that concerns only the members of the judiciary and the police but as a responsibility of the family, schools, the media and the community as well. In addition, urbanization, industrialization, rural-urban migration, tourism and activities geared towards economic growth can also encourage crime. The African preparatory meeting for the Seventh Congress on Crime Prevention will be held at ECA in about October of this year.
The close collaboration that has developed between the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and ECA in the preparation and implementation of these major events is also very much in evidence in regard to the 1985 World Conference on Women which the Government of Kenya has proposed to host. The 1985 World Conference on Women can be a momentous event for the courageous and talented women of Africa.
ECA, along with the other regional Commissions, attended the recent meeting held in Vienna of the Commission on the Status of Women, meeting as the Preparatory Body for the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the Commission on the United Nations Decade whose theme is equality, development and peace.
Among the regions of the world, I am proud to say that Africa has the most advanced structures on a regional basis insofar as formulating and administering women's programmes are concerned. Africa led the way when in 1975, during the International Year for Women, the Conference of Ministers decided to establish under ECA the African Training and Re search Centre for Women. This institution has been a pillar of strength in promoting the advancement of women both in the region and within the United Nations system. Another structure which has been a powerful force for women in the region is the African Regional Co-ordinating Committee which is working through the Multinational Programming and Operational Centres (MULPOCs); this Committee has served as an effective vehicle for the concerns and needs of African women. May I take this opportunity on this Silver Jubilee to pay a sincere tribute to my African sisters who have shown determination and dynamism to contribute to the development of their countries in partnership with African men. They can serve as an inspiration to other women of the world. I also wish to extend my best wishes to my able friends Mme Delphine Tsanga of Cameroon and Mme Mariam Sow of Guinea, past and present chairpersons of ARCC, my very best wishes for their activities and to as sure them of the sincere co-operation of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs in the activities of ARCC and ATRCW. In the field of women and apartheid which is a continuing area of study and advocacy for the Centre, we would wel come collaboration in this crucial field from ECA.
In Africa, women play an essential role in agriculture and in feeding the entire population.
They must be in the vanguard of the modernization of agriculture and governments and interna