E/ECA/TPCW;lSiL
DRAFT DECLARATIONS
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DRAFT DECLARATIONS
E/ECA/TPCW.15/L Annex III
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E/ECAilTPCW.15/L·
Annex HI
DEC.LAAATION ON THE RE-INTEGRATION OF NEW, NON-RACIAL DEMOCRA11CSOUTllAFlUCAlNTO 'AFRICA
1. We, the African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development andPlaMJng, meeting in the, twenty-ninth session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa/twentieth
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meeting of the Conference ofMinisters from 2 to 5 May 1994 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, declare as
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fQlIpws:
2. We recall that South Africa was one of the nine founding membe~ States of the EconOlriic Commission for Africa and that by Economic and Social Council resolution 974D IV (XXXVI)
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July 1965 wasexcluded from the work of the Commission until such time as it abandoned its racial policies,
3. We welcome the radical changes that have taken place in South Africa since Februar; 1'996,' particularly the dismantling of the system of apartheid, the adoption of a democratic constitution and the holding of the first non-racial general elections. We
~l~o wel~o~e
the fact that democratic South,-', .-'. ,.;' -" ' " > -- ,.. , " ._ > " " ~ ,_1,.," . . . ' '-, "" :.,,:.'
Africa will soon take its rightful place in the community of nations and continental organizations such as the Economic Commission for Africa, the Organization of African Unity, the African'
Dev~lopment
B~and in other regional and subregional groupings which the new government may decide to join.
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4. We note that successful constitutional change and the advent of
ade~ocraticgove~nmellt
inSouthAfricaembracing all races and shades of opinion
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have far-reaching ecoilOmicalld~1iii~al
implications for South Africa itself, the neighbouring countries in Southern Africa and Africa as a whole.
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5. We believe that South Africa's membership of the African Economic Community will be beneficial to the Community.
6. We take note of Conference of Ministers documentE/ECA/CM.20/35entitled "Towards socio-'economic development of democratic South Africa: ECA's role in perspective", which discussed, inter
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alia, ECA's'
initi~tives
indt~~it~ringtb~
process~f
tnlnsltionin'SdiIth'Afficfla~*ell
as its preparatory: -. ,,' , , _'-0 ," .:' ".-, ., ~." <, ",> " ",j" ~
work in anticipation of post-apartheid South Africa and South Africa's eventual re-establishment of relations. with the rest of the continent.
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7. We recognize the legislativeandtechnicalmachineryof
EcA
and its MULPOC subregionaloffic~;which c~uld
provide a useful forum for the sharing ofdevelopment' experiences, as well as ECA's analytical capacities and technical and advisory services based on a multi-sectoral approach'to Africa's complex development problems, which could all be placed at the disposal of the new South" ,: '
Africa.
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-',8. We,'
ili~~~fore,requestECA,
OAU and ADB within the context of thejoint secreranat.xrther regional organizations and specialized agencies to assist, on the basis of priorities that may 'be.established by the new South African Government, in the socio-economicdevelopment of South Africa.
9. We call upon the International community and therilUltilater31 financial anddevelopment
institutio~
to lend their support to South Africa and to provide assistance as maybe requested by thenew South African government. . , " ;,
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10. We request the Executive Secretary of the U'NECA to submit 3: report to ECOS00~iJ1 conformity with its resolution 974 D (XXXVI) of 30 July 1965 to recommend a re-admission of a
dem~~~a;i~ S~utb
'Africa into the Commission." ~',
Done at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 5 May 1994
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. DCL.2 (XV) .. DECLARATION .ONA .HUMAN DEVE;LQPM.F;N'f' PL.AN .oF, ACTION FOR AFRICA
1. We, the African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning, meeting in Addis Ababa from 2 to 5 May 1994, recall "The Khartoum Declaration: Towards a Human-.focusedApproach to Socio-economic Recovery and Development", "The African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation", "The Human Development Agenda for Africa in .the 1990s and Beyond"; "The African Common Position on Human and Social Development in Africa", "The building, strengthening and effectively utilizing .human capacities for sustained
· development in Africa" and the "Dakar/Ngor Declaration on Population, Family and Sustainable
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Development", in all of which it has been amply demonstrated that development will be sustainable only to the extent that it is centred on man. We resolutely re-affirm the centrality of the human being as the initiator and beneficiary of development, the agent through whom, by whom and for whom any sustainable development endeavour must be undertaken. ;,
2. .We are deeply concernedthat in spite of all the commitments made and theactions takenby African Governments and people, the human and social situation in Africa continues to deteriorate to the, extent that much of the gains madeearlier in human well-being have now been reversed.
Nowhere, perhaps, is the intensity of human deprivation more acutelyfelt than inour region. Some 250 million people live in abject poverty. Malnutrition and starvation are widespread, A host of
· diseases continue to threaten the lives of millions and more than four and a.halfmillion children die each year largely Jrom preventable diseases. Millions of our people are denied primary health care, clean water and proper sanitation facilities. Access to education has been seriously eroded, leaving our youth, unprepared and ill-equipped for the world of work. Unemployment and underemployment have escalated, affecting adversely the lives of millions of people. Perennial armed conflicts, civil . .strife .and natural disasters continue to. afflict the region, resultingIn a heavy loss of human life,
· property-and infrastructure and producing millions ofdisplaced people and refugees, A continuation of these conditions is not only morally repugnan~;but also poses a serious threat to peace, security and
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sustained development in,our region and the rest of the world..
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3. Thes~cteterioratingc~'hditioits are fuhher compoundirig vourtproblems of building and strengthening development capacity in the region which are manifest-in the 'inadequacy of skills and knowledge to rapidly create capital and technology; the weak and deteriorating physical infrastructure whichhas negatively affected the smooth functioning of the State, society.and economy; the absence ofeffective institutions that can create, maintain and continuously: strengthen capacity; the disenabling' political, cultural, economic and social environment severely. limiting the empowerment and participationof the people in the development process; and shortcomings of governance, accountability"
andtransparencyfor maintaining socio-economic and political equilibrium for the greatest good of all ' thepeople.: In all cases, development capacity' is created and nurtured by human beings in whom ad~quaieinvestments in the form ofeducation and training, health; productive employmenranddeeent . income need to
be
made on a sustainable basis..4. .•.•. "We'have 'carefully examined Conference' of Ministers document'E/ECA/CM.20/9,entitled _
"Building, strengthening and effectively utilizing human capacities for sustained development-in Africa" "
which reviews the situation in respect of human capacity building in our region, identifying the major humandevelopment priority areas and proposing strategies and policy measures toiinplement the major.
human capacity development action programmes atthe regional, subregional and national levels.. We-are more than ever determined to arrest the current intolerable human and social conditions and build arid strengthen human capacities for sustainable development in Africa.
5. . Recognizing that no palliative Ofstop-gap measures can reverse the current alarming state of . human and -social conditions in the region and that nothing less than comprehensive action .at the>
national, subregionaland regional levels is warranted, we urge member States togivetoppnority.to the Implementation of people-centred development strategies, policies and programmes .. We further callupon them tosubstantially increase public expenditure in all areas of human capacity building and in any casetomaintainits growth at a rate that is significantly above the population growth rate; Our.
socialpartners including indigenous non-goverumentalorganizations (NGOs), people's organizations and' their communities canplayan important role -in-Improving human and social -conditions and strengthening human capacities in the region.
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E/ECAtrPCW.15/L Annex III Page 5 6. We are aware that although Africa's development will be brought about only through the hard workanddetermination of the Africans themselves, the international community also has an important role to play. Therefore, our efforts must be complemented by the concerted actions and unflinching support of their development partners - bilateral and multilateral agencies, international NGOs and . others. To this end, and as a first step, official development assistance (ODA) in support of human development should increase from its present level of 7 per cent to at least 20 per cent towards -( building and strengthening human capacity in Africa. We recognize that national efforts will not succeed without the increased and assured commitment and support of Africa's development partners.
Also, through their support, a much-needed enabling external environment should be created in support of Africa's development efforts.
7. Furthermore, we calIon the organizations and agencies of the United Nations system to redouble their efforts and increase their activities in the field of human development and the building of human capacities in Africa. In this regard, we urge them to coordinate such support and efforts within the framework of theUnited Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Human Developmentin . Africa.
8. We request the Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to prepare for us a "Human Development Plan of Action for Africa" in cooperation with the members of theUnited Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Human DevelopmentinAfrica. The Plan o(A~nshould elaborate on matters such as the required levels of support and mechanisms for
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coordination and harmonization of efforts by the United Nations system.
9. We further request the Executive Secretary of the Commission to report to the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for Econo!?ic and Social Development and Planning on the progress made in implementing this Declaration.
Done at Addis Ababa,Ethiopia 5 May 1994