Development and international economic co-operation

UNITED NATIONS

66-J 39

v'

Distr .

GENERAL E/CN .l4/8ll

E/CN .I~/TPCF'# zI/n

25

March 198'1

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL _Original

_:

_ENGLISH

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA ECONOMIC COMMISSSfDN FOR AFRICA Second meeting of the Technical Sixteenth session of the

Preparatory Committee of the Commission/Seventh meeting

whole of the Conference of Ministers

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown Sierra Leone 24 March - ² April 1981 6-11 5 p r h 1981

DEVELOPMENI!

5ND INTERnaTIONAL ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION

I m l i c a t i o n s of General Asgomblv resolutions 12/197 and f o r the redona1 canmissions

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1. Since t h e adoption on 29 December

1977

of General Acsembly resolution 32/19, the Secretaky-General of - thel.Uni+ed Nati-..&s submit.W t o the General Assembly a number of informative reports indicating the progress made a t both'

tee

i n t e r g w e h n t a l and the s e c r e t a r i a t levels i n implementing

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^{eection Iv,} "&' . , , ~ " , iikll a? other reIated psovisions, of the annex t o t h a t resolu- t i o n coacer+@ btructures f o r ~e&on&.1: and interregional c-ration.

. . The lateirt of these reports, submitted t o . the t h i r t y - f i f t h session of the

. .., , , Geperal ''kk~eri&ty a s document A/35&6..entit.led "Development and interna- ti&al'ecorio&c co-opexation: Implications of .General Assembly resolutions 32/197 and 331202 'for the regional. commission$', represented the f i r s t attempt t o analyse the overall implications of the resolution f o r the

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regional: commissions. _{. .} The document .is attached hereto.

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'2. A f t & bons'idering t h a t document'the. General Assembly decided:

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(a) t o take note of the report of the Secretary-General on the impliaa- tions of General Assembly resolutions 3 2 / 1 9 of 20 December 1977 and 3 3 / a 2 of 29 January

1979

f o r the reeional commissions;

(b) t o endorse t h w e immediate programme p r i o r i t i e s f o r

1981

which the regional commissions had approved;

(0) t o i n v i t e t h e regional commissions t o coneider further a t t h e i r plenary sessions i n 1981 the implications f o r t h e i r r o l e and fulctions

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of General Assembly resoluticns 3 2 / 1 9 and 33/X12, i n the light,

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of the observations and reconmendatims contained i n the report of the Secret&y.General, particularly p a r ~ r a p h s

76

t o 79 thereof, and t o r e p a t thereon, for ac-tj.cn by the General Assembly a t its t h i r t y s i x t h session,

j 'through

t b

Economic and Social Council, i n the context of i t s consideration of the repork of the %cret&y-G=eral called f o r under General k b l y resolution

341,236

^{of 19} December 1 9 %

3.

The present document has been prepared t o f a c i l i t a t e a re-e by

this

Conmission t o the invitation of the General Assembly.

4.

^As member States a r e aware, the r o l e and functions of FZA derive fran the terms of refwence of the Commiosiotlr These tenno of reference con-

'etitute the legal framework and b a s i s f o r the Commission's work and delineate its operational modalitied. Those aspects of the Gommissionls terms of

reference which are of special relevance t o the consideration of this mat&e&m reproduced --..*.-" - W o w ^~T

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,to. senre as, background t o the. i,eueq uhich w i l l be developed l a t e r on. Those proi-isions.. . . provideL-&at+ : - .

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I .., , , . ; ( d & _. The Economic Commission f o r Africa shall,

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. ~ ( i ~ . . ; ⁱ h i t i a t e and participate i n hea&$s for f acil+t&t%g

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- . . '- Goncierted action f o r theecodomic d e y f l & M ~ t

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&ica,

~. . . . . :liincluding its social a=pects, wittj:a:,?ieii'to raising t h e ^'

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;.r level of economic a c t i v i t y and level6 *:living inpin:Africa,

I . . and f o r maintaining and strenethc$i& the qconoinfd :$elations

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. . : .. of bountries and. Territoeiei i n Africat. %th. &bs,u, : ,-..,..'.. . themselves

, . ., . and with other qoun+es of .the world;,

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, ( i i ) Make or 'sponsor such investiga,&ns and stcidies o f economic and teahnological p e b l q s anddevelopmeit within the ^* t e r r i t o r i e s of Africa as the Commission deems apprdpriate,

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, .. and diseeminate the r e s u l t s of such investigations and

. . studies;

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;,

...

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. (iii) Undertake or sponsor the coll&tion, evaluation and

dissemination of s w h economic, teclmol@cal and s t a t i s t i c a l information as the Commission deems appropdate;

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(iv) Perform, within the available reso'&es of

its

secretariat, such advisory services a s t h e countries and 'Territories of the region may desire, provided t h a t such services do not overlap with those rendered by other bodies,of

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^. the Uni,$ed Nations o r by t h e specialized a&ncies.'

, ., (v) Asaist t h e . ~ o u @ i l a t its request i n discharging' its

.,.. ~. function8 +t@n the region i n comexion with any economic

i t . - . L::. problems,.including problemfi'in the f i e l d of technical

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. assistance; ^~ . . .

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(vi) A s s i s t in the formulation anddewlopment ok co-ordinated policies as a basis fop practical action i n promoting ecoxiomic and technological devesopment i n the region;

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( v i i ) In carrying out the .above function?, deal as appropriate with tIie social, aspects of .econbmic development and the

. ... interrelation&$.p

of

~ ~ o q t i o @xl social %+tors.

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(b) The Commission, nay,,after diacuseion with any specidized ag&y concerned and with the approval of thd %onbmic and Sbcial Council,

establish such subsidiary b o d e s a s it deems appropriate f a r f a c i l i t a t i n g

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t h e can* out of its re.spon&bilities. _. ^. _, . . . ;.

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(c) The Commission s h a l l W i t e representatioes gf *i.alized ^{:. :.}

agenaies t o attend its meetings and t o participate, witht vote, i n &e. . i - . ,

delibez?atiom with respect t o items on; its agenda r&%Ung t o matter; ' ' Y ? ~ : ^.:

within the saope of t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s ; and it; may invite'bbsemers ^,,. f r G

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euoh other intergwernmental organizations a s it may cbdsider desirable, i n aacordance with the practices of the Econqmip an@ ,*'ial Council.

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(d) The Commission -11 t a l e measures;tq. exi&-e t h a t theneceshary

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shall be m a t a i n e d with other organs o f the, United 8ations.and

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w i t h

the specidkzed agencies, with special attenti&"to the avoidance _{. ! . .}

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o f ' i dupli6ation of &fort. The Commission s h a l l ' &t=blish' appropriate

I J, liaison and co-operation with other regional econ&nic, coumiissions in. ^{. i,} _{. .} accordance with the resolutions and directives of t h e Ecorlomic a d : &&a&',

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Council and the General Assembly.

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: ( e ) The- heiadqua$ters of the Commission and it& s e c r e t a r i a t

a b l l

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be lodated f n Nrica.. '&e. s i t e of the headqwrters s h a l l be decided by ^{' '} t h ~ and ~ S o c i a l & *.il ~ ~i.li c k s u l t a t i o n w i t h the Secretaq+heral of t h e United Nations. The Colihnission may i n due course alsb - w i k a b ~ h suph subregioaal o f f i p s _. as i t m a y .... find nece~sary. ^{A , . , , , # , , .}

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^In intexpreting its r o l e and carrying out its functions, f o r much of tb first two decades of its existence the Commission paid particular attention &3 correctly so) t o gathering, analysing, evaluating and disseminating information and basic data on bfrican economien in direct recognition of the f a c t t h a t there was a dearth of socio-economic data a t both thenationaland the regional levels on which rational decisione ^' could be based. This type of need ir, of course, a continuing one although by now on a diminishing _scale and with new emphases. The Commission alson concentrated its e f f o r t s through r e d e h h studies, workshops and 6eminars;

on ensuring

an

understanding of the trbe nature of the development process,

;In the reeion, t o serve as the basis f o r the formulation and development of c e o ~ c l i n a t e d policies a s a means towards taking practical actioa in promoting ecozlrmic, social and technological developtrpht.

6.

In terms of instiMtiona1 arrangaents, the Commiseion recognized early on the value and importance of regional ceoperation and integration and played a leading r o l e in the establishment of the African Development Bank and the African i n s t i t u t e

h

Bconomic Develdpment and Planning.

&galnizationaliy, the Ot) ssdon established a number of sub-regional

"f"

offices (Sat& cb~~rerked nto Multidational Programming and Operational centres)

t a

f d c i i i t a t e the mooth coitduct of its work by bring& its operations closer t o its c l i e n t s , the member gtates, and a h established its policy-maldng organs. It forged clcsa relationships d t h the sfieeialiaed agencies a s a r e s u l t of which a number of joint units have been established.

7.

^{By and} large, therefore, the Commission, i n interpreting its role, has been f a i t h f u l t o its terms of reference.

8. ^However, i n pursuing the above courses of action, the Commission did

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not turn a deaf ear t o its c r i t i c s who ware advocating a s h i f t away from , the t r a d i t i o n a l areas of data-gathering, analysis and research t o more

practically oriented,activities. Nevertheless, t h e shift w a s slow i n coming owing,to sane extent, ta a lack of financial resources. But the shift

from theory t o practice had already begun t o take place a t the time General Assembly resolution^

3.21197

and 331.202 were adopted.

9. General Assembly resolution 3.21197 i s devoted t o the task of restructur- ing t h e economic and social sectors of t h e United Nations system so a s t o increase t h e i r capability t o deal with problems of international economic co-operation and development in a comprehensive and effective manner.

Section

IV

of t h e annex t o t h a t resolution (Structures f o r reeional and interregional co-operation) contains a s e t of policy decisions affecting the regional commission& These decisions have the e f f e c t of widening the role of the commissions i n recognition of the special vantage p o h t from which t h e conunissions may perceive , t h e i r regions' socioleoonomic development when they state, i n t e r a l i s , t h a t r

, (a) Regional commissions should exercise team leadership ^{and - ' . , ,.}

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responsibility f o r coordination and co-operation a t t h e regional level, convening periodic maethgs f o r the purpose of impraving the c o - o r d i n a t h of the relevant e c o h c and s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s of the United Natione

system;

(b) Relations between regional commissions ^and the organizations of the United Nations system should be strengthened, and t h a t close co-operation with t h e United Nations Development R'ogramme should be established;

(a) Regional commissions concerned should a s s i s t developing countries a t the ~ q u e a t of Goa.ernments i n identifying projects and preparing programmes f o r the promotion of co-operation among those countries and t h a t they

should. strengthen and en@& economic aoloperation among developing 0 0 ~ t r i e S a t the subregional, r e g i d and i n t e r r e g i d Zavaleeq

(d) ~ e ~ i o n + . ~ o o r m i s s i & should be enabled t o function expeditious*

as 'exe'c~lrtieg. agenijies f o r intersectorall mbregimal, regional

and

i n t e r Iresi~nai..$bj'+&''(the General Assembly has since, through its remlution

33/S2,

d&$d&

tii+

regional c o ~ s s i o n s , + a l l have the s t a t u s of executing

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:..;, agencies in t h e i r

durr

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F _, . '..<.*. . .

t ,.., . . ^, .,

I ( e l '

~ d k i

oommis;di4ns should provide inputs for t h e global &licy-

:haking

fexx*

^{Y h t h} k&issee > L . '

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t h e con&etent, Uhited .Nations organs aad shorild participate e-nlmphentation . . of the relevant policy and prograaiw dkcisions

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talc& by these' &gans; . , t " . , : I . : , . . -; ! r . . , , ,

10.0. k b e y States, f&& the v&,active part which.!.they hive p l & d , i n tha work of t h ' r C o d s s i o n aqd f g t h d r delibebations and d e c i d c m wer t h e pa&

t ~ + k

years followin&!t@ adoption , O f ! remlu@ion

.32/197

are we12 awiire of what both t h e Compi&on itself,. a s a p0%$'4ialcing body,

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and t h e &oretariat have d w e t o ct;qut'the abave.policy ;d&cisiohe

of the G k e r a l ~ s a e u + l + < ~ , As 'a,,c&we, there is no r e a l need t o catalogue here 'ithat they

d.ei

Ne+erterthel~s.. t Lagoe Plan ofrAction might well

., be :Wx%h.mentioning f o r several ' (

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11. Firs$ t h e Lagos Plan bf ~ c t i o n i g ' perhaps t h e consummate example d a C d e a i o n ! s input i n t o t h e g!obal m e s s e s of deoieion Idakin$ &.nee '

it has influenced t h e new &ternational Development Strategy w h i l e being, i n turn, influenced by certain global otrategies. I n this sense also it highlights the practical relptionship between t h e Commiaion add t h e General Assembly as'well as the ~ c o p + c and Social Couaail. Indeed, the. Lagos

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Plan of llcticm is noe int&ati&ally 1u40wn fhrou&h the heroic'effdrts of t h e AfFio& Group'at thh S%ited Natians and has been frkquently cited in a number

df

General . . Assqibly. resolutione..pertaining t o t h e k i a l

and

kmmomic

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development of Africa, prominent among them beie reaolution

35/64 ..

concerning special measures f o r the soaial and economic development of Africa in t h e

1980s;

fiesolution

35/66

proclaiming an Industrial

%velopment Decade for Africa; and resolution

35169

on the situation of food gnd agriculture i n Afrioa. Second, t o produce t h e Lagos Plan

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Action required an extraordinary level of collaboration and o w e r a t i o n among members of the United Nations system, with this Commission ^' i n the lead, in terms of its conceptual framework and design. Third, the Commission's i n s t i t u t i o n a l machinery has been utilized t o its fulEest as _{t h e} Plan has passed through i t s various developmental stagds from a framework of principles f o r the implementation of t h e New International Economic Order* t o the Monrovia Strategy and thence t o its f i n a l ,form3

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^,i hamnmred and f q e d within the various sectoral and pl hoq confe+enc?es

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^{. sat the expert} andwinisteriiil levels. TO a large extent, t h y e f o r d , the Lagos Plan of _Action is an embodiment of what the General Xddembly has envisaged i n terms of an expanded r o l e f o r regional coadaisaions through resolutions 3 2 / 1 g and 33/202 S s v i s the interrelationships and inter- action among canpcments of the United Nations system.

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12. Assisting member State6 t o implement the Lwos Plan of 'AcScW which uill be the key task of t h e Commission w e r the next seve&al'yeiii.'s w i l l f u r t h e r t e s t every aspect of t h i s widened role: the Coannissionls l e a d e r M p role; co-ordinaticm and c e o p e r a t i o n a t the regibnal level among organizations of the United Nations svstem includine %he United Naeima

~Gelopment Programme i n order t o arrive a t a rational distribution of tasks and responsibilities and t o develop comprehensive programmes which would avoid duplication and strewthen complementaries; assistaide t o ' Governments i n identif* projects, i n mobilizing international finaiihe and _in the exeoution of those projects; and ensuring wise use o f th e Co&ssion?s i n s t i t u t i o n a l ^machinery i n tenns of continued joint &h&ul- ing of regional meetings or p r i o r oonsultations regarding agenda and v&ue with agencies, and the preparation f o r intergovernmental consulfati&s a t the global level which may have dire& relevance t o the dia1,'economic and technolo&d development of Africa, including special conferences mganized or sponsored by the General Assembly o r the Economic and Social

Council. _I

13.

Perhaps what remains t o be said, although it may be clearly inferred from t h e above, i s t h a t the Commismion has had no d i f f i c u l t y irl understand- ing

ead

interpreting the clear policy decisions of t h e Gemral AssembQ and hhs accordingly mwed swiftly and with resolve t o implement these

policy decisions. -#reas of d i f f i c u l t y and r e d s t a n c & h v e been encountered but these have t o do with understanding, by some,of the'new r o l e vested i n a l l regional commissions'and t h e eventual adjustment,by the fonner, i n a s p i r i t of co-operation, t o the wish of the General Assembly. Full acceptance w i l l take time.

a.

Much remains t o be done, of course, requiring financial resources and talent both of _which are in less than abundant supply. Current estimates of the additional-staffing and other costs required for this Commission to respond f u l l y and effectively t o resolutions 3 2 / 1 9 and 33/202 stand at

$3

million per m u m .