UNITED NATIONS
,
1. ECONOMIC
"
AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL
PROVISIONAL
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.2l 2 March 1962 ENGLISH
Original I FRENCH
DOCuMEN'II OFFICE
'Jt~ CUP ~T
NO 10 BE TAKEN
ovr
ECONOIUC COMMISSION ron
~A~FRI::;~CA;:---_':":"'.J
PROVISIONAL sm.lMA.RY RECORD OF '!'HE TWEWI'Y-FIRST MEETING ECONOMIC COMMISSI01iFOR AFRICA.
Fourth session
Addis Ababa, F9bruary-March 1962
held at Africa Hall, Addis Ababa, on Thursday, 1 March 1962, at
3
p.m.Chad rmans Mr. O.B. DIAhIU. (Mali) Executive SecretarYI Mr. Mekki ABBAS
SecretarYI Mr. MA1'!!U
CONTENTS:
1. Trade and Commodity Problems (continued) 2. Economic and Social Development
Question of polygamy
Establishmen t of an African Institute for economic and social development and planning (continued)
Representatives wishing to have corrections made in their speeches as summarized in thia reccrd are invited to indicate them in the text and send them wi thin 48 hour-s of receipt of the record to IfJr. Go det , Room 59, Africa Hall.
62-542
E!CN.14(IV)!SR.21
TRADE AND COMMODITY PROBLEMS (Item 9 of the agenda) (E!CN.14!125 and Add.l, 134, 138, 139 and Add.l and 2, 141; E!CN.14!L.99, E!CN.14!L.IOl!Rev.l)
( contanuod)
Mr. ATTIGA (Libya) reminded the meeting that at the previous session his delegation had congratulated those European countries Which after centuries of warfare had finally become aware of the community of their interests and objectives and had at last become united in an attempt to solve their economic and political difficulties. African countries Which had so far escaped being involved in wars - and it was to bs hoped
that that would continue ~ should be inspired by that example.
As to the association of certain African countries in the European Economic Community, he considered that the integration of different economic units re~uired specialization rather than diversification of markets, the free circulation of commodities, and services across national frontiers, equality of technical knowledge in the various economic units to bs integrated, agreement on problems of general policy and on questions of special interest to the countries concerned.
European economic integration had been achieved only after agreement on those matters. The situation wae different between African countries and the Common Market countries. For instance, if Al'rican associated countries were to specialize in the production of raw materials, where could they use the surplus labour resulting from such specialization and from the use of modern techniques in the production of such raw materials?
If they specialized in the export of raw materials to Common Market countries, what could they export to non-associated African countries1 Again, if they imported manufactured goods from Common Market countries, what remained to be imported from non-associated African countries? Lastly, how could associated African countries maintain their present relationship with the Common Market while at the same time contributing effectively to the integration and economic unity of Africa. He doubted whether satisfactory
.-:
.. E!cm.14(IV)!SR.21 Pa,ge 2
replies could be given to those questions. European countries had been obliged. to uni te in the establishment of the Econcnd c Community, and clearly Africa would be obliged to do likewise in order to establish an African Common Market.
Mr. RALAIDOVY (Mada,gascar) pointed out that.certain African countries were associated with the European Economic Community by virtue of their former status. Since the existing Convention on association
e~ired on 31 Decemb~r 1962, those States, as independent States, were negotiating. a new agreement. Clearly those States were not prepared in
their neg~tiations to adopt a policy of rnendaDity, as some would have it believed. The clause safeguarding the industrialization of associated and non-associated countries in the former Convention had been redrawn and strengthened during the course of the diecussions. In other words, the association of African countries in the Common Market was far from constituting an impediment to African industrialization.
The preferential tariffs enjoyed by Members of the European Eoonomio Communi ty were based on logical and n at.ur-a.L considerations in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. Henoe it was not for purely
sentimental reasons but because of striotly legal obligations that his Government had exempted imports from those oountries from customs duties.
He wondered whether ~Jrican countries were really in a position to set up an economic group, such as an African Common Market. If so,
was it really necessary to break off all economic and commercial relations, whether bi-lateral or multi-lateral, with countries outside Africa?
Since African. commodaties were clearly of a. competi tive nature, what method was envisaged for their distribution?
All those questions required time and reflection. For those reasons he urged the Commission to adopt, as it stood, the draft resolution
liubmitted by Gabon (E!CN.14!L.99) on the impact of European economic groupings on intra-African trade.
E/G~.14(=v)/SR.21
Page 3 .
j;Ir. DUALEI'! (Cameroun) noto d that no speoLer had so far proved substantially that association with the Comuon Karket was undesirable for African countries.
In his, delegation's va ev the fundamental question for Africa lay in ·the industrialization an d diversification of its trade.rhe means of achieving African economic development was by the sale of its products outside the continent; why then speak of breaking off commercial relations with the countries that were buyers of such commodities? Why refer to
African solidarity when certain African countries still continued discriminatory practices against sister-countries?
The En te t-n atLonaL Coffee A;ro"r,l0nt \fas ono of the advantages offorod to African countries by REC. Before the conclusion of the Rome Treaty, South ~~orican countries had consiotontly rofusod to negotiate with African oountries. It was only because of the fear that their c>m export would suffer from the marketing opportunities offered to Ai'rican countries by
the Com~on Market that they held si~1ed th~ International Coffee Agreement.
Moreov~r, it was the very existence of the Common Market which had inspired the ULited States to pro?ose commodity price Gtabili~a'ion.
He the r-ef'o re hope d that tb.e Common (clarket ,Toulet continue to be concerned with factors over and above purely ta.riff ccn a.i.de r-a ta or;a and would contributo to an eventual atabi L'i z atdon of prim&r~1 commodaty prices.
Mr. i'ASSOloi?TIOI'; (fuhomoy) e xpr-e s ae d his firm boLiaf in. the use usefulness of an Afr1car. Common ~,jarket, although fullJ aw[.:.re of the
difficulties I nbe r-er.t in the establishment of such an e corionu c group.
While.i t WaS true that
on:r
div8rnifiC2~tior, of ·trade ren_uired in<lustrL:lir,[~tion neve r the Le s s "c, Least in the o arLy sta.:;es, industrialization was
unlikely to char12;'~ the, 9i tuc, tion since the pr ocessin~, of pri.mary ccmmodd ties purchased at con.pe ta tive prices would inevitabLy lead to the production of finished products also Cit competitive prices,· For that reason he was convinced th:>t tree Common market would serve ·as a basis for a bot te r organizati,m of the .A:frican market.
E/m,.14(I~)/SR.21 Page 4
The two main points were intra-African trade and trade with developed countries. With reg<zd to intra-African trade in raw materials, the first difficul ty encountered was due to the non-o xi.s tenc e of industries in undor- developed countries for tho processinE of primary commodities. Further, African countries were not in a position, even in the name of solidaritYt
to solI their products at preferential prices to other African countries unable to pay t1.8 prices agreei to by irniustrializBd ODGS.
Trade with developed countries was a strong inducement because of the financial advantages it offered. On the other hand, owing to the close relationship existing between certain African countries and the former metr opc Id t.an countries, and the consumer habi 1;0 thus created, the former were obliged to import various finished goods from the metropolitan countries to satisfy the requirements of consumers.
In order to stimulate intra-African trade, Afrioen oountries should consult together to find solutions to the difficulties dividinG them.
KewAfrican products should be considered in terms of domestic ~,d intra- Afrioan markets, In addition, in ord'Jr to avof d any anarchic deve Lopment of inQustrializ~tion,it was Gssenti~l to S2t UF a central body for the co-ordination of various national economic policies with a view to achieving tho diversifioa~ion of tradG by means of regional specialization.
He hoped that the Commission woul d vote 'for the draft resolution on the Lmpc.ct of European ec onorm o groupings on A.:f'rioan economies
(E/cr .14/L, 101/;18v,1),
Mr. SOW (Senegal) said th0t ~c knew of no adverse effects on African e ccr.omde s arising out of the establishment of the Common ~iarket, as the second preambular paragraph S60n~Q to insinuate. On the contrary,
t~e BEG had made it possible fOT a numbEr of African countries to ex~ott
their primary commodities at stable prices. In addition, the serious difficulties "itt which intra-African trade was faced "ere not menti cne d in the succeeding paragraphs of th~ dr<:ft resolution,
E!m
J.14(IV)!SR.2lPage 5
A number of African countries produced almost identical primary commodities, so much so that they were competitors, and until an African Bank for, primary commodities waS set up there was no chance that those
OOUntries would come to a reasonable agreement, Furthermore, the difficulties in the way of the industrialization of African countries should not be
overlooked, nor the fact that their finished goods were produced at prices above those of European countries. That was the reason why certain African countries refused to buy such goods. Lastly, the cost of transport was not such to encourage intra-African trade.
Despite its association in the Common Market, Senegal imported primary commodities 'from other African territories for the production of shoes, sacks and the like, that clearly showed that the EEC had not prevented Senegal from maintaining commercial relations with other African countries and .that the fear expressed in the fcurth preambular paragraph of the draft resolution was not altogether founded.
As to the establishment of an African Common Market, he asked the authors of the draft resolution what were the favourable conditions their
countries were prepared to offer. His delegation had expressed the hope at the last session that an African Common Market would be established and would like to "JlOW what action had been taken to that effect.
His delegation considered the draft resolution a negative one and could not vote for it.
Mr. JOANliES DUPRAZ (France) said he was speaking as the repr~sentative
of the country which held the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers of the European EconomiC Community for the first half of
1962.
After pointing out that the debate on the implications for Africa of the Treaty of Rome and more particularly of the association of certain African countries with the six countries of the European Common Market was resumed each year, he analyzed the criticisms initially levelled against the association of overseas States with the Common Narket and observed that the
, E;jCN.14(IV)/SR.21 Page 6
ob jecti.on to its so-ualled im,osed character was groundless for those associated States whic~ had a~tained independence
association i:::. the exercise of their iull . c' ",':..
in process for '<;"e z-enewaL of '<he conven tao-i concluded bctvcen the Six and the associated Afric~ States1 and t~at contract would in every way be a free con tz-ac ; between equal par tno i-c ,
Tho non-associated cOc~tries had'criticized the trade Clauses of the Treaty of Row? oO~CGrning the aEsocia~iG~ of ove~EeaB S~ates because: those c l ause c would e stab LLsh preferences for the assoc5.ated co,""tries. Without prejudgin(,th3. c Lauac» of the noi' ccnventLon , the pre.ferences »exo already cteerr.ed tv ofier as sur-e d c:,c.yanJ.;;ages to the &'ss0ciat<;·:1-t:ovntries, -as the re.presontati"'lGfJ 0-:: tJ.-ose ,count:ries had 7Brr recently said. in Brussels to
The '~:lird pa.rty to hOrl-ass'ociated count r i.e a had not been able 'so far to mention C::.1j- dc,naco c aur.e d to th8:1
:\:l
those pXIJferC;W81'3, aG therepl'esent,atir' 8 of Ga.~10:'l L':'2-cl ..IlO:L:.j, C~ cut, 'l'hooe tD:~_rd pa~"'t;'l S-oates had also rei'0:.:'rea tJ -:1::.0 d3.ngcrs "~o,,:tCt,:::ie6.in -the 1'rae_t~r of Rome to the-
• ~If that Gta-G8r;-.;ellt was ju.atified the si,J~t\:l
beginni.11g
,\;:)11::":::_ '":)''; ['ariv:"_':l~ bL"I, It had be e.: poi.n te d out from the
~; ';~h'.l ~B~ociated Stat'3t;, cou',« ;l.:."1C,3r "lihe Treaty of Rome i.tself' industrializaticn"l 11:'=.8 T:-"'3::1-~J" of :10::-8 ha., ~:h-en be en cc cuae d of over- f avo ur.Lng the indue:;~~'i"lic.3.tio"of ~"e ofJ'.0ciat0d co untr i.c s (E/CN.14/l29, para. 25) bvc
industr,ie:::. they ~.d.c:1Gl~ I:'1 t:1.oc:e con tz-ad'i c t.i.on s i t ~.B.:S eas~,r too .,discern a bias against the Common l-ia:rket -:-r.ho:Je
no other purpose th£~ to fiske a positive contribution to the ~odification and diversification of ec,,/domic ;jt:r-uo~';ur2£,t)
VTith regard to the agricultursl polio;! 0;: the.S;ix, he had given. all the re.... ae cur-anco e d:?si.t',able to. COr:l~2.titi"r~ :;;ro,J.'J.cers, particularly to
t h e f a rn er e 0 : "'2:1v n i c i e, ,2nd. NI01>OC0~), ,,;11;08e a y st e m W[;,E) a ct ' u aL l . y det em n . n cd by special 'J:'~,-tQooloo
E! ClT.14( IV)! SR.'21 Page
7
The. usefulness of the European D0velopmcnt Fund was unquestionable and since .November 1961, whd ch was the date on w21ich the analysis made. in the SecretariatIS do cumerrt s ce ase d , nt>K ~)l.·"O cts had been adopted which raised
the sum of coramttted funds to 18c million dollars.
He therefore summarized the situation by saying that the African countries either benefited positivcly from the ~reaty of Rome as associate members or , if thuy were Eat c,.ssaciated, net only couLd Cive no evidence of il'dury suffered as the result 0.' d.iscri mi.netion but on the cont.r-ary profi ted from tho wider mLrkets of intezrated Europe whoae policy towards
third courltri8G w~s to afford them substantial ~dvan s.
He mentd one d some statistics to show that the Common I"arket hr.d caused no deterioration in tT~de and thcct on the contrary trade between the EEC and third countries had increasei by 25 per cent between 1958 and 1960.
Obviously, if they movei from economics to politios, they might be tempted to evoke African solidarity which, it was said, would be seriously endangered by association >lith the Common Market. He would renind delegates once more that association militated against the possible eoonomio
"balkanization" of Africa for associating wi th the Six, African oountries werG also uniting among themselves, which proved th~t f0r from workin£ for
the division of Africa, the Eurcpean Economio Community was endeavouring
t~ contribute te its eoonomio prosperity while respeoting the soverei6nty of African ·countries.
I\ix. PIRSvN (Belgium) sup~orted Gabon's draft resolution (E!CN.14jL.9~) d.'spi te the objections of several r-epr-esentat i ve s , No one had been able to
prove that the European Common f·larl:e t would harm Afri can forsi,)'! trade.
On the oontrary, statistics showed that it had favoured the trade of that con tinent. 'l'he trade balance between Africa. and the European iiconomic Community had recently been modified to Africa's advan • I'Tith respeot to the Community's common external tariff, ;,t consti tuted in its entirety
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21
?age 8
for third oountries a customs chargo lower than that of former national tariffs. 'F'cLI'thermore, negotiations were in process at GATT to secur-e a general lowering of tariffs.
The Common Market was not a olosed club and; under artiole 238 of the TTeaty of Rome i t 'ras open to all ccunt.ri.e s that wi she d to join.
The European Economio Community hoped that tho .~rican oontinent would become industrialized as soon as possible eo as to strengthen its poai, tion as a trade partner of a sin"le Europe whose economic life rested traditionalJy on international trade. The growth ;.n trade f'o Ll owLn, the conclusion 0;('
the Treaty of Rome had resultsQ in incrBused receipts of forei~n currency for the African countries, thus aupp Lyi.ng them wi th add.i,tional means of payment for their development plans,
ThO) Development Fund of the European Economic Community, on the other hand, had financed various operations in connexa on wi th transport, technical training, 'and global studies of deve Looment , I t had also financed several projects of interest to Aseociated States,
With respect to primary comillodities, the European Common Market en de avouz-e d to open a fr ank dialogue on an equal footing between pr-oducer- and cor...sumer counvri.e s in an 0:ffort to f:i.l1d· balanced solutions. J:l'inancial measures likely to conpe~sate fluct~ationsin ex~ort prices of primary
pro~ucing countries would q~ studied ne~t May at the joint meeting" of the Commodities Committee of FAO end the Commission on International Trade in Primary Products.
He was convinced that the acce asi on of the United Kincdom' to the
Commurrt tl>' .:ould s t.reng then e c onomic co-operation be tween Europe and Africa,
~ld, in consequence, promote tho 8conomiQ ~robress and industrialization
OJ~ that conti:l.e~>1.I~
Mr. DIA~,\RA (Ivory Coast) recalled some elomentary facts which
c€r~ain, members of the Commission -seemed to have forgotten. The anxiety aroused by the association 01' African countries with the Buro pean Common
E/cr,.14(IV)/SR.21
Page 9 > •
Market was due to the fear that it would lead to discriminatory practices which would prove harmful to African unity. In exchange, an African Common Market had been suggested. Although he considered that move excellent, he could not ref'rain from noting that the warmest partisans of an African Common Market had so f'ar done nothing to speed its arrival. They had not organized the least customs unionl they had not yet attempted the smallest experiment at a monetary union, nor even a payments union.
It was the African countries associated with the European Common Market that could boast most of' trying to integrate their economies, the best pledge of' African unity. Furthermore, by making sure of stable markets outside, those oountries developed their agricultural production which would make it possible f'or them to find the f'inancial resources necessary f'or their industrialization.
It was precisely because certain African· countries wished to emerge f'r-om the economic Middle Ages that they had decided to associate with the European Common Market while at the same time remaining the most fervent supporters of African solidarity.
The Ivory Coast delegation could not support the adoption of draft resolution E!CN.14!;:'.101!3.ev.i ,because it was obvious that the European Economic Groupings had not had an unfavourable impact on the eoonomy of' African countries and that the structure of' African produotion and trade was no longer what it was before independence. Ghana's proposed
amendments to that draft resolution contained no really constructive proposals.
Gabon's draft resolution, on the other hand proposed positive measures f'or the organization of markets f'or the main African raw materials and f'or the prioe stabilization of those products. That waS why the delegation of the Ivory Coast would vote in its favour.
Mr.
Sike CAMARA (Guinea) said that his Government Was opposed to the European Common Market. That position hod been adopted bef'ore his country's independenoe; it dated back to the period of' the Loi-cadre.E!CN.14(IV)!SR.21 Page 10
The arguments in favour of the Common Market, with supporting figures, were not conclusive; figures in themselves meant nothing; economic figures would always be interpreted poli tically.
The European Common Market was suitable neither to the development . nor to the economic condi tions
.or
African countries. Had that economicgrouping been established in the interest of African States? It was sufficient to remember that the Common Market was the fruit of an
economic phenomenon known as the Marshall Plan. 'The latter represented the intervention of the United States in certain European ?ountries to campaign against another European economic consortium. The Common Market was the grouping of those European countries which had accepted
the economic domination of the United States of America. There was therefore nothing for Africa in the Treaty of Rome and it would be useless to think that Africa could solve its economic difficulties through the European Common Market.
Guinea was not opposed to trade relations with countries of other continents, since it traded wi th the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, France, the United Kingdom, Yug¢slavia, the United States of America, china; etc. It should not be forgotten, however, that international integration passed of necessity
through the integration of intra.-African States. If the grouping of African States was not achieved, Atricats economic development was doomed
to failure. The needs of the population would not be satisfied by foreign intervention, but rather by the combined efforts of the African States
thernse Lve s ,
He emphasized that the African populations were not under-ega; they had several times shown that they had attained their majority, even if certain politicians in Africa: lagged behind.
E/cN .14(IV)/SR.21 Page 11
Mr. DI.A.LLU (IntUI'l'Fl:tional Conf'o dcr a td ou.. at', Christi:m 'I'r-ade Unions), spoke at the invitation of tbe Cha.ir.nan ar.d said he was happy
to have the opportunity to express ICC~U's·opinion, and that of the sffiliatad Afric;m trades unions, on Africa's econoruc J.ifficulties. Ile congr-a tul c.te d
·Ghe Secretarid on the splendid work i t hr.d accu':lplished by making EGA into an org<mization for economic end so ci.aI ;JI'ogress.
The imbalance of African e con omre s was lar,;ely due to world prices for oommodities and stabilization of the COffiBodity markets was necessary to Africa's eoonomic d.~volOIJm~;nt,
That was a difficult mattc r and wou l d not be solved quickly bec ausc of fluctuations in production and prices, the bad orsa.'1izat;ion of domestic markets and the cO':lpetitlon of synthetic and alternative goods which
affected the flow of production. Tho solution of th~t situation callod for concerted and rational action by all producer St~tes of the world
and for simul tunccus world and cant i ncn tal ne asur e e , It would be desirable to convene a g6neral conference of all the politico-economic groups in Africa to study the means to achieve certain objectives, in particular the o at ab l i shme n t of economic relations wi thin the African .con tinent and wi th
the rest of th~ world, the revaluation of world commodity prices, and the campaign against dumping, the Lmpr-ove ment of farm productivi ty, the me tho dt.
to stimulate economic activities and trade flows.
He deplored the proposals made by the Uni ted State s of America to the E,-":",,pean Economic CommunLty on that issue and considered i t would be pr-c r'cr-r.bL.
to recommend and facilitate un de r-atandfng not only between the countries " f La tin America and Africa but between all COUllt:'ie s of the _arId.
It ',;auld be dangerous to effect a sudden rupture of the agreements concluded bo two sn African countries and foreign cconcrnc groupings wi thout having previously p ro par-e d the populations who would be o aL'Ied upon to COnSUl:lO locally manufaotured goods. A oareful study of tr"nspert and. training
questions was r-equi red ,
He assured the Commission that the ICC'fU would al vays oo Ll abor a'to ','ith ECA for the full development of the Af rd c ar continent and he congr-atufctc d
tho Commission on its spiri t of solt d ar-i, ty an d comprohcncton in pr-op ar-a tien for future African unity. lIe hoped thc.t the ncn-governmental orGro]i~ation"
and the Fan-Afrioan trades union o r g azri z a cion s "i~:ht obt.ai.n 9. Cha.r te r "'hieh
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21 P'lge 12
would en ab Le thorn to oo-operate more closely in the '<ark of the Economio Commission for Africa.
nr. ,,;'ILU (Inte:rna'tional Oonf ede.rat i.c n of Free Trade Unions) spoke at the ;er:vi t.at i.on of tte Chaa rman -"nO. t:lanked the Commission for tn"
o ppo r tun.it.v c;'fereo. once a,o;ain to his deleg"tion to take palt an the Hork en ~ger.(la i ":t;.~m 9. :Jince- the CommissiontS Hark oUGht '1;.0 -benefit the uo z-ks r-s , ncn end vomcn , of ~"d'rica, i t ~-f'as thqse lIord i n a r y " l_~en arid liromen vrh orn ICF'TTJ .ra s plea"e::' to represent.
l'.~r.. 1.tl;ilu Gxc.mined thG Report of the -;:'orking Fart'y on Oustoms
,"dmL,istro.ticL in ::est "frica (;;;/C1<.14/138). The :;orking Party had noted certain d1fficul ties lii th respect to the standardization of customs syntemG (nomencl~ture), the determination of customs values end customs legisl~tion [i.nd recomr:;ended certa.in mea su r-e e -:;he Commission ought to ta': e to alleviate
t;~ose di.f'f'a cu'l ties. The ·,~orkint: Part;j~ lli,,:,d not, hcvre ve r , taker: sufficient account of the fact that the e s t.ac Itshment of. co e-o per a t.Lve s for the
production and Gl.c.rketing of agric~ltu ral r.:J".': ma.te:'ials vrou Ld fo.cili tate customs control.
'I'hs experts i<Tere best placed to foresee the effects of the Cornnon l-Iarket of the Eur-opean BccnoL-lie Conoi as i.c n on tr0.dt c,stween .it'z-ica arid th0
count r-i ae of the Community. ~hC' IC.:'TlJ ',:d. no intention of' r-s ccrams ndi n.;
[;'overnments to a s so ca a be lri-i~~ t.he ComrrunLty or of tr,yin;..; to 'iissuade t::'lt~G1.
I t lias for tl.10 countries co ccc rne d to i'Teigl: the e.dvan tagc s and dis,~dv;_'.r.tr"l1:00 of such a step. The ICFTU vres n8.tral \1i th regard to ~h8 Common ;.:arket, but i t h.rd to point out that the Commission s)101:.1d take account of the possible iri ah of _;'frican countries 'to Serve tLe::'r mutual inter62ts by combininc their 01'm economic communities. In t"at c.as o i t '..~ou1d be good tc aff o rd them ::,11
t€chnic~--,l assistance "po asib.l e , ;.<?~~ticul2.rly vrith r c ape ct to the rilobilizatioD of their material and human resources.
::·k~ f~lt it Lis duty. to point out that many of the documents before the GD:n~,lssior: o[;,i tted all mention of employment ",1 though employment ua a an in~ic,,~ion of tee degree of a country's development. By emploJ~ont
c:c rno ant tho employment of cept La l and of labour.
E!CN.14(rv)!SR.2l Page 1'3 • .
It was disappointing that. the foreign trade of Afrioan oountries showed hardly any progress, partioularly in the v~riety of exports, which were still almost entirely rem materials (raw cotton, unrefined oil, ootton
seed, hides Gnd skins). ,~rica's produoers and workers spent a large part of their small incomes on the ~urchase of goods manufactured abroad from those ra,l materials. It ,ro.s therefore imperative th~;t measures be taken whereby t~lose raw materials oould be processed to a larger extent in
",frioa itself. Since t~at would mean importine capital goods, the balanoe of payments \lould suffer at first but the situation irouIa. right itself with industrialization.
In oonolusion he said that ICFTU's attitude to the development of
~frioa was based on its wish to see .~rioa work out its own system.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY said he would be grateful if the sponsors of the joint draft resolution (E!CN.14!L.lOl) would mal,e certain amendments to their text to bring it more into line \lith facts. In the first place, the report submitted by the Secretariat on the impact of European economic groupings tlCls not the analytic"l study the Comrri.asLon had requested it to make in its Resolution 3l(III) • The 1·;ork prrgramme uhich the Commission had drawn up at its third session oovered the years 1961 and 1962. The situation was constantly changing and the Secretariat had preferred not to undertake too early the study oalled for by Resolution 31(111) and proposed to submit it to the Standing Trade Committee when it meet. next May. In the first paragraph of the preamble, there:f'ore, the llOrds "in accc rdcnce l1ith the Commission's Resolution 3l(III) of
17
February, 1961" shoul.d be deleted.Similarly, since the Commission had .established a Standing Trade.Committee it was normal th2t all work l1ithin the competence of that body should be.
done under its auspices. Consequently, he suggested th2t in the third operative paragraph thol1ords "under the auspices of the Standin~ Trade CommittGG"should be inserted after the words "to arrange".
E/cN
.14(
IV)/SR.21 Page 14He noted "ith s"tisfaction that despite differences of o);inion on the methods be used the Commission had recognized the need for increased economic co-operation between African countries in order to promote intra-~frican
trade and the industrialization and development of the continent.
The representatives of certain countries associated with the European Common Market had argued that important preparatory work would be necessary before they could take steps to est~blish a sound framework within which
intra-~frican economic co-operation would operate. There had been talk of information to be collected on production and oonsumption, of standardiza-tion of customs nomenclature and tariffs and of a more thorough study of matters relating to international pa,~ents.
Some representatives, on the other hand, had expressed the opinion that the range of intra-;,frican trade ),as limited and that only vigorous economic development, which wo~ldentail industrialization in par~icular,
could increase it to _any appreciable degree. Accordin:.- to them, association
1;ith the European Economic Community )wuJdbe advantageous because it wcul d ensure outlets fo;!.' traditional exports and make it possible to find c:;,pital for the diversific~tionof economicd9velopment.
The representatives of countries not associated with the Community had on the other hand expressed fears about the economic and political consequences of association. There was a danger that arisoeiation would ensur~ short-term advantages to certain oountries at the expense of others, that it liQuId endanger ~fricari solidarity and perpetuate the -economic structures inherited from the past. Those representati ves hc.d .ins Lated on the urgency Of -:energetic measures to promote intra-dfrican trade and to establish a system ef- economic co-operation vrhach would benefit the vho Le -continent.
Be considered that the Commission had a decisive role to pl ay in
ensuring an uniryterrupted eKchange of views between represent~t~vesof ~friean countries and in stUdying all the difficulties involved. In those studies the Commission took account of the interests and difficulties of all Member
E/mT.14(IV)/SR.21 Page 15
States in Vi81T of tileir lone-term interec;;"C·s. The Undsr-:Jecretary for Economic and Social :~ffairs had stated that if a lasting element of dis- cri ination "e:e established between countries uni ted b? comuori interests and aspirations, no really rational soLut i or; ,'rould be possible, He hoped therefore that any future agreement on .., ssociation \~it.h the European Econo;Jic Communi ty 'could contain no provision uhi oh rni ght stand in the 1'1ay of i,;tra- ..f'r-ican trade and e co noeu c co-opera~ion between the ooun t.rLea of Afri c.i c'd impede the conclusion of broad intern,"tional aCI'eoments on th" organiz<1tiun of markets.
Mr.";,lCGUILE (Oabon) was Slad that the question had been Widely discussed end rnad o possible the free ""1'reseion of all opinions. Some of
the questions Lndi oatod hovcvc r Do serious misuncierstanding of his
delegation's intenti~ns. One interpretation of Gabon's draft resolution (E/
en
.14/L.99) vas that the coun tries as80oiated ,/i th the Euro pean Oommon ::arket "ore entirely satisfied the state of affairs. lTothing of the I:i,.d.Ll though they wen, as s.. ed of selling t:,eir commodities in Europe or in
;,,,,crica they '/ere not aatr sf'a ad with the system of sales. They considered that th<, solution of the difficulty lay in the international o r'gana zat a.on of the commodity markets. They were no less determined io industrialize.
Th e pa r-ttci par;ts in the ih"ieter~al meeting of 6 and 7 Dec ember- had expressly recognized the need. to promote d.iversification of the ecoriomy and
industrialization of associated countries and they had acreed that countri.r.s
\'Iould have the right to fix duties tc protect their youn.; industries. ,e therefore found i t difficult to understand ~,hy tb.' wish of associated countries to strengthen African co-operation ,.,as qUl'ctilHled..
The delegation of Gabon co u l d not accept the arr.i)!'1dr.Jents proposed by the representll.tive of Ghana; they a.ntr-odu co d no ne'" element and ,;ould serve no useful pur!!ose so far as the associated countries Vlere concerned since i t ,rcs known that those countries had decided in favour of negot'iati.ng a neif agreement of association.
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21
'Page
16
Neither could i t accept the joint draft resolution (E/CN.14/L.lOI/
Rev .. l), iThich prejud5t3tl tl-.e Q.uestion by qU2.1ii'yin.g as "unf'avcur-ab'l o"
the impact ,c:f' tLe Eurol'~on eccnoni c groups and by affirming that associatior.
llith thos groups tended to perpetu3, te the structures of the pa st , i:'urt;..;'2r- more, the t axt p r'o pc s ed H~~ d i.c ouz-t sou s to certain countries whi ch 1iere ac cus d of hr:,"vinf; uad o cr- an ton di ng to make commitments" of such a nature as would irr:.pede progress in cor.c e rtcd action" in Africa. :f'ar froE; o ppo s I ng _lfrican integration, Gabon had Dt'3n the f i.rst , l'Tlth tho? Congo, the Central
i~fric....n Republic and Chad to set up an efficient cu s totia uni on , I·thiah Cameroun "~o.s to jo in at the end vi' the year. The insti tution of' a customs ur..ion 'fras the essential prerequisite to the f~E,~ablishmentof a Common i,larket. Good~rill was not sufficlent lor trw insti t.utio n of a Commc r: ~'larkGt; numerous prJ-ctical di:f:;:'icul t:'8C "icnld have to tr overcome first. 'I'hat U:;:S 't'rhy, w'i thout vrislling to s:oee:.k i n p r-ai s o 01: :jth~!:'l'~ise of
the European Economic Groupings the deleGation f Gflbor.:. .ua.s .con tent to place the matter in its proper setting and to a dvo c a t.e international
,3ffcr-t· t-i.th a vi ev: to organizing thE: pri.~c:ipal commo daty markets. In doing so i t "!-Jas certain i t lT2.S defGnding the in-thrests I ) f ~:.:::-ri0L:.n pc pu'l a t.i cn s ,
1,lr. I4,A...."Z01'tNEt~ (Ethiopia) g~::v(. J:.:.is delet'utionl s point of viGil on the possible consequences of' the Surope~n Econocic Groupings on the intra- .ifr a cun market. His Government WiS not systematically opposed to the
Euro pea.n Common iie.rket, prcvided t.hct it did not affect the economic development and uni ty of the :'Sri can con tlnent.
.Du r i.ng the last tKO centuries, .:..f ri c.zn economy hc.d "been organized European oountries ir: their elm interest~,. iurica 5 vhi.ch had emerged from poli tical servitude, ~i::.n'ted toci.ay to obt.J.in i te oconouuc independence, 3.S stated in the joint draft resolution (S/CN.14/L.IOl/Rev.l) of which the 2thiopian delegation wa s on e of the spo n so r-s , It va s in that spirit that the po si,ilion of ha s d81·'JC~-ti8:1 \rith respect to the Common La rket should be examined~ It migtt well be askod what would:pe the reper~8sionG
of the Common Harket on ,,'l..frican uni,t;:l~ :i.ntra-b.fric~;,n t raco and the .:·~fricG.n
ElcN.14~IV)
ISR.
21Page 17
continent's industry. Would not tho 'Cottman Market perpetuate the dependence of _tfric~n economy on me industrialized countries oc Europe, by making
~fric~ the permanent source of itp raw matorials and preventing it from becomingself-suffioient? I·lr. Eakonnen h.d ;'0110\'T8d "i th interest the negotiations bet\'Teen the European Common ;'larket and the European Free Trade Association. The draft resolution '(Tas: not directed against the
principle of intern~tional co-operation; it merely reQuested that co-operation should be preceded by a thorough study of the impact of the Common Market on Africa and tLus make it possi'ble to understand better both the principle of the Common Ila rket and the aspirations and f'ea r s of the .~.frican continent.
He r'3mindsd delegations, \'Thich sGemed to have misunderstoo d the sponsors of the draft resolutio~,th2tdivision had always ceen the great enemy of the
.i~frican continent and that r.ft e.r having been divided. politically,.Srican countries couMnot permit the Treaty of tc divide them economically.
European civili~ation had achiev6d much in art an<'t culture, but they should not forget, particularly "ith resp"ct to its rel",tionships with ..frica, that Europe!s influence had been as destructive as j t had been creative.
Consequently, it ,res natural not to accept unconditionally all tpat c~mo from the continent of Europe but rather to study it attentively.
He respecte::: the convicticns of thoe, 'Tho believed in the benefit of co-operation 1·Ii'th the Common Ielarket, but he a sk od them to ShOlT the same spirit of understanding with regard to tho fears, oQsed en his;orioal facts, of the sponsors of the draft resolution. 1£0 th~refore in"i ted all
represenai;ives to study ob jcct i.veLy.and constructi voly an Lnat i.tution tIl:ioh closely affected .:uric~n peoples and the consequences of which might be very serieus for the lnlole continent.
iir-, OrT.IONA-""GYElilu,r (Ghana) said thet in r.any respects his Government disapproved of the tn-ads principles on uhich the European Common Market 1fas_,founded. "country liko Ghan~ could export cocoa beans to ,;estern Europe at a duty of
9
per conti but the duty on cocog b~tteI wo~ldbe 22 per cent ond a cocoa powder 27 per cent. The duties proposedE/cfI. 14{IV)
ISR.
21Page 18
on tir.lber uere 5.10 or 15 per cent dependingup6n l",ether it lias und r-es s ed timber, sa,m or laminated lrood. It could not be held that such rates fsvoured ~frioa's industrialization. The United Kingdom had undertaken to do a1-ray l1i th some of the less Labe raL olauses of the Treaty of Rome before joining. It uas to be hoped that it "ould suoceed, otherHise, an unacceptable system of discrimination l~uld be instituted in Africa.
It ,-iSS the air.l of the Ghana amendments tc dra~r the attention of ths Commission to that side of tile question. The preferential tre,'.tment gr::m Lsd to certain countries associated uith the European CamDon Harket could not but upset good relations betueen .Srican States. There ":':8 obviously no Question of asking countries associated- >lith the European Co~mon darket to
Lsave i t imr~ediatelyand thus give up aLl, the advantages they gained in the shapB of capital end technical assistance. The delegation of Ghana had doubts on the poli tical aspects of the l~uropean Common I<!arket, but it
was fer the States concerned to make their choice in complete independence.
It was concer:ed about other matters. There had been talk of the relationshipo trhi ch might be established bet\<een the European Common i,[aket and the "frican Common !\iarket irhi ch all the members of the Commission desired. Bu't 'fould it be possible for Afric:'.n States to raise customs barriers against members of the European Co~non ~arket~ when the associatod countries were obliged to apply the most faveured nation clause? ~he voint was important and deserved to be elucidated. That, h01r'cv,::r, W2_" not the crux of the_matter ';Thich lias that African solidarity should net be compromised.
The soothing-Nards of the -representatives: of Fr~nce and the United Kingdom had beer; far from convincing. They said that aasoication with
the Common [,iarket offered great advantages and they a I.so affirmed categori- cally that th3 intel'Gsts of non-ca s sc c La ted ccuntri as uouf,d in no way suf'fe r ; that was not logical. Finally; they invited all Af r-acan States to as so ci ate themselves 17ith the European Common I.i::rket se as to restore equilibrium.
They were, however, no longer in tne nineteenth centUTy and ~frica had reached a staGe at which it could no longer agree to ccnstitute its unity according to the :-;111 of the foreigner; - African uni ty should spring from the l-,ill and considered choice of "fricans themselves.
E!CN.14(IV)!SR.21 Page 19
There was another ~uestion: th~t of industrialization. Supposing
•.fricans had solved to their-< satisfaction the difficul tiea with respect to the marketing of their primary products, how would they fare "i th respect to
their exports of industrial products? It uas possible that a few years hence, ui thin the scope of the Volta project, for example, the countries
concerned would produce aluminium: would they be able to sell it advantageously? They should take care not to mortgage the future.
The representative of Gabon reproached most i.frican States for doing nothing to promote the economio integration of their oontinent. Ghana for its part had set up a customs union with Upper Volta, it had signed a
trade agreement ITi th Dahomey, it maintained close relations partioularly 1Tt th Guinea and llali and it spared no effort to extend ..frican eoonomio 00-
operation.
The first duty of .•frioan States uas to ensure that the eoonomio unification of ether regions of the world did not endanger their o>m
unification. _'.frican unity ,las threatened if certain States subsoribed to agreemen ts prejudioial to others, vhi ch Has the caae of an aaao cLa'tLon wi th the European Common r.a.rket , The representative of Gabon had implied
th~t the associ~ted countries had ~ade their ohoioe and that consequently Ghana!s amendments served no practical purpose. If that was the case, if those countries agreed to belong to a system 1rhich intrOduced a lasting element of discrimination into .\£rica, then he could only deplore it, in the name of Africa's future, in the name of its unity and solidarity.
The amendments proposed by Ghana to draft resolution SUbmitted by Gabon (E!CIT.14!L.99) lfere re,jected by 13 votes to 11, 1fith 5 abstentions.
The draft resolution (E/CN.14/L.99) was adopted by 14 votes to 9, with 6 abstentions.
The CHium.iUf invited the Commission to vote on the joint draft resolution (E!CN.14!L.IOl!Rev.l) as modified by the 2xecutive Secretary.
The joint draft resolution (E!CN.14!L.IOl!Rev.l), as modified, was rejected by 14 votes to 11, 1fith 5 abstentions.
E/CN;14(IV)/SR.21
Page 20
Mr. iillEN (Somalia) said in e=~lanationof his vote, that Somalia, the only coUntry in East ~fricawhichwas associated uith the European
Common i-larket, considered that association, from vrhi ch it [';-l'.-ell certain economic advantages, in no uay incomp:l.tible "ri th .Srican solidarity; it would in no way impede the establishment of an African Common liarket ,.,hich Somalia "ranted with all its heart,
Mr. EKLOU (Togo) said he uould have thought that on such an important matter the Commission w~uld have been faced with a single draft resolution. Confronted with two contradictory texts he had abstained in both cases.
l"r. CASTON (United Kingdom) said he had abstained, out of a spirit of compromise, from voting on either of the drafts submitted, specially as neither of the texts exactly met the arguments put forward by his delegation. Ho had to repeat ~o the represe:>tative of Ghana that if, as he hoped, the negotiations in process between the 'United Kingdom and the Six Were cro,med with success, the aisadvantages th~t would result for JUrica from the existence of hro pref~ronti"l systems would be gradually eliminated.
Mr. ATTIGA (Libya) uoul~ have wishod the Commission to adopt Ghana's amendments. Since those amendments he.d been rejected, he had abstained on the Gabon dr~ft resolution, which raised no basic objection but which did not go far enough. He had voted in f~vour of the joint draft
resolution, '"hich made a constructive contribution to·the· solutim't of an 'affair· "hich concerned all il:frican countries vrhe bher- or 'not they '<ere
associated 11i th the European Common I.larket.
Mr. OI~IONA-AGY~lilN (Ghana) said that despite the decisions taken by the Commission, Ghana had no intention either of .joining the
European (lommon ;;jarket or of accepting any ,discriminatory ,sy"tem which 110uld prejudice its trade. He,hopod that the AJric2n countries invited
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21 Page 21
to assooiate themselves ,lith the Common ::"rket trou l d not foreet the inoon- venienoes they ',rould have to suffer for a long "lime in return for merely ephemeral ad:n::.ntages.
ECO~TOIHC "HD SOCEL DEVP.LOPilEtfT (agenda item 6) (oontinued) The question of polygamy (E/CN.14/L.121)
The CRAIPIWT dreu the CommissionIs attention to the draft resolution on polygamy sponsored by ·the representative of Nigeria
(,,/cn
.14/1.121).!,lr. l,l"STIRI (Tunisia), supported by ,ir. 3EIHI (iioZ'Oooo) and
j,ir. pnIlffiZI (Congo-Brazzaville) hoped that the Comzus s r.on , ii'invi ted to vote on the toxt , trouLd rejeot i t purely and silliply. .
r'lr. UE:::KS (Liber'ia) stat cd that. polygamy Has a serious soci eI matter -,;lli~h deserved to be studied and pointed out that it lies due to a misunderstanding that on the Dlglish text of the draft resolution his delegation Uas listed as a sponsor.
l(r. IBfu\HIM (Nigeria) recalled that. the question of polygamy had been e=thned by the Eoonomic and ;;ocial Council of the Uni ted Eations the,previous year ~nd he sau nothi t but advantaces for Afr20an States, whether cr not polygamy waspraotised in their territories, in a further eX.t'.mination of that little knovrn and cneund e.ce tood noca r.L phenomenon.
The CR:i.Illi:1J:l pci nted out that the Cormmesi on cup;ht to settl".
the previous question of inclUding the question of polYGamy in its agenda.
The Commission dec~d8d, by 20 vot88 to nil, "ith
8
abstentions, net to include the queo't;ion of' pol;ygam;r in its 8;{\end.a.l ir , IBB.tlliII.l C~~igeri·a.) b ou s d but still did nct understand the reasons
re the decision of t~e Commi~Gicn certai~ deleg~tions refused to
£11101' a study ifhioh ;las of obvi ous i.;tE,:rc"t from the so c LoLog-iceI and hi.ann point of vie,;:.
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21
Page 22
Mr. ATTIGA (Libya) ITanted it to be clearly understood that, despite the implic~tions of the text proposed by Nigeria, Islam neither preached
nor encouraS8cl polygamy. 100m '-Tas a religion, po Lygamy was a social phenomenon m n ni . f ' es tati . o ns of' t r hi c h 1'18J...8 net confined to I i os L e r n countries.
~he deleGation of Libya ITas not opposed to the subject being studied, lut it considered it should be studied by speci~lists in ~ survey of .frican societies in general.
Establishment of an ~frican Institute for Economic Planning and Development llr. SOH (Senegal) submitted the draft resolution submitted by the delegations of Ethiopia, the Uni ted .:.rab Republic, Tunisia and Senegal on the establishment of an ,Srican Institute for Economic Planning and Develop-T~: ' . . ment (E/CN.14/L.124). The sponsors adopted the principle of single
institute but did not reject the possibility of establishing in the future sub-regional institutes'. and they proposed in "articular that the Commission take note of the facilities offered by the United Arab Republic.
The EXECUTIVE SECR~TARY recalled thJt in its Resolution 1708
(TVI;
the Gener~l Assembly had provided that development institutes be established under the ~ouspices of regional economic.·commissions. To bring the text ~'ndel'
consideration into line witn that Resolutioh, the words "under the auspices of ECA" should be inserted in the third paragraph of the preamble. T,ro modifications resulting from the first were the deletion of the fifth .parag raph of the preamble "'nd of the "lords "arid liaison" in paragraph 3 ) f
operative Part ~.
The EXECt~IVE SECRETARY pointed out in reply to a ~uestion by lIr. FOl'L~1 (Cameroun) that the sub-recional institutes mentioned in the
draft resolution ITere those "'hich the Commission might decide to establish later and "hich would be responsible to it. It went without s~ying,
houever, tl.at the ,J'rican Institute for Economic Plann:i,ng and Development woul d a Lways maintain close co-operation lIi th all other similar organiza- tions lIhich Eember States ~ight establish independently of the Commission.
E/CN.14(IV)/SR.21 Page 23
Draft Resolution (E!CN.14!L.124) , as modified by the Executive Seoretary, ,ms adopted by 26 votes to nil, with 4 abstentions.
Mr. EL...BANNA (United ....rab Republic) assured the Commission that his Government would spare no effort to assist the Institute at Dakar while at the same doing everything possible to ensure the success of the work of the sUb-regional institute at Cairo. Members of the Commission's staff would al~eys be welcome in the United ;~ab Republic.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY recommended the States concerned to approach the Special Fund without delay since its governing body was to meet soon to draw up its programme for the first half of 1962. Their
requests would certainly be well received since the project of establishing a planning institute was among the regional projects generally preferred by the Fund.
The meeting rose at 7.15 p.m.
