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Momodou
Denmark
11824 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Apr 2007 : 22:15:21
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AFRICAN CIVIL SOCIETY CONSULTATION ON AU/EU
Amie Sillah Reporting
African Civil Society Organisations had a consultation on AU/EU joint strategy for Africa’s development in Accra, Ghana from 26 to 28 March 2007. They made the following conclusions and recommendations
Main Conclusions and Recommendations
Representations came from Civil Society Organisations in North, West, Central, South and the Islands of Africa. The Deliberations took two days. The participants agreed that there is a wide range of opportunities and issues inherent in engaging with Europe. However, they firmly believe that an enduring partnership must place equal emphasis on process and substance. On process, the consultation decided that a joint African-Europe Strategy must be one of equal partnership, mutual respect and mutual accountability. Europe must be prepared to change the current mode of interaction in which it is perceived and behaved as a senior partner. On its Part Africa need to unlearn many things including the syndromes of dependency that have developed over the years in order to play its role as a full and equal partner with Europe. Accordingly, Africa and Europe should strive to develop the continent living side by side in peace, security, dignity, harmony and prosperity. The participants noted with concern that the issue of shared vision cannot be discussed outside the existing framework.
On Substance
Priorities are:
Ø Social development as foundation to economic development;
Ø Good Governance values on democracy, rule of law, social justice, social inclusion, gender justice, participation and citizenship;
Ø Strengthening of public institutions and services;
Ø Emphasis on regional integration and continental unity as pillars of partnership arrangements e.g the indivisibility of Africa.
Ø Infrastructural development;
Ø Balance integration into the world economy encompassing trade, labour movements and investments;
Ø The necessity for the relationship to bring dividends in terms of development and prosperity for African peoples.
Recommendations:
Cluster II Peace and Security
Ø Africa to develop a predictable and continent-based funding mechanism to support conflict management and resolution. Europe’s support for Africa peace operations must embrace the spirit of partnership and not conditionality.
Ø Joint strategy must place equal emphasis on both conflict resolution and management as well as post conflict reconstruction and development;
Ø Africa to insist EU takes a strong stance on controlling international arms transfers to prevent the escalation of future conflicts;
Ø Negotiations on international Arms Treaty to fully reflect existing standards of international human rights and humanitarian law and must focus on regulation of arms transfer from EU;
Ø Joint strategy to emphasis the role of faith-based groups as partners in Africa’s Peace Process to promote tolerance and inter-religions understanding.
Ø The joint strategy must recognize and limit unhelpful external interventions to avert the recurring cases of proxy wars. To also reject unilateral external interventions in African conflicts unless on the basis of a UN or AU authorization;
Ø The joint strategy must contain provisions to address impunity. Strengthening of African’s legal and judicial systems to deal or try perpetrators of impunity in Africa and not at some foreign venue;
Ø Obligation for joint pursuit and prosecution of mercenaries must be entrenched in the proposed AU-EU joint strategy;
Ø Fair treatment of Africa refugees outside the continent; social responsibility of European multi-national companies in Africa; a wholistic conflict early warning and early response system to be instituted;
Cluster III: Governance
Governance both as a process and outcome to be seen as a work in progress for both continents. There should be best practices and mutual learning.
Recommendations
Africa’s ownership in the formulation and implementation of national economic policies-economic governance;
Strengthening of governance and oversight institutions; promotion of constitutionalism; rule of law and popular participation in governance;
Recognition and involvement of the African Diaspora;
Monitoring mechanism on the side of the Joint Strategy;
A specific CSO consultation or seminar to support the Joint Strategy in preparations for the Lisbon Summit;
EU to support AU’s APRM (African Peer Review Mechanism) to ensure the 3 billion euros is spent on AU governance; the governance of aid to be discussed
Cluster IV: Regional Integration and Trade
African States to resist the pressure by the EU to sign the Economic Partnership Alliances by the end pf December 2007 and insist that the deadline for the conclusion of the negotiation be extended by at least three years.
Ø Extended period be used by AU governments to conduct independent impact assessments on EPAs;
Ø No reciprocal removal of tariffs should be accepted until the full achievement of developmental of bench marks and AU must insist on its right to use tariffs, subsides and other measures in support of industrial policy and to modify them as their economies develop;
Ø Essential Public Services such as education, health, water and sanitation to be excluded from liberalization commitments, AU to reserve to themselves the sovereign right to effectively regulate the entry of foreign investors in service sectors in the public interest;
Ø AU to ensure participation of all stakeholders also to catalogue all existing agreements and their ratification status;
Ø To Also remove obstacles in inter African Trade;
Ø Joint Strategy to help build local investors capacity i.e ICT to ease the movement of goods and services.
Ø AU to support the development of African peoples’ productive capacity
Ø Governments to protect and promote core labour standards e.g ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and Commitments to protect women workers and workers in precarious employment;
Ø Exclude agricultural tariff lines which undermine food security and rural livelihoods;
Cluster V Key Development Issues
AU document to unpack and better integrate its contents.
Higher Education is viewed as a priority; creation of Employment Opportunities; revival of regional and national planning processes and mechanisms to set targets and restore social contract. Integrated transport system i.e a review of AU’s aviation policy; Migration to be made a priority in regard to the brain drain. A correlation made between capital flight and brain drain. The participants called upon AU to down play the Bretton Woods institutions emphasis on inflation control and called on more state intervention as basis for social and economic development;
Mainstreaming gender into programmes and polices in all key area of development was emphasised.
The strengthening of Agriculture was linked to the need to strengthen agrarian policy regime.
Health was also sighted as a key development issue i.e. HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.
A new steering committee was constituted. Its life would be up to three months after Lisbon. Its mandate is to interface between CIDO and AU CSOs, information dissemination, drafting of roadmap, timeframe etc.
Criteria was based on expertise, geographical representation as regional Focal Points; Gender, Institutional representation, CODESRIA as a technical research institution to be defacte member of the steering committee; a youth and Diaspora membership; ECOSOCC is also represented.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 41/2007, 11 - 12 April, 2007
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