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Africa: Japan Conference Statement
Africa: Japan Conference Statement
Date distributed (ymd): 981108
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Continent-Wide
Issue Areas: +economy/development+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains the final statement by non-governmental representatives
attending the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development
(TICAD), as well as the outline and brief excerpts from the official conference
statement. Additional information on the TICAD process and preparatory
NGO meetings, in English, French and Japanese, can be found at the Africa-Japan
Forum web site (http://www.zzz.or.jp/~kazutiyo/english/ticad_e.html).
The Africa-Japan Forum can be contacted at Maruko building, 3rd floor,
1-20-6 Higashi-ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0015 JAPAN; phone: 81-3-3834-6902;
fax: 81-3-3834-6903; e-mail: pxc06143@nifty.ne.jp.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Civil Action for TICAD II (ACT)
October 20, 1998
TOWARDS A NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT:
THE COLLECTIVE RESPONSE OF NGOs TO TICAD II
(Tokyo, 19 to 21 October 1998) We the Citizens and Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) coming from Africa, Canada and Japan and working for
African development, welcome the opportunity to participate in TICAD II.
In this respect we recognize the important role that Japanese NGOs have
played in facilitating our participation in order to evolve the views and
recommendations that follow. We also take this opportunity to thank the
Government of Japan and the co-organizers of TICAD II for providing the
resources that have made our participation possible.
We have met on several occasions as civil society organizations and
communicated with one another since the beginning of the preparation for
TICAD II. Our final deliberations were held in Osaka at the International
NGO Symposium entitled, "NGOs' Visions and Proposals for African Development"
on 16 October 1998 which was organized by Japanese NGOs and the private
sector.
This final declaration contains the views and comments that evolved
from our several deliberations. In the preparation of this document we
have had the opportunity to review the draft of the Agenda for Action prepared
by the Preparatory Committee of TICAD II. We are encouraged by the convergence
of views in our document and in the draft of the Agenda for Action. While
taking note of this convergence, we emphasize the followings:
- We believe the key to Africa's recovery and development lies with its
people. However, we observe that the vast energies and expertise of African
people, particularly women, have not been fully tapped. Whereas African
governments and the international community have, in numerous meeting and
documents, recognized the importance of supporting and strengthening African
civil society, this acknowledgment has however not yet been fully implemented.
- We consider poverty to be the primary challenge facing African people.
Consequently, poverty eradication in Africa must be our primary goal.
- While poverty affects both rural and urban populations, we recognize
that rural dwellers who constitute the majority of the population in African
countries are the most affected. However, while African countries have
posted marginal economic growth in recent years, the development of rural
people is still neglected. Consequently, poverty eradication in rural areas
remains a critical priority.
It is our view that there are enough resources both within and outside
Africa to eradicate poverty. In this context we suggest the following measures:
- There has to be an immediate solution to the debt problem facing African
nations.
- Immediate measures have to be taken to improve the management of national
resources.
- Immediate measures have to be initiated by African governments to create
and maximize the opportunities, and to minimize the disadvantages and constraints
of globalization in order to eradicate poverty.
- Food self-sufficiency and security, personal security, education and
health care delivery have to be improved.
- African people have to be empowered to become effective partners with
their governments in the governance of their affairs as stated in the "African
Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation, Arusha
1990."
[APIC note: for the text of the Charter see http://www.africapolicy.org/african-initiatives]
We view the following factors as obstacles to achieving the above:
- The problem of debt is exacerbated by the unfair terms of trade, the
present Structural Adjustment Programs, the reductions in ODA to Africa
and a lack of political will on the part of the creditors to solve the
debt problem.
- The proper management and equitable distribution of national resources
are hampered by the poor management of these resources and the corruption
of many African governments. In some cases these practices are encouraged
directly and indirectly by certain international actors.
- Undemocratic practices of governments coupled with a lack of capacity
within civil society are a serious obstacle to popular participation.
- The slow pace of regional economic integration in Africa coupled with
the unfavourable international trade system.
- Existing and recurring civil wars exacerbated by continuous military
expenditures and the flow of arms coupled with the poor management of conflicts,
threaten food security, personal security and diverts valuable resources
from social spending hindering all aspects of development.
In this context we recommend the following:
- Review of the debt problem between creditors and debtors with the full
participation of civil society organizations. This includes debt research
to establish shared loan responsibility, debt cancellation, debt swaps,
management and monitoring of loan resources and delinking of HIPC from
SAP.
- African countries must establish appropriate and adequate governance
institutions as well as pluralistic and inclusive democratic elections
(i.e. the right of independent candidates to contest each election).
- African Governments must create mechanisms to establish and improve
regular consultations with authentic civil society organizations throughout
the process of governance and to practice open, transparent and accountable
government.
- For Africa to reap the full benefits of integration into the global
economy, African governments must demonstrate political will in accelerating
the process of regional economic integration by the speedy implementation
of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. Africa's development
partners should take note that the integration of Africa's economies will
be for the mutual benefit of Africa and its development partners and they
should therefore, support these efforts.
- Governments must respect and strengthen existing mechanisms for preventing,
managing and resolving conflicts in Africa, and review and reduce their
current military expenditures. Resources that are saved from reduction
in military expenditures and through the improved management of conflicts,
should be re-directed towards meeting other social needs especially food
self-sufficiency, education and health care.
- TICAD II should establish a mechanism for follow up in order to: i.
Organize five sub-regional meetings of African governments, civil society
organizations and their international counterparts to review implementation
of the African Charter for Popular Participation, towards strengthening
dialogue among the development partners. ii. Clearly identify, launch and
implement projects based on the TICAD II principles of ownership and global
partnership. iii. Disseminate information with regard to the implementation
of the Agenda for Action and review after 3 years. iv. Support African
NGOs' development initiatives.
- The cooperation between African and Asian NGOs must be strengthened.
Our views and recommendations stated here are further amplified in the
attached supplementary
(available on http://www.zzz.or.jp/~kazutiyo/english/ticad_e.html).
Finally, we reiterate our thanks to the co-organizers of TICAD II, in
particular the Government Japan, for this initiative. We urge the Government
of Japan, in collaboration with Japanese NGOs and the private sector, to
continue to play the leading role in the implementation phase of TICAD
II.
Contact: Civil Action for TICAD II (ACT), c/o The Africa Society of
Japan (ASJ), 1-11-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001 JAPAN; Tel: +81-(0)3-3501-1878;
Fax: +81-(0)3-3501-1879; E-mail: asj@tkc.att.ne.jp.
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS THE 21st CENTURY:
THE TOKYO AGENDA FOR ACTION
(as adopted on October 21, 1998)
The following is the outline, including a few excerpted paragraphs from
the Action Plan. The full document is available on-line at the Japanese
Foreign Ministry web site (http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad2/agenda21.html).
I. INTRODUCTION
II. PRIMARY THEME AND UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES
(1.) Primary Theme: Poverty Reduction and Integration into the Global
Economy
(2.) Underlying Principles
III. APPROACHES AND CROSS-CUTTING THEMES
(1.) Approaches
(i) Strengthening coordination
(ii) Regional cooperation and integration (iii) South-South cooperation
(2.) Cross-cutting Themes
(i) Capacity building
(ii) Gender mainstreaming
(iii) Environmental management
IV. ACTION PLAN
(1.) Social Development and Poverty Reduction: Promoting Human Development
17. Sustainable human development is the ultimate objective of development.
Social development, in turn, helps enhance the capacity of the poor to
participate productively in economic and social activities and improve
income distribution. Poverty is widespread in Africa, with the majority
of the poor living in rural areas. It is estimated that women account for
about two-thirds of the African poor, and the feminization of poverty is
an issue that requires special attention. The experience of poverty reduction
in East Asia demonstrates that rapid economic growth with equitable income
distribution over a sustained period of time can help lift the poor above
the poverty line. With regard to social development, sub-sector targets
should be set and resources allocated for the priority areas of education,
health and population, and special measures for the poor.
(1.1) Education
(1.2) Health and Population
(1.3) Other Measures to Assist the Poor
(2.) Economic Development: Promoting the Private Sector
23. A major challenge for African countries is to raise and sustain
growth rates at much higher levels and to create employment and increased
income for effective poverty reduction. At the same time, globalization
presents additional challenges and new opportunities for African countries.
Consequently, they have to devise national development strategies aimed
at enhancing their international competitiveness in tradeable goods and
services through the expanded application of appropriate technologies,
including labor-intensive technology, to improve skills and productivity
and provide essential services more efficiently. Development partners are
encouraged to assist African countries in this endeavor.
(2.1) Private Sector Development
24. African countries intend to support private enterprise, which covers
a wide range of activities from the micro enterprises of the informal sector
to the small and medium enterprises of the manufacturing sector, as a key
stakeholder in economic and social development, as well as the principal
engine of growth and generator of wealth and employment. The public sector
should concentrate on those activities for which it is best suited, especially
the efficient delivery of core public services, and should disengage from
those activities which the private sector is better able to perform. For
the private sector to realize its full potential to stimulate growth, the
government should remove actual and perceived constraints to business activity,
so as to encourage the creative talents of African entrepreneurs. At the
same time, the capacity of public institutions that are critical to the
functioning of a modern market economy needs to be strengthened. Support
for the modernization of the informal sector, where the majority of the
growing urban poor is employed, is an essential component for poverty reduction.
(2.2) Industrial Development
25. Industrial development is central to the structural transformation
necessary for African economies to increase incomes and employment and
diversify exports. In Africa, there is a growing consensus that accelerated
economic transformation will depend on the synergies between industrial
and agricultural development, as reflected in the programme of the Alliance
for Africa's Industrialization (AAI).
(2.3) Agricultural Development
26. Africa's economic performance and poverty reduction are strongly
linked to agricultural development, including fisheries, livestock, and
forestry development. The agriculture sector accounts for some 35 per cent
of the continent's GDP, 40 per cent of exports, and 70 per cent of employment.
In the short- and medium-run, Africa's ability to achieve sustainable broad-based
growth and development requires a revitalization of the rural economy.
To this end, increased attention should be given to the smallholder sector
and the role of women farmers. Strengthening the linkage between rural
producers and urban markets also constitutes an important part of the strategy.
(2.4) External debt
28. The international community has implemented a series of measures
to address the external debt burden of low-income countries, including
concessional financial assistance from multilateral institutions, concessional
rescheduling, debt forgiveness, and concessional new finance from bilateral
creditors. Furthermore, the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative,
developed by the IMF and the World Bank, was adopted in September 1996.
The HIPC Initiative aims at reducing to sustainable levels the debt burden
of HIPCs that are pursuing strong programmes of adjustment and reform.
The African Development Bank approved its contribution to the Initiative
in 1997. Nine countries, including seven African countries, have reached
the decision points and seven (of which five African) have been found eligible
for HIPC assistance. Several additional African countries are expected
to reach decision points soon. In their recent review of the Initiative,
IMF and the World Bank agreed to extend until end-2000 the original deadline
for countries to enter the HIPC Initiative through adopting adjustment
programmes supported by the two institutions. This extends the opportunity
for a group of African countries - many just emerging from conflicts -
to begin building a track record of good policy performance required under
the HIPC Initiative. Furthermore, the IMF and the World Bank have agreed
that programmes supported by IMF post-conflict emergency assistance could
count - on a case by case basis - toward the HIPC track record, thus potentially
bringing forward the delivery of assistance for some African countries.
(3) Basic Foundations for Development
(3.1) Good Governance
30. In recent years, many African countries have made significant progress
in democratization. To consolidate this positive trend and achieve further
progress in social and economic development on a sustained basis, African
countries need to intensify their efforts to further strengthen good governance,
taking into account their respective cultural and political circumstances.
(3.2) Conflict Prevention and Post-conflict Development
31. Over the years, a number of wars have been fought in Africa, undermining
Africa's efforts to pursue stability and sustainable development. In recent
years, Africa has made progress in conflict prevention, management and
resolution. In this respect, the establishment of the OAU mechanism is
a significant step. Efforts by the OAU and sub-regional organizations need
to be supported and consolidated to prevent a recurrence of conflicts and
to initiate and strengthen post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction
of the affected countries. The Secretary-General of the United Nations
has issued a report on The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable
Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (S/1998/318), which specifies
actions to mitigate the potential for conflict.
V. FOLLOW-UP
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the Africa
Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary objective is to widen
the policy debate in the United States around African issues and the U.S.
role in Africa, by concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.
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