General Assembly Session 54 meeting 58

The President

I should like to remind the General Assembly that tomorrow, 20 November, is the tenth Africa Industrialization Day.

Within the framework of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa, from 1993 to 2002, the General Assembly proclaimed 20 November Africa Industrialization Day. I wish to say a few words to mark the occasion, which offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the progress of industry in a continent of vast untapped potentials.

At the onset of the first Industrial Development Decade for Africa (1980-1989), industry in Africa was in a precarious state, with very little flow of foreign direct investments to this sector. Today, after years of decline in manufacturing output, basic industries are slowly being revitalized and there has been an upsurge in industrial production in many countries of the subregions of Africa.

With the globalization of economic activities, Africa faces a number of challenges. The continent is yet to adequately define workable policies and structures to meet the demands of the changing global business environment. At the same time, there are opportunities for African countries to establish meaningful alliances with other countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. For example, the United States trade and investment initiative for Africa could contribute significantly to transforming the agro-based industrial sector in Africa, thereby creating avenues for income generation and, invariably, poverty eradication.

Whereas, in the 1960s the critical factor inputs for industrialization in Africa were capital and skilled labour, today, as we approach the new millennium, one of the major challenges to the African countries is access to technology -- in particular information technology -- to impact on policy development, determine products for markets and improve industrial competitiveness.

For Africa to become a competitive partner in the global economy, concrete steps need to be taken to transform the continent's enormous natural resources into manufactured products that will satisfy the basic needs of its peoples. In this regard, African countries, with the support of the development partners and the multilateral agencies, should redouble their efforts in developing small and medium-sized enterprises throughout the continent.

In recent years, there has been much emphasis on good governance, including macroeconomic management. However, good governance and macroeconomic management per se will not transform the industrial landscape of Africa, nor will they put in place the fundamental prerequisites for partnership in a globalized society.

The role of the private sector in economic development, particularly industrial development, is widely acknowledged as a critical factor. Many African economies are slowly being transformed from public-sector-driven economies into a private-sector-led reconstruction and development. But the private sector needs the support of Governments in terms of ensuring that the enabling environment in which they operate is conducive to productivity and growth. In addition, Governments should support research and development aimed at adding value to natural resources, especially agricultural raw materials.

The private sector is expected to play a lead role in Africa's industrialization. Yet in most cases it is extremely weak, has limited access to finance and technology, is unaccustomed to global business management and for a number of exogenous factors has not quite succeeded in establishing strategic alliances with the business community in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Nevertheless, this sector's role in Africa's industrialization has to be sustained. Governments and the international community have taken many initiatives at the country level to strengthen the capacities and the resource base of the private sector so that it can effectively participate in the industrial development process of the continent. I would like to commend African countries and their international cooperating partners for the new thrust that has been given to private sector development in the continent through smart partnership, for a win-win outcome.

The theme that has been chosen to herald the millennium, in my view, succinctly summarizes the efforts of African countries throughout this century and gives a meaningful assessment of the priority needs of Africa, as well as full recognition of where its competitive advantages lie. The theme "From farm to factory for a better future" embodies my firm belief that Africa, with its endowment of diverse agricultural resources, most of which are industrial raw materials that could be transformed to provide adequate food for the peoples of Africa, could simultaneously improve agricultural productivity, as well as increase utilization of its manufacturing capacity for food security.

In this connection, the organizations of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Economic Commission for Africa and the Food and Agriculture Organization, must work closely together in helping Africa to successfully produce agricultural raw materials on a sustainable basis. They should also assist African countries in effectively and efficiently processing such raw materials at the national and subregional levels in order to ensure a stable source of income for the majority of the farming communities in Africa and to provide employment for both the rural and urban populations at the factory level.

It now remains for me to once again bring to the attention of the international community Africa's efforts, its problems and constraints and the challenges the continent faces in an increasingly globalized society, including in particular the challenge of African debt cancellation. I am confident that the international community will step up its support to Africa in the coming millennium and that Governments and the private sector in Africa will succeed in building a better future for its peoples.

In concluding, let me remind all delegations of resolution 53/92, of 7 December 1998, requesting the President, in the preparation of the agenda of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, to establish an open-ended ad hoc working group to monitor the implementation of that resolution, and in particular the recommendations of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. To this end, I have started consultations concerning the implementation of that resolution.

Mr. Mabilangan (Philippines)

There was a time when my country was considered by the United Nations a mine-affected country. But realizing the overwhelming humanitarian imperative against the use of landmines rather early on, the Philippines abandoned their use.

This was a conscious decision, based on humanitarian considerations and even before global attention was focused on the landmine problem. This decision was part of my Government's integrated approach in addressing the problem of armed groups, an approach that does not rely entirely on military solutions, but focuses more on the fundamental social and economic problems that fuel illegal armed groups. Today the Philippines is no longer categorized by the United Nations as a mine-affected area.

Agriculture has been and remains an important part of the lives of our people, our economy and our national survival. In the longer term, the presence of landmines or the fear that landmines might still be present would have ensured that many agricultural lands would remain untilled and unused, depriving the farmer and his community of livelihood and economic development.

Having taken to heart that renouncing the use of landmines is a humanitarian imperative, the Philippines was determined to see the Ottawa Convention through. We actively participated in the Ottawa process, and we have signed the Convention and welcome its entry into force this year. We hope to deposit our instrument of ratification shortly. We are currently formulating draft legislation that would criminalize the manufacture, possession, sale or transshipment of landmines and components clearly intended to be used in landmines.

The Philippines has hosted several regional mine action meetings, several of which were conducted in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. The Philippines is also actively improving its mine action and clearance capacity, primarily with a view to taking a more active part in these activities in our region.

We joined others in Maputo to map out the implementation of the Convention, and we strongly support the action plan and inter-sessional meetings and processes related to the Ottawa Convention that were agreed upon in Maputo. I understand the concerns of the delegations that have opted not to give prominence to the Ottawa Convention in our draft resolution. But I hope that one day all of us will recognize the singular importance of this Convention in all our efforts in mine action and in eventually achieving the goal of zero victims.

The Philippines agrees completely with the Secretary-General, who states in his report that the role of non-governmental organizations has been indispensable in facing the challenges of mine action. Non-governmental organization participation is crucial, not only in mine clearance but also in mine awareness. This active role of non-governmental organizations must continue, and the Philippines hopes that at some point in the future, we can finally include consensus language in our resolution that will give due credit to the great work done in mine action by individuals and non-governmental organizations.

We join others in recognizing the importance of the central coordinating role of the United Nations in the field of humanitarian mine action worldwide. The United Nations is moving in the right direction by making sure that assessment missions and national surveys continue to be a key element in mine action activities. Making the development of an information management system a priority is also an important step, and in this regard, we would like to recognize the critical role played by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.

The United Nations response to the mine problem has been swift and meaningful. One of the major challenges we recognized early on was the important transition of the United Nations Mine Action Service from a policy body to an implementation agency. This has been done, and done well. As a result, United Nations inter-agency coordination, cooperation and resource management have been optimized. We hope to see similar success when the United Nations Mine Action Service continues to work with its external partners.

We support the activities of the United Nations Mine Action Service, but we want to emphasize that mine action should not be done solely within the framework of peacekeeping; it should also be done in a broader humanitarian framework. However, we recognize that mine clearance has been an unavoidable part of peacekeeping activities, as it is important to make sure that our peacekeepers remain safe and able to carry out their mandate.

But mine action can, and does, often outlast peacekeeping activities, and we are happy to see that the transition in these cases has been successful and effective. We must also make sure that, despite the need for a global approach, mine action should be somewhat country-specific in the light of the diverse capabilities, dissimilar situations and environments of mine-affected States. This centralized coordination has resulted in bringing about a clearer picture of the current status of the landmine problem. Although much has been achieved, this picture shows that much remains to be done.

Technology has been an important factor in our efforts in addressing the mine problem. We have seen Governments and the private sector working hand-in-hand to come up with the necessary technology and equipment. We are encouraged by the fact that even the States that are not entirely with us in the Ottawa Convention are actively helping out, not only with financial and other resources but also by sharing advanced mine detection technology.

I only hope that as we develop the technology that could neutralize the deadly effect of landmines, hopefully rendering them useless, we will not witness any attempts to make landmines that can overcome this technology. Not only would this make the total eradication of landmines more difficult, but parties to conflicts might put even a higher premium on landmines as instruments of war. We must make sure that technology in this case will always be a blessing and not a curse.

I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report. It gives a clear idea of where we are now and the challenges that we need to overcome. I would also like to express our appreciation to the European Union and its individual member States for their crucial role in mine action. We join them in their firm commitment to mine action. The European Union, as well as other States, including Japan, have given much to ensure that global mine action remains a priority for all of us. The Voluntary Trust Fund remains viable because of them.

Finally, I would like to express our continued support for the countries that continue to be plagued by this difficult problem. Individual national actions have been strong and effective, even in difficult and crisis situations. We are all inspired and encouraged by the dedication and sacrifice of their leaders and people.