General Assembly Session 60 meeting 33

The President

Members are aware that, pursuant to paragraph 7 of section I of General Assembly resolution 40/243, no subsidiary organ of the General Assembly should be permitted to meet at United Nations Headquarters during the main part of the Assembly's regular session unless explicitly authorized by the Assembly.

Authorization is thus sought for the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women to hold the continuation of its session in New York during the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, on the clear understanding that the continuation of the session will have to fit in with the available facilities and services and will not affect adversely the activities of the General Assembly. It is also understood that everything possible will be done to ensure the most efficient use of conference services.

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to authorize the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women to meet during the main part of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly?

Mr. Jenie (Indonesia)

The delegation of Indonesia would like to thank the Secretary-General for his third consolidated report indicating the progress being made to implement the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) (A/60/178). In commenting on the report, Indonesia would like to associate itself with the statement by the representative of Malaysia on behalf of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as with the statement by the representative of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The report gives us cause to be optimistic and encourages the international community to see Africa as a continent of opportunity. Contrary to the persistent negative media images circulated around the world daily, we get from the report a balanced picture of a continent reinventing itself and using the NEPAD framework for its development. Indonesia fully supports that process, which has led to noteworthy changes thus far.

That is not to suggest that the road ahead is an easy one. There are constraints. Without significant international support, African States will find it extremely difficult to implement NEPAD, which will endow them with the capacity to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well. So far, they have been able to lay a solid foundation through critical political and social reforms to facilitate the implementation process and eventually allow African States to become fully integrated into the global economy.

Like the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1), which specifies the role of the international community in the NEPAD implementation process, the Secretary-General's report is equally precise about the various forms of international support that should be provided. Indonesia agrees with the view that donors must live up to their commitments to promote free and fair trade, with more reliable access to developed markets, as well as for affordable antiretroviral drugs to be made easily available so that African countries can contain the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has severely undermined the development process on the continent.

Donors must also increase official development assistance (ODA) and provide Africa with greater debt relief. We therefore support the position taken by the African Group, as put forward by Namibia, welcoming the decision of the G-8 to completely cancel the debt of heavily indebted poor countries, a measure that has found favour with the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank. But such relief should be extended to include countries other than heavily indebted poor ones, as well as non-African middle-income countries.

In the face of such pressing needs, there can hardly be enough support to enable Africa to eliminate unwanted constraints on its development. In that connection, and on the basis of its long history of cooperation with African countries, dating back to the Bandung Conference of 1955, Indonesia has been actively involved in a number of initiatives that will help to accelerate the implementation of NEPAD and the achievement of the MDGs.

Perhaps the most important of those initiatives is the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, which was launched during the Asian-African Summit held in Jakarta in April 2005. That Summit commemorated the golden jubilee of the 1955 Asian-African Conference, which marked a turning point in the political history of both continents. Speaking from a platform for justice, the 1955 Conference strengthened resolve for the battle against colonialism.

The old enemy to Asian-African development then was colonialism; the current enemy is poverty. The Strategic Partnership is designed to promote not only continued political solidarity but also to strengthen socio-cultural relations and enhance economic cooperation. Of particular concern, therefore, is the need for poverty reduction. Building on existing initiatives, the Partnership will allow Asia and Africa to pool their resources and expertise for people-centred development.

With human development in mind, an Asian-African development university network is currently being developed. With the cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations University and UNESCO, a pre-feasibility study has already been completed to pinpoint the resources available to the network to satisfy the specific needs that will be addressed initially. Indonesia is a member of the core group working on the network, along with Algeria, Japan and South Africa. The network, which embodies the inclusive spirit of South-South cooperation, has prioritized agriculture and food security, the promotion of small-and medium-sized enterprises, health and infrastructure -- primarily power, water, telecommunications and transport -- for immediate action.

The Strategic Partnership will also focus on trade and investment-facilitation programmes, which will allow for a consistent and profitable flow of goods and services between the two regions. As a means of constantly expanding that interaction, there will be regular exchanges of information to encourage the promotion of trade and business opportunities between the two regions.

The private sectors in both regions are expected to play a key role in building Asian-African economic dynamism. To facilitate that cooperation, the Summit of heads of State and Government also featured the Asia-Africa Business Summit, which focused on exploring business opportunities and promoting trade and investment and ways to generate the required resources for the initiative. That connection will create the possibility for joint ventures, mergers and capital market cooperation. Steps were also taken to address energy issues, with the cooperation of the private sector. The Asian-African Symposium on Renewable Energy urged the formulation of an action plan for the two regions covering the period 2005-2015.

Mr. Jenie (Indonesia)

The Partnership will also foster greater people-to-people contacts. Prior to the 2005 Asian-African Summit, Indonesia hosted the Asian-African Workshop on the Role of Women and Youth in April 2005 in Jakarta. The workshop endorsed the need to promote and improve the status, role and condition of women and youth within the context of NAASP, as an integral part of the well-being and prosperity of the two continents.

Through technical cooperation among developing countries, Asian countries -- Indonesia included -- have been able to share information about best practices for development with African countries and have contributed to the pool of skills and expertise that can be applied to problem-solving activities affecting Africa's development. Between 1998 and 2005, Indonesia trained Africans from a number of countries in such diverse fields as family planning and health, rural development, agriculture, forestry and microfinance. Within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation in Indonesia, my country plans to provide further training on small- and medium-sized enterprises, microfinance and the application of information and communication technology.

The various initiatives I have mentioned are a reflection of continued solidarity with and support for our African brothers, who are now implementing NEPAD and pursuing the MDGs with the expectation of success in the future. As mentioned in the NEPAD Charter, Africans must be the architects of their own sustained advancement. But for the process of empowerment and self-reliance to be successful, external support would be helpful. Indonesia will continue to play its part.

Mr. Okio (Congo)

Our head of delegation has asked me to read the following statement. I would like to commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the excellent report that he has presented, for the third consecutive year, on progress in implementation of and international support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) (A/60/178). Once again, this comprehensive report has drawn our attention not only to the challenges and constraints that we need to tackle and overcome, but also to progress accomplished in the implementation of NEPAD.

Our delegation associates itself with the statements made by Martin Andjaba, Permanent Representative of Namibia, on behalf of the African Group, and Stafford Neil, Permanent Representative of Jamaica, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. As others delegations have done, I would just like to add a few remarks.

Four years ago, African leaders adopted NEPAD with the objective of realizing broad and equitable growth that would help Africa to reduce poverty and better integrate itself into the international economy. Assessing the situation right now, it is very tempting to say that very little progress has been made over the past year -- especially given that any progress made is dwarfed by the extent of such challenges as the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, mercenaries, the illegal exploitation of natural resources, youth unemployment and HIV/AIDS. First, however, we should be pleased with the efforts made by African countries to promote peace and security, as well as to develop NEPAD priority programmes and projects in areas such as transport, energy, water, health, education and information technology, environment, agriculture, science and technology, and industrialization, among others. We are sure that those efforts will yield results if they are given the necessary support.

This is also an opportunity to note with satisfaction the mobilization of international public opinion in favour of Africa over the past year and the support that donor countries, partners in development, have pledged to the continent. We are very impressed with the declarations made here by Canada and the European Union to increase official development assistance (ODA) and everything else that will be done in that connection. The Group of Eight decision at Gleneagles to cancel the debt of 18 low-income countries, 14 of which are African, and the recent commitments undertaken by a number of developed countries at the recent world summit to increase their ODA, are also encouraging signs for Africa and for the implementation of NEPAD. We hope that some of those measures, such as debt cancellation, will be broadened to include other groups of countries that have been excluded up till now, although they are eligible under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative.

In order to effect urgent implementation of NEPAD and give it substantial reinforcement, I would also like to affirm our support for the key points outlined by the Secretary-General in his report. At the regional level, among others, there is a need to build the capacities of national and regional institutions tasked with implementing NEPAD by providing them with the appropriate technical skills and adequate financial resources. We must assure greater consistency and better coordination between national development plans and NEPAD priorities through, among others, the NEPAD Peer Review Mechanism, which was set up with support from the United Nations Development Programme, and to which the Congo already belongs. We should also encourage a greater participation by the private sector in the implementation of NEPAD projects and programmes. At the international level, we must urge Africa's development partners to be diligent in disbursing funds for the implementation of NEPAD priority projects. We must promote and accelerate South-South cooperation, whose importance has already been emphasized at the Asian-African Summit held in Jakarta in April 2005 and at the second South Summit held in Doha in June 2005. At the next World Trade Organization meeting, to be held in Hong Kong in December 2005, trade decisions need to be made that are of particular interest to Africa -- namely, the gradual elimination of rich countries' subsidies to their agricultural producers and the granting of access for African products to international markets. And, finally, the quality and coordination of United Nations system support for NEPAD must be improved through regular in-depth consultations with the African Union.

In concluding my review, I would like to reaffirm our support for the third report of the Secretary-General. The key points of that report constitute a genuine programme for the rapid implementation of and more efficient support for NEPAD.

Mr. Kapoma (Zambia)

My delegation wishes to take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General for his informative reports on the agenda items we are discussing today. We find those reports to be very useful in our discussions.

My delegation would like to associate itself with the statements made by the representatives of Namibia on behalf of the African Group, Lesotho on behalf of the countries members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

At their Lusaka summit in 2001, the heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) adopted the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) programme, the main objective of which is to enhance the capacity of African countries to reduce the high incidence of poverty on the continent and to strengthen efforts to achieve economic development. While we acknowledge the fact that the support provided so far by the international community has assisted us in the process of attaining NEPAD's objectives, it is also true that that support has proved to be insufficient and needs to be increased. Although NEPAD is an initiative by and for African countries themselves, there is an urgent need for more support from the international community.

The African Union has adopted the African Peer Review Mechanism, whose mandate is to ensure that the policies and practices of participating countries conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate values, codes and standards contained in the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance of the African Union. To that end, member States of the African Union have committed themselves to adopting relevant laws, policies and standards and to building the necessary human and institutional capacities.

Within the framework of NEPAD, Zambia is focusing on the provision of infrastructure at the national level by upgrading existing infrastructures and constructing new ones in the sectors of agriculture, tourism, mining, education, health and human resources.

With regard to malaria, Zambia fully supports the conclusions and recommendations of the World Health Organization contained in document A/60/208, which, among other things, states that malaria-endemic countries should assess and respond to the need for integrated human resources at all levels. That would be in accordance with the targets of the 2000 Abuja Declaration to Roll Back Malaria in Africa and with the internationally agreed Development Goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

My Government, together with cooperating partners, have launched the national malaria control strategy, whose goal is to accelerate and document the impact of progress towards meeting Zambia's malaria control target. In that regard, my Government has adopted a new malaria treatment policy to overcome the problem of drug resistance. Furthermore, we have remained committed to health reform despite the many challenges the health sector is facing, and we continue to provide subsidized insecticide-treated nets and drugs to needy communities.

My delegation welcomes the September 2005 outcome document (resolution 60/1) of the United Nations world summit, which, among other things, recognizes that HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases pose severe risks for the entire world. Those diseases remain serious challenges to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. My Government, through an act of Parliament, has established the National HIV/AIDS STI TB Council to coordinate all interventional efforts.

In conclusion, my delegation appeals to the international community as a whole, and in particular to the United Nations system, to continue to provide support to Zambia in the fight against malaria and other infectious diseases.

Mr. Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

My delegation appreciates the opportunity to participate in this joint debate and to share its views on issues related to the promotion of development and durable peace in Africa.

The third consolidated report of the Secretary-General (A/60/178) provides useful analysis of progress and constraints encountered within the reporting period. In that regard, we would like to commend the work of the Secretary-General's Advisory Panel on International Support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the conclusion of which is crystal-clear: "NEPAD cannot succeed without a significant increase in support from the international community" (Ibid., para. 3).

We are pleased to find that an unprecedented increase in international attention in support of Africa has been observed. Therefore, we would like to pay tribute to Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, former Special Adviser on Africa, for his dedication to promoting the global partnership for Africa's development. Likewise, we praise the efforts of African countries themselves and the progress made in the areas of good governance, democracy and human rights. The positive shift in nearly all priority areas agreed within the NEPAD framework is also an encouraging sign. However, another -- and perhaps the most important -- attainment is the increase in the regional integration component, the building of regional economic communities and ultimately the consolidation of a holistic approach to development on the basis of national ownership. We believe that those positive signs will serve as an impetus to further strengthen international support aimed at overcoming development challenges.

The Secretary-General's report states clearly that the absence of infrastructure remains a serious challenge and has a broad range of implications. Therefore, we believe that increased investments in the area of capacity-building and infrastructure development will yield long-term benefits.

Furthermore, regional and subregional cooperative arrangements, backed by international support, could enhance the development of energy corridors, an efficient transit-transport system and increased regional trade turnover. In the long run, such arrangements could have the potential to build a self-sufficient regional economic network. In the meantime, we are convinced that support for the social sector -- particularly for the areas of health and education -- should be an essential component of the overall international framework for providing assistance to NEPAD's economic agenda.

We believe that South-South cooperation -- in particular the training of health professionals and knowledge exchange programmes -- has the potential to address existing challenges in the area of health delivery and management.

With regard to the international response, we welcome and support the according of priority to Africa's needs on the international development agenda and the reaffirmation of our commitments in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). Furthermore, we hail recent initiatives in the areas of aid and debt relief. We also consider the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization to be a crucial opportunity to make the trade regime more favourable and development-oriented, especially in the interest of the least developed countries.

We studied with great interest the Secretary-General's report in document A/60/182. It presents a useful overview of conflict trends in Africa as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of international cooperation in the areas of conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping operations, reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Although there are fewer countries in a state of armed conflict and civil strife on the continent, we should obviously not be complacent because of what has been achieved so far. Economic and social threats, on the one hand, and internal conflicts, on the other, continue to jeopardize dialogues aimed at consolidating the peace. We are convinced that the international community should address those threats in a timely, coherent and comprehensive manner, with the United Nations playing a leading role.

Here, we should mention the strengthening of African Union's peacebuilding and peacekeeping capacities. We support the Secretary-General's recommendation that "it is vital for the international community to provide the necessary financial support to develop African Union peacekeeping capacity and to establish the African Standby Force" (A/60/182, para. 81).

With regard to peacebuilding and reconstruction, we believe that disarmament, the reintegration of refugees and post-conflict long-term development should be one of the most important and essential components of post-conflict activities. Therefore, we have supported the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission and look forward to its early implementation.

Because Azerbaijan is a conflict-affected country and one whose economy is in transition, it has limited financial resources to channel to the implementation of NEPAD. However, we stand ready to provide our institutional and human capacities for the benefit of this Partnership. As an oil-producing and exporting country, Azerbaijan holds a strong comparative advantage in educating petroleum engineers, workers and researchers. For decades, many young and ambitious men and women from fraternal African countries have received their higher education in our Oil Academy, as well as in other educational institutions. We are proud to say that today many of them occupy important positions in their respective Governments and in the private sector across Africa and contribute to their national development. Azerbaijan is ready to provide assistance in educating and training young African professionals. We believe that the continuation of this partnership would be a good contribution to building African human capacity and ensure sustainable and rational management of natural resources throughout the entire African continent.

Mr. Chaudhry (Pakistan)

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