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| THE ARICAN CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM IN NAIROBI, KENYA
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| 3. The Africa (Civil Society) common position |
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Mindful of the crisis facing the continent and the obstacles that stand in the way of the implementation of Agenda 21, we call upon the African governments to unite with their people and rise to the challenges facing Africa today. We note with concern that the Draft African Ministerial Statement – “Towards a New Culture of International Partnership” - to be discussed in Nairobi on 17 to 18 October 2001 has serious omissions and oversights. We call on the Ministers to take practical action and to incorporate the following proposals in the African Common Position to the WSSD:
- The need to put HIV/AIDS high on Africa’s agenda and in particular to allocate sufficient resources to fight this scourge. Patent laws need to be reviewed in order to facilitate access to medication.
- Africa’s debt must be cancelled immediately - it is not enough to call for lower debt service costs and debt reduction.
- African governments must take responsibility for the delivery of public goods and services (social and environment) and protection thereof. Prioritisation of needs is essential. Privatisation of all services is an abdication of responsibility.
- Government must develop programmes for poverty eradication, which should include access to land for the landless, food security, decent work, etc.
- African governments must commit themselves to systems of participatory democracy and eradicating corruption. This means a culture and practice that ensures access to information, justice, and rights to participate in all aspects of decision-making, by launching a negotiation process leading to the adoption of the binding instrument guaranteeing the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
- Organised labour must be involved in any effort to change production and consumption patterns
This also means mainstreaming the major marginalised groups like youth, women, pastoralists, disabled and indigenous people.
- The process of globalisation that is currently underway is a threat to sustainable development. African governments must unite with their people, and with other progressive forces all over the world to combat globalisation and its effects.
- African governments must commit themselves to join with their people to develop a pan- African model of development.
These models must include the adoption of measures to end financial speculation, like the Tobin Tax.
- African leaders and governments must recognise civil society as partners, and initiate a process of forming strategic alliances with forces from other parts of the world that are committed to a people-centered development.
- Mobilise to resolve all wars and conflict on the continent and mobilise for democratic governments and governance.
- Although youth form the majority on the continent, it is of concern that youth issues have been omitted in the African Ministerial position. Governments must recognise and acknowledge the role of young people. Governments must create and enhance mechanisms for greater involvement of young people in all aspects of sustainable development. Youth must also be seen as instrumental in promoting peace in areas of civil strife.
- Call on all African governments to open up discussions on NEPAD immediately by involve civil society, organised labour and other major groups
- Processes to clean up and care for the environment should involve all organs of civil society.
- Africa must develop and implement Codes of Conduct for the utilisation of the natural resources of the continent. These Codes of Conduct must develop and promote the use of non-market means of valuing the continent’s natural resources. All existing policies should also conform to the Codes of Conduct.
- We note with concern that the Draft Ministerial Statement does not address the special developmental needs of Small Islands States, Somalia and others. This is a grave omission, and the African Common Position needs to address this issue.
- We recognise that existing trade regimes are skewed in favour of the north and multi-national corporations (MNCs), which has resulted in the collapse of commodities prices and has created other problems. Government must call for trade regimes that will protect the development needs of the Africa and encourage pan African trade and improvement of cross border infrastructure.
- Governments must ratify international conventions and immediately develop national strategies/regulations for the implementation and enforcement of conventions, such as the Biosafety Convention, The Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), Kyoto Protocol, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention, including codes on intellectual property rights.
- African government must develop strategies and codes to facilitate the transfer of environment friendly technologies on terms favourable to the development of Africa. The existing technology and knowledge regimes must be changed.
- The south must be proactive in setting its own environmental agenda, rather than being reactive to the global agenda.
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