Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08USUNNEWYORK869
2008-09-29 14:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:
AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS KEY THEME OF SEPTEMBER
how-toVZCZCXRO3938 RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUCNDT #0869 2731441 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 291441Z SEP 08 FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5002 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000869
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S JENDAYI FRAZER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD AORC UNGA
SUBJECT: AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS KEY THEME OF SEPTEMBER
22 UN PLENARY MEETINGS
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000869
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S JENDAYI FRAZER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD AORC UNGA
SUBJECT: AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS KEY THEME OF SEPTEMBER
22 UN PLENARY MEETINGS
1. SUMMARY: Plenary meetings of the UN General Assembly
book-ended September 22's high-level meeting on Africa's
development needs. General Assembly President Miguel
d'Escoto called upon Member States to fully live up to their
commitments to African nations. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon insisted that the Millennium Development Goals were
still achievable by 2015 should African governments and their
development partners engage in more concerted efforts. After
a scheme of roundtables in which the Secretary participated,
the General Assembly adopted by consensus a political
declaration on Africa's development needs, which called for
the fulfillment of all official development
assistance-related commitments. END SUMMARY
2. On September 22 UN General Assembly (UNGA) plenary
meetings and four roundtable meetings focused on the topic
"Africa's development needs: state of implementation of
various commitments, challenges and the way forward."
Throughout the day, 20 Heads of State and nine Heads of
Government spoke out on a range of issues related to Africa's
development, including debt relief, climate change, energy,
and the global food crisis. Secretary Rice delivered the
United States' views during one of the roundtable meetings,
emphasizing the need for good governance and institutional
reform as an essential component in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
3. D'Escoto opened the morning UNGA meeting by emphasizing
that Africa had "amply" fulfilled its political, economic and
social commitments, and called upon donors and the Bretton
Woods institutions in return to fully honor their commitments
to African nations. He noted that "unfair" conditions
imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions were preventing the
effective implementation of poverty reduction programs and
eroding living conditions. He argued that the failure of the
World Trade Organization's Doha trade talks demonstrated the
limits of the "free-market doctrine." He blamed developed
countries' agricultural subsidies for worsening the global
food crisis.
4. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over
the current state of implementation of the MDGs, which he
reiterated were supposed to be achieved by 2015. However, he
noted that given sufficient funding, which he determined to
be $72 billion per year, and with concerted action by African
governments and their development partners, the MDGs for
Africa remained achievable.
5. During the morning UNGA meeting, Tanzanian President
Jakaya Mrisho Kiwete, speaking on behalf of the African
Union, underscored Africa's commitment to address development
challenges, but noted that Africa did not have the resources
to pull itself out of "the poverty trap." He registered
disappointment that many developed nations had failed to act
upon what he termed their commitments to African nations, and
called the obligation to help the needy in Africa a moral
issue, not a question of charity.
6. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking on behalf of
the European Union (EU),reaffirmed the EU member states'
commitment to delivering aid to Africa, noting that "the
globalized world needs a developed Africa." "It would be a
delusion," he continued, "to envision Europe's prosperity
without working for the emergence of a major economic
partner." Sarkozy encouraged donors and aid recipients to
increase their coordination efforts.
7. During the evening session, the UNGA adopted by consent a
political declaration on Africa's development needs, which
emphasized that "eradicating poverty, particularly in Africa,
is the greatest global challenge facing the world today."
While the declaration contained no new commitments, it sought
to reinvigorate existing commitments, such as those outlined
in the Millennium Declaration. The declaration called for
the fulfillment of all official development
assistance-related commitments, and concluded that a
coordinated, balanced and integrated approach at all levels
was necessary to comprehensively address Africa's long-term
development.
Khalilzad
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S JENDAYI FRAZER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD AORC UNGA
SUBJECT: AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS KEY THEME OF SEPTEMBER
22 UN PLENARY MEETINGS
1. SUMMARY: Plenary meetings of the UN General Assembly
book-ended September 22's high-level meeting on Africa's
development needs. General Assembly President Miguel
d'Escoto called upon Member States to fully live up to their
commitments to African nations. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon insisted that the Millennium Development Goals were
still achievable by 2015 should African governments and their
development partners engage in more concerted efforts. After
a scheme of roundtables in which the Secretary participated,
the General Assembly adopted by consensus a political
declaration on Africa's development needs, which called for
the fulfillment of all official development
assistance-related commitments. END SUMMARY
2. On September 22 UN General Assembly (UNGA) plenary
meetings and four roundtable meetings focused on the topic
"Africa's development needs: state of implementation of
various commitments, challenges and the way forward."
Throughout the day, 20 Heads of State and nine Heads of
Government spoke out on a range of issues related to Africa's
development, including debt relief, climate change, energy,
and the global food crisis. Secretary Rice delivered the
United States' views during one of the roundtable meetings,
emphasizing the need for good governance and institutional
reform as an essential component in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
3. D'Escoto opened the morning UNGA meeting by emphasizing
that Africa had "amply" fulfilled its political, economic and
social commitments, and called upon donors and the Bretton
Woods institutions in return to fully honor their commitments
to African nations. He noted that "unfair" conditions
imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions were preventing the
effective implementation of poverty reduction programs and
eroding living conditions. He argued that the failure of the
World Trade Organization's Doha trade talks demonstrated the
limits of the "free-market doctrine." He blamed developed
countries' agricultural subsidies for worsening the global
food crisis.
4. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over
the current state of implementation of the MDGs, which he
reiterated were supposed to be achieved by 2015. However, he
noted that given sufficient funding, which he determined to
be $72 billion per year, and with concerted action by African
governments and their development partners, the MDGs for
Africa remained achievable.
5. During the morning UNGA meeting, Tanzanian President
Jakaya Mrisho Kiwete, speaking on behalf of the African
Union, underscored Africa's commitment to address development
challenges, but noted that Africa did not have the resources
to pull itself out of "the poverty trap." He registered
disappointment that many developed nations had failed to act
upon what he termed their commitments to African nations, and
called the obligation to help the needy in Africa a moral
issue, not a question of charity.
6. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking on behalf of
the European Union (EU),reaffirmed the EU member states'
commitment to delivering aid to Africa, noting that "the
globalized world needs a developed Africa." "It would be a
delusion," he continued, "to envision Europe's prosperity
without working for the emergence of a major economic
partner." Sarkozy encouraged donors and aid recipients to
increase their coordination efforts.
7. During the evening session, the UNGA adopted by consent a
political declaration on Africa's development needs, which
emphasized that "eradicating poverty, particularly in Africa,
is the greatest global challenge facing the world today."
While the declaration contained no new commitments, it sought
to reinvigorate existing commitments, such as those outlined
in the Millennium Declaration. The declaration called for
the fulfillment of all official development
assistance-related commitments, and concluded that a
coordinated, balanced and integrated approach at all levels
was necessary to comprehensively address Africa's long-term
development.
Khalilzad