'Action-oriented' solutions to be sought at special session of General Assembly on critical situation in Africa.

"Action-oriented' solutions to be sought at special session of General Assembly on critical situation in Africa

The special session of the General Assembly on the critical economic situation in Africa should seek action-oriented solutions for the African continent, said the newly-elected Chairman of its Preparatory Committee at its first meeting (New York, 23-24 January).

Edgar Pisani, Special Adviser to the President of France, said the session, to be held in New York from 27 to 31 May, should be "neither a pledging conference nor a rhetorical debate'. The situation in Africa was not impossible; it was necessary now to move from "mere outpourings of feeling' to action, he said.

Topics to be considered at the session include: food, agriculture, the environment and desertification; human problems such as training, health, population and migration; infrastructure, debt and financial flows and administrative co-ordination among those supporting African development.

Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar said that the special session offered a "unique opportunity to bring to the attention of the world the problems and potential of Africa'. Actions launched by the session, however, would need to be sustained over time if the well-being of the peoples of Africa was to be secured.

The session, he said, should identify and initiate specific action in key areas so that a broad consensus could lead to concrete action. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) had adopted a Priority Programme in July 1985 identifying such areas. "It is of utmost importance that the special session succeed, for at stake is the future of a continent and its peoples', he said.

Massamba Sarre (Senegal), speaking for Abdou Diouf, President of Senegal and the current OAU Chairman, said Africa's development would be a factor for peace and stability. African countries wanted to move "from spectator to participant in the development process'.

Ignac Golob (Yugoslavia), on behalf of the Group of 77, said African countries had struggled to keep the multidimensional and complex crisis under control, but the international community was duty-bound to step in. Emergency relief should continue, but must be fully integrated into the long-term development process.

Henricus Gajentaan (Netherlands), on behalf of the European Community, said the primary responsibility for Africa's development rested upon the African countries themselves, as they had recognized. At the same time, effective action by the international community was indispensable.

Victor Aleksandrovich Zvezdin (Soviet Union) said that the special session would provide a forum for addressing comprehensive solutions required for Africa's critical economic situation. Alleviating the socioeconomic problems of Africa was inseparable from the task of restructuring international economic relations on a just and equitable basis. The practice of using the natural and human resources of developing countries to fulfil the selfish imperialist goals of certain other countries must be done away with.

Joseph V. Reed (United States) said that participants in the OAU meeting which called for the special session had displayed a willingness to discuss difficult economic development subjects with a new realism. The session should sustain and enhance the interest of the international community in African economic development. The recent emergency in Africa had brought out the best in the African people and triggered one of the most generous humanitarian responses in memory. The special session must consider how existing resources could be more effectively utilized, reinforce African commitment to fundamental development objectives, and underscore and give structure to the OAU commitment to agricultural development.

February session: A Secretariat working paper was presented to the Preparatory Committee at its second session (20-25 February).

The paper focuses on economic and social issues relevant to the emergency and rehabilitative needs of the continent and contains sectoral studies on food self-sufficiency, deterioration of the environment, the growing number of political and environmental refugees, lack of educational materials and medical supplies, disrepair of roads and railways, and mounting external debt. The paper cautions that these and other issues must not be seen as independent of one another, as they were essentially manifestations of the process of fragile traditional foundations for human sustenance being eroded "by excessive pressure on the land and by long neglect of the small farmers'. However, the decline in the African economic situation is reversible and points to practical steps that "can and must be taken' by African Governments themselves first and foremost, and by others.

Following discussion, Chairman Pisani said that proposals to be made by African Governments in early April should furnish the basis for discussion in determining future action. Pending receipt of the African document, the Secretariat working paper had enabled the Committee to identify certain essential points: the central role of the agricultural sector in the African economy, including industrial development; the need to halt the advance of the desert; the need to search for solutions to problems related to human, social and economic infrastructures; and the urgent need to search for financial solutions.

African countries had already made a vigorous effort to improve administration and reform and were determined to continue, said Mr. Pisani. In addition, it was necessary to review the nature and content of the support they received from abroad to ensure that it contributed concretely to their rehabilitation and their economic, social and ecological development. It was also necessary to envisage a follow-up procedure at the national and global levels.

Further meetings of the Committee would be held in April and May. At the last session, from 12 to 16 May, the Committee would concentrate on elaborating and adopting its report. A final document was envisaged which would make clear the consensus of the international community on the actions that must be taken to end the critical economic situation in Africa and to realize genuine economic and social development.

Several delegations regretted that all their views had not been taken into account in the Chairman's statement and that agreement had not been reached on a formal agenda for the special session. Senegal, on behalf of the African Group, said a minimum of consensus in the midst of diversity was necessary. The African Group agreed with the Chairman's statement, which had summarized the essence of the consensus that seemed to be emerging, although it did not reflect the views of all countries.

April session: At its third session, (3-4 April), the Preparatory Committee received proposals from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) for dealing with the crisis. The 223-page document, formulated by the OAU Council of Ministers and the ministerial conference of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), was presented by Senegalese Foreign Minister Ibrahima Fall, who said African countries were committed to financing 70 per cent of a proposed priority recovery programme themselves, as well as to strengthening incentive schemes, reviewing public investment policies, improving economic management, encouraging the mobilization of domestic resources, and ensuring broad participation of their people in the fight aainst poverty, famine, hunger, disease and ignorance.

The paper included an analysis of the African crisis, future economic proposals for the region, and an analytical presentation of the OAU priority programme for 1986-1990.

Mr. Fall said that for African countries the priority recovery programme was "a breath of pure oxygen for our exhausted economies'. Rapid increases in the areas of food and agriculture were needed to alleviate internal poverty and increase export receipts. The programme envisaged an investment of $55 billion in agricultural development in the five-year period, of which more than $40 billion had been committed by African countries.

Photo: Secretary-General (left) on dais of Preparatory Committee with Edgar Pisani of France (centre) presiding. Committee Secretary Benon Sevan is at left.