Africa: 'the Renaissance has come.'.

"The time is long past when anyone could claim ignorance about what was happening in Africa, or what was needed to achieve progress. The time is also past when the responsibility for producing change could be shifted on to other shoulders. It is a responsibility that we must all face. The United Nations stands ready to play its part. So must the world. So must Africa."

- Conclusion to Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report entitled: The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked Africa and the international community to summon the political will to give a new momentum to peace and development in the continent. He called on Africans to rely upon political rather than military responses to its problems, and urged the international community to show the will to intervene where it can have an impact, and invest where resources are needed.

The call came as the Secretary-General introduced to the Security Council on 16 April his report on the causes of conflict in Africa and the ways in which durable and sustainable peace could be promoted in the region. The Council had requested the report at a ministerial meeting it convened on 25 September 1997 to consider the need for concerted international effort to promote peace and security in Africa.

The report, which Secretary-General Kofi Annan described as "a clear and candid analysis of the sources of Africa's conflicts and why they persist", was an attempt to do justice to the reality of those conflicts and provide answers, by proposing "realistic and achievable" measures which, over time, might reduce, if not entirely end, Africa's conflicts. It also aimed to summon the political will of Africans and non-Africans alike to act when action was so evidently needed - the will without which no level of assistance and no degree of hope could make the difference between war and peace in Africa.

The Secretary-General noted that a number of African States had made good progress in recent years, while others continued to struggle. Poor economic performance and inequitable development had resulted in a near-permanent economic crisis for some States, exacerbating internal tensions and greatly diminishing governments' capacity to respond to those tensions. Good governance, he stressed, was now more than ever the condition for the success of both peace and development.

Above all else, the Secretary-General stressed that "it is the persistence of poverty that is impeding the full promise of peace for all of Africa's people".

These recent successes have sparked renewed international interest in Africa and, as such, the report has the potential to secure wide African and international support at a time when, the Secretary-General observed, efforts to break with past patterns "are at last beginning to succeed".

In the report, the Secretary-General asserts that Africa today must more than ever look at itself, given the renewed momentum in the continent's quest for peace and greater prosperity. However, he added, African efforts need stronger international support politically, as well as in the economic area, where greater debt relief and market access for more diversified African exports are crucial to ensuring the higher living standards that promote stability.

Welcoming the report, the President of the Security Council, Hisashi Owada of Japan, speaking on behalf of Council members, said they were "impressed by the commitment and insight" the Secretary-General had brought to the report. "We especially appreciate your incisive observations and carefully structured recommendations", he said.

Mr. Owada noted that the recommendations were also concrete and comprehensive and provided the Council with ample basis for its discussions on how to contribute to the peace, stability and properity of the African continent. The Council reaffirmed its intention to review promptly the Secretary-General's recommendations, with a view to taking steps consistent with its responsibilities.

On 24 April, more than 50 speakers debated the report in a formal meeting of the Security Council.

The Three Factors

The Secretary-General says his proposals, in some cases, required new ways of thinking about the conflict in Africa. In others, they required new ways of acting. Whether in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance or post-conflict peace-building, genuine and sustainable progress depended on three critical factors: a clear understanding of the challenge; the political will to respond to that challenge; and the resources necessary to provide the adequate response. Equally important, he said, was the understanding that peace and development remained inextricably linked and should be based on a renewed commitment to national development founded on sober, sound and uncorrupted economic policies.

Focusing on three areas that deserved particular attention, the Secretary-General urged Africa to: demonstrate political will to rely upon political rather than military responses to problems; summon the political will to take good governance seriously; and enact and adhere to the various reforms needed to promote economic growth.

Specific Proposals

In focusing on the various actors who help to fan conflict, Mr. Annan strongly criticizes international arms merchants as being among those "who profit from conflict in Africa". He recommends that Member States pass legislation making the violation of Security Council arms embargoes by individuals or corporations at criminal offence under their national laws. Although public identification of arms merchants has been difficult, the Secretary-General asserts that possibly no other single initiative would do more to help combat the flow of illicit arms to Africa.

At the same time, while recognizing the rights of States to provide for their own defence, the Secretary-General calls upon African States to reduce their purchases of arms and munitions to below 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and to commit themselves to a zero-growth policy for defence budgets for a period of 10 years.

He notes the "long-term distortions" in Africa's political economy and the authoritarian legacies of colonialism which helped produce the "winner-takes-all" and highly personalized forms of governance seen in parts of the continent. With the frequent lack of peaceful means to change or replace leadership and the "often violent politicization of ethnicity", Mr. Annan says conflict becomes virtually inevitable.

Mr. Annan urges Governments in conflict situations to consider appointing special mediators or special commissions to build confidence and recommend practical solutions. He also calls for the establishment of "contact groups" of interested countries or a "special conference" in conflict and in post-conflict situations, as done in the case of Liberia. Sanctions should also be better targeted, since "in some cases the hardship imposed on the civilian population is greatly disproportionate to the likely impact of the sanctions on the behaviour of the protagonists". Mr. Annan suggests the use of sanctions aimed at decision makers and their families, including the freezing of personal and organizational assets, as well as restrictions on travel.

Key Recommendations

* On arms and arms trafficking:

* United Nations Member States should pass laws enabling prosecution in national courts of violations of Security Council arms embargoes.

* The Security Council should urgently consider how the United Nations might help compile, track and publicize information on arms trafficking.

* African Governments should reduce purchases of arms and munitions to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product, and maintain zero-growth on defence budgets for the next decade.

* On sanctions:

* Economic sanctions are too often a blunt instrument, and should be better targeted, for example, by freezing the assets of decision makers, their organizations and their families and through restrictions on travel.

* Combatants should be held financially liable to their victims under international law, where civilians have been deliberately targeted; international legal machinery should be developed to help find and seize the assets of the transgressors.

* On refugees:

* An international mechanism should be established to help host Governments maintain the security and neutrality of refugee camps. Such camps should be located away from borders; combatants should be separated from genuine refugees.

* On human rights:

* All special human rights missions should be funded from assessed contributions.

* The concept of children as "zones of peace" should be expanded to ensure their safety and protection during periods of conflict.

* All African countries, that have not done so, should ratify United Nations and African instruments on human rights and embody those instruments in national laws, as a matter of priority.

* On structural adjustment:

* The Bretton Woods institutions should consider providing "peace-friendly" structural adjustment programmes.

* Conditionalities must not be antithetical to a peace process; donors should not cut off funds from a weak Government making good faith, popularly supported efforts to implement peace agreements.

* On development assistance:

* Aid should be restructured to focus on high-impact areas (rural water supply, basic education, primary health) and to reduce dependency.

* Donors should strive to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their aid to Africa is spent in Africa.

* New sources of funding are required from donor countries.

* Rational allocation of resources between humanitarian relief and development assistance must be ensured in post-conflict situations.

* On debt and trade:

* The scope of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be greatly expanded, since only four African countries have so far met its conditions.

* Creditors should convert into grants all remaining official bilateral debt of the poorest African countries.

* Creditors should consider clearing the entire debt stock of the poorest African countries, as requested by the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

* The next summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries should consider adopting a common policy towards eliminating trade barriers to African products.

* On regional peace-keeping:

* Member States should contribute to the United Nations and OAU trust funds established to improve preparedness for conflict prevention and peacekeeping in Africa.

* On the Security Council:

* The Security Council should meet every two years at the ministerial level to assess efforts undertaken and actions needed to support peace and development in Africa.

* The Council should consider convening, within five years, a summit-level session for the same purpose.

* On national-level actions:

* African Governments should convene national conventions on economic restructuring and reform in countries where serious adjustment is required.

* Governments should review their priorities and distribution decisions focusing on basic human needs and placing primary emphasis on reducing poverty.

* On international business practices:

* Countries implementing the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions should set a timetable for the early enactment of national legislation.

* The OAU should draw up by the year 2000 an African convention on the conduct of public officials and the transparency of public administration.

* The pharmaceutical industry should work with African countries and the World Health Organization to set a timetable for achieving affordable access by Africa to lifesaving drugs, including drugs for the treatment of HIV.

'What Can the UN Do?'

Turning to the United Nations itself, Mr. Annan calls for a reversal of the international community's "great reluctance in recent years to assume the political and financial exposure associated with deploying peacekeeping operations". Memories of the Somalia experience "continue to hobble" the Organization's capacity to respond swiftly and decisively to crises; and within Africa, the lack of forceful United Nations action to stop the genocide has had a "particularly harsh" impact, leading to the tendency of some African Governments to marginalize the United Nations from political involvement in regional affairs. The "horrifying suffering of the Rwandan people sends the clear and unmistakable message that the international community must never again tolerate such inaction", the Secretary-General asserts.

Mr. Annan urges Member States to provide renewed and better coordinated support for early and decisive action to prevent or resolve conflict in Africa. He says United Nations peacekeeping could achieve much if "deployed with a credible deterrent capacity, equipped with appropriate resources and backed by sufficient political will". The Secretary-General calls for support for regional and subregional initiatives, and strongly encourages Member States to contribute to the United Nations and OAU trust funds for conflict prevention and peacekeeping. "Such support is necessary because the United Nations lacks the capacity, resources and expertise to address all problems that may arise in Africa", he says. "It is also desirable because wherever possible the international community should strive to complement rather than supplant African efforts to resolve Africa's problems."

He says Africa must demonstrate the political will to rely upon political rather than military responses to problems, protect democratic channels for pursuing legitimate interests and expressing dissent, and respect and legitimize political opposition. Africa must also take good governance seriously, ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law, strengthening democratization, and promoting transparent and accountable public administration. "Unless good governance is prized, Africa will not break free of the threat and the reality of conflict which are so evident today."

By not averting these colossal human tragedies [as in Rwanda, Somalia and Liberia], African leaders have failed the peoples of Africa; the international community has failed them; the United Nations has failed them.

Half of World's War Deaths in Africa

The report notes that 14 of the continent's 53 countries were afflicted by armed conflict in 1996 alone, and over 30 wars have occurred in Africa since 1970, mostly within States. These accounted for "more than half of all war-related deaths worldwide" and caused over 8 million people to become refugees, returnees and displaced persons.

The report goes on to say that even in this post-cold-war period, foreign interests continue to play a large role in sustaining some conflicts in the competition for oil and other African resources.

Even as the Secretary-General pays tribute to African States for their growing peacekeeping and mediation efforts, the Secretary-General points out that the role some of them play "in supporting and sometimes even in instigating conflicts in neighbouring countries must be candidly acknowledged".

Development Proposals

Turning to the international community, Mr. Annan says development aid should be "restructured, focusing on high-impact areas and on reducing dependency". He notes that after more than 40 years of technical assistance programmes, 90 per cent of the $12 billion a year of technical assistance is spent on non-African consultants, despite the availability of African experts in many fields. In this light, Mr. Annan urges donors to make sure that "at least 50 percent of their aid to Africa is spent in Africa".

Mr. Annan calls for "new sources of funding", as well as "better use of existing resources and the enactment of trade and debt measures that will enable Africa to generate and better reinvest its own resources". He says the next meeting of the Group of Eight major industrialized countries should consider eliminating trade barriers to African products. He also calls for deeper reduction of Africa's "unsustainable" external debt - $328.9 billion in 1995 - which would promote and reinforce economic reforms. Such relief should be structured "in ways that will not undermine Africa's future capacity to attract investment, but will instead enhance that capacity by lifting past burdens from present operations", the Secretary-General adds.

Regional and subregional integration processes should be strengthened, the Secretary-General says, calling on the United Nations system (including the Bretton Woods institutions), along with intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union, to reinforce African countries' own efforts. He also calls for "a hard look" at the important international initiatives aimed at promoting peace and development in Africa. These include the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s and its implementing component, the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, and Commitment 7 of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, concerning economic, social and human resource development of Africa and the least developed countries.