A/62/PV.28 General Assembly

At the outset, let me join those who expressed condolences this morning on the passing of the Prime Minister of Myanmar. I will shorten my statement in order to save time. The full text will be circulated. Despite considerable progress in recent years in settling conflicts in a number of African countries, there is still concern about the grave humanitarian and socio-economic situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan, the lack of security in Somalia, new outbreaks of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and stagnation in the efforts to resolve the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The United Nations has a central coordinating role in resolving crises on the continent, in close conjunction with African regional and subregional entities. In that context we take special note of the level of practical cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations on resolving the crisis in the Sudanese province of Darfur. We welcome the focused activities of the African Union in forming an African standby force. Russia is actively taking part in the creation of the programme for international assistance to Africa within the Group of Eight (G-8), including building up African peacekeeping capabilities. We have been implementing those decisions consistently. African peacekeeping officers are trained in our country. We plan to expand that practice. In addition, Russian specialists are training African peacekeeping personnel at international peacekeeping training centres in Accra and in Vicenza. As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia is contributing towards reaching agreement on a strategy for resolving conflicts in Africa through political and diplomatic means. Russian peacekeepers have been involved in practically every United Nations peacekeeping operation in Africa. In the field of post-conflict recovery on the continent, we welcome the active role of the Peacebuilding Commission in elaborating national peacekeeping strategies in Sierra Leone and Burundi, in collaboration with the Governments of those countries. In order to strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping capacity, Russia will make annual contributions of $2 million to the Peacebuilding Fund, beginning in 2008. Without a lasting, long-term settlement of local conflicts, it will not be possible to ensure that the African countries move towards sustainable and dynamic development or to ensure their full integration into the global economy. Russia intends to continue to provide assistance to Africa in resolving problems of peace and security on the continent, based upon respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the African States. The Russian Federation thanks the Secretary- General for his consolidated report (A/62/203) on progress in implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). NEPAD serves as a widely recognized platform for the consideration by the international community of issues related to the provision of international assistance to Africa, including within the framework of the United Nations, the G-8 and the Africa Partnership Forum. A major area of Russian assistance to Africa is alleviation of the debt burden of the States of the region within the framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. As of today, Russia has cancelled African countries’ debt totalling $11.3 billion. Russia’s overall contribution to the HIPC Trust Fund was $25 million. The Government of the Russian Federation approved the cancellation of the debt of African States that terminated their participation in the HIPC Initiative before 31 December 2006. Upon completing negotiations with Benin, Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Ethiopia, we plan to cancel their debts to a total amount of about $547 million. Russia is participating in the G-8 initiative to cancel the multilateral debt of the poorest countries to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Development Association (IDA). The Russian contribution to the initiative to cancel the IDA debt for 2007-2014 will be about $33 million. Russia is taking part in the thirteenth replenishment of the IDA for 2003-2011 in the amount of $30 million. The Russian contribution to the fourteenth IDA replenishment will be $60 million. For 2006-2010 the voluntary contribution of Russia to the IMF Exogenous Shocks Facility for the poorest countries will be approximately $45 million. A decision has also been taken to transfer $30 million to the Global Village Energy Partnership. The States of the African continent enjoy broad trade preferences in Russia. The traditional export commodities of the least developed countries — most of which are in Africa — are exempt from Russian customs duties. There are no quantitative import restrictions on those commodities, nor are they subject to anti-dumping, compensatory or specific protective measures. Russian companies are trading more actively in African markets. By bringing new technologies and investments to those markets, they contribute to the implementation of the plans of African States to diversify their foreign economic ties. Training assistance to Africa is increasing. Currently, Russian higher education institutions are training more than 4,500 Africans — young men and women. Substantial assistance is provided to African countries in the field of health care. Russia’s contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has reached $35 million. Russia intends to support the World Bank programme to fight malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The Government of the Russian Federation has decided to contribute up to $20 million in 2007-2009 to that end. By 2008, Russia will have contributed $10 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative; $4 million has already been paid. Russia is providing African States with targeted humanitarian assistance. This year the Russian contribution was used to provide food assistance to Kenya and the Sudan in the amount of $2 million for each country. We also provided budgetary assistance to Guinea for humanitarian needs. There is a plan to provide a one-time targeted contribution of $1 million for emergency humanitarian assistance for Somalia. Russia is also contributing to the budget of the secretariat of the Africa Partnership Forum and the secretariat of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa and to the Trust Fund for the African Peer Review Mechanism. In conclusion, I re-emphasize that we believe that Africa can achieve a qualitative improvement in the lives of the people of the continent. The NEPAD programme should serve as a guideline in that respect. For its part, Russia will continue to do everything it can to provide assistance to African countries to achieve those goals.

My delegation is thankful to the Secretary-General for the submission of the three reports under consideration. My delegation is also pleased to associate itself with the statement made by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the statement made by Benin on behalf of the African Group. I turn first to agenda item 64 (a) and (b). It is important to reiterate that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is a programme of the African Union designed by Africans for Africa. Africa’s renewal and recovery from a past characterized by slavery, imperialism, colonialism, apartheid and neocolonialism is geared towards the attainment of durable peace, democracy, sustainable prosperity and unity. NEPAD represents a collective affirmation by Africa of a vision, a pledge by the leaders of the continent to proactively place African countries — both individually and collectively — on a path towards peace, security, sustainable economic growth and development. In that context, the overarching objective of Africa’s process of renewal is the African renaissance, a move to break the vicious cycle of political instability, conflict, poverty and underdevelopment, and to underpin the continent’s capacity to defend and advance its own interests in the global arena. The key building blocks of that renaissance strategy include increased greater unity and solidarity amongst Africans, acceleration of political and socioeconomic integration and increased international support. NEPAD identifies various priorities for the African continent in order to deal with poverty and underdevelopment. These are discussed in the report of the Secretary-General. They include infrastructure, agriculture and food security, health, education, training and skills development, human resource development, the environment, information and communications technology, science and technology, market access, gender mainstreaming, civil society involvement and the African Peer Review Mechanism. The report of the Secretary-General correctly highlights the fact that 2007 represents the mid-point to 2015, the target date for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are at the heart of the African development agenda. Sadly, experts have concluded that most African countries are, as the report of the Secretary-General puts it, “off track in meeting most, if not all, of the Millennium Development Goals” (A/62/203, Summary). Quite frankly, my delegation would have preferred to see the report of the Secretary-General emphasize the corrective steps required to redress that situation and accord it the urgency it rightly deserves. Although NEPAD is first and foremost a partnership between and among African countries, it also seeks to accelerate sustainable development on the continent through partnerships with the developed North — partnerships that fundamentally alter the unequal donor-recipient relationship with Africa that has existed over the centuries. The struggle to combat underdevelopment and push back the frontiers of poverty in Africa demands not only the collective effort of Africans, but also the determined engagement of partner countries from the North. Despite the daunting challenges facing the continent, Africa has made substantial progress in many areas. The continent is experiencing strong economic growth, and many conflicts are currently being resolved through the mediation efforts of Africans themselves. African regional organizations have become crucial players in conflict prevention and resolution. Nonetheless, my delegation is somewhat disappointed by the understated tone of some of the conclusions and recommendations in the report of the Secretary-General on progress in implementation of and international support for the NEPAD. For example, the report draws the muted conclusion that “lack of progress in the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks remains a major problem.” (A/62/203, para. 63). That barely acknowledges the seriousness of the fact that the Doha Development Round has lived up to neither the spirit nor the letter that its lofty objective demands. The consequences for Africa have been disastrous. Improving policy coherence for development is of critical importance in supporting NEPAD. Providing increased aid and debt relief and other actions outlined in the report of the Secretary-General need to be part of a more coherent approach to supporting development in Africa. In many cases, there are contradictions in policies, with support provided in one area being undercut by actions in another. Putting in place processes that enable an integrated assessment of the coherence of policies that affect development in Africa — for example, on trade, aid, foreign investment and other capital flows, migration, knowledge and technology transfer and the management of the environment — would help avoid the double standards associated with such contradictory outcomes. The United Nations system has a very important role to play in promoting the realization of the African renaissance. My delegation is pleased to note that progress has been achieved in some key areas, notably the enhanced collaboration between the United Nations system and the Commission of the African Union, as well as the strengthening of the cluster system, under which the support of the United Nations system for the implementation of NEPAD is organized. My delegation concurs with the recommendation in the report of the Secretary-General to the effect that the clusters and the regional consultation mechanism should be further strengthened in order to enhance coordination and joint programming. Efforts by the United Nations system to mainstream strategies in support of NEPAD in an integrated fashion and to coordinate activities at the country level with those undertaken at the subregional and regional levels are important and should be encouraged. My delegation also supports the call in the report for increased emphasis on monitoring and evaluating the impact of United Nations activities in support of the African Union and its NEPAD programme. My delegation looks forward to receiving future progress reports of the Secretary-General on that matter. It is for that reason that my delegation wishes to reiterate the need for the United Nations to retain the capacity, at the appropriate level, to monitor the support for NEPAD by the United Nations system and its agencies and to produce reports that the African Union could use in its implementation. Finally, my delegation wishes to touch briefly on agenda item 47 as it pertains to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on rolling back malaria in developing countries, especially in Africa, which is transmitted by the Secretary-General in his note (A/62/321). South Africa is a signatory to the Abuja Declaration to Roll Back Malaria in Africa, in which we committed ourselves to reducing malaria morbidity and mortality rates by 50 per cent by 2010. Although some may argue that we have already achieved that target, rolling back malaria encompasses more than a decrease in morbidity and mortality. It is also about building partnerships and sustaining the decreased malaria transmission rate. While South Africa believes in the routine prevention, care, treatment and management of malaria, we also strongly believe in indoor residual spraying with DDT. South Africa has experienced a massive reduction in malaria cases due to indoor residual spraying of DDT, especially in the northern parts of our country, in collaboration with our neighbours Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. South Africa’s programme has been hailed as a success by the World Health Organization, and our malaria- control interventions are being used as a model for other countries to follow. It is the conviction of my delegation that the fight against malaria can be won by all nations by destroying the mosquitoes that cause the disease — an approach that many developed countries have adopted. As the WHO report notes, the aims of the global fight against malaria are not only to reduce the burden of the disease in endemic areas but also to reduce and limit the geographical extent of areas of the world where malaria is endemic. That entails the elimination of malaria from countries and localities where that is feasible.

Canada is very pleased to join today’s debate on Africa. Africa remains a continent of great promise as well as formidable challenges across the spectrum of political and economic issues. Africa has made important progress in recent years, especially in the area of peace and security, a prerequisite to any development and economic growth. However, that progress has been fragile in many regions. We must consolidate gains made in creating a safer environment for all Africans and in seeking to ensure that Africa meets the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In August the Secretary-General released the progress report (A/62/203) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and noted that, at the halfway point to 2015, many African countries will not meet their Millennium Development Goals. His progress report is a sobering reminder of the challenge faced by Africans, and by us all. Canada supports African initiatives on economic development and governance reform, and welcomes Africa’s success. Impressive growth rates have been attained over the past three years. The Economic Commission for Africa reports that growth rates improved in 28 African countries from 2005 to 2006. A notable, unfortunate exception to that pattern of success was Zimbabwe, the only African country to post a negative growth rate. As with any other region, there is no single solution to achieve economic and social progress in Africa. To ensure that Africa’s recent strong economic progress continues will require the comprehensive and coordinated engagement of the private sector and donors outside Africa, as well as the commitment of African nations to their own success. Canada is pleased to be doing its part to help African partners achieve the Millennium Goals and to address peace and security challenges. At the recent Group of Eight Summit, Canada confirmed its commitment to double its annual international assistance to Africa, from $1.05 billion in 2003-2004 to $2.1 billion in 2008-2009. Canada is on track to meet that commitment. As of 2005-2006, Canadian aid to Africa reached $1.7 billion. As an element of our support for Africa, Canada has maintained a strong commitment to regional and multilateral initiatives to advance global malaria prevention and control efforts, targeting primarily children and pregnant women. To date, Canada has provided almost $530 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, almost a quarter of which is directed at malaria. Most recently, in April this year, Canada announced $20 million in new funding over three years through the Canadian Red Cross, primarily for the distribution of bed nets to African households. Canada is proud to be working with African partners in support of NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanism. Canada shares our African partners’ priorities — including peace and security, the promotion of democracy, sustainable development and good governance. The progress of the Mechanism is a key African-led initiative to achieve those goals. Positive momentum by the Peer Review Mechanism is evident and encouraging. Since last year two more countries — Djibouti and Sao Tome and Principe — have signed on, and Algeria, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa have submitted their country reports. Canada applauds their commitment. In a debate in the Security Council in August, Canada urged the Council to address conflicts at an early stage. Canada is increasingly concerned about recent developments in the Sudan, Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes Region, which underscore the fragility of gains made in peace and security. In addition to the serious effects on the people in individual countries, those situations endanger regional stability. Canada remains deeply concerned about the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Sudan. Our commitment to humanitarian, peacebuilding and peace support operations assistance aimed at bringing an end to the conflict has totalled more than $440 million since 2004. Of that, $208 million is in direct support to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which makes Canada the fourth largest donor to AMIS. We believe that a resolution of the Darfur conflict, in conjunction with progress on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the south, is critical to building long- term stability in the whole of the Sudan. We call on all parties to the Darfur conflict to participate in the renewed peace talks. Canada also remains deeply concerned by the deteriorating political, economic and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. In the spirit of NEPAD and commitment to the development of African-led approaches, Canada strongly supports the Southern African Development Community mediation initiative, led by President Mbeki of South Africa. We recognize the progress made to date, and look forward to Zimbabwe’s securing the necessary conditions for holding free and fair elections next year. (spoke in French) Last December we all welcomed the boldness of the leaders of the Great Lakes region who signed the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi have since ratified the Pact, and just today Kenya has done the same. In doing so they have expressed their commitment to achieving an area of peace in the region and ending the displacement of populations, thereby leading the way for others to sign on to the Pact. We must, however, emphasize that recent developments in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have raised serious concerns. We urge the Governments of the region to do everything possible to preserve regional peace and stability, which are so longed for by the peoples of the Great Lakes Region. We Canadians join our African partners in celebrating the successes that Africa has achieved. Canada recognizes that the African continent holds great promise. But we also recognize that it continues to face significant challenges, particularly in bringing peace and security to troubled regions. Those challenges will have to be dealt with if Africa is to achieve its full potential. Nevertheless, progress is being made towards achieving its remarkable potential — progress led by Africans, for Africans. Canada is contributing to those African successes, and it will continue to do so.

Bangladesh applauds the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports. We align ourselves with the statement by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The challenges that Africa faces today in the areas of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, deadly diseases and the environment are daunting. The international community has long been aware of Africa’s problems and needs. By adopting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), African countries have put the internationally agreed development goals at the centre of their development agenda. The African Peer Review Mechanism is a concrete sign of the commitment of African countries to good governance. By adopting two currency unions and nominal exchange-rate stabilization in the southern African Common Monetary Area, Africa has taken the lead in the developing world in regional monetary integration. There has also been progress in the area of conflict resolution. The report of the Secretary-General states that “Africa today is afflicted by far fewer armed conflicts than it was a decade ago” (A/62/204, para. 5). What is needed now, in our view, is to consolidate international support to help African countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and implement NEPAD. As Africa marches ahead to address its own challenges, we have a moral responsibility to extend a hand of cooperation. International cooperation in the form of aid, trade, debt relief, investment, technology transfer and capacity building is crucial for Africa. Trade is critically important for the region. The international community should correct trade distortions and expand African countries’ trade opportunities. The current trading system is no doubt biased against developing countries. Apart from other reasons, that is due to a wide array of harmful subsidies, fluctuation in the terms of trade, non-tariff restrictions and artificial standards imposed by industrialized countries. Those must be reversed. Commodity- and preference-dependent economies will suffer enormously from the erosion of preferences and export revenue losses as a result of most-favoured- nation tariff reduction. A recent estimate by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development indicates a net welfare loss for sub-Saharan Africa, due mainly to adverse terms of trade effects and the absence of efficiency gains. It is critically important to address specific development needs of those countries, including through supply-capacity building. A recent estimate indicates that the removal of tariffs and subsidies on cotton has the potential to lift the incomes of sub- Saharan African cotton producers by 31 per cent. We call upon major economies to conclude the Doha negotiations immediately, with full implementation of the development agenda, bearing in mind the special concerns of African countries and the least developed countries. The external debt situation of the developing countries, particularly those of sub-Saharan Africa and least developed countries, remains a source of serious concern. For many of them, the accumulated debt burden has become a drawback to financing their development. We note with satisfaction that there has been some progress in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, as their ratio of debt to gross domestic product dropped from 37 per cent to 24 per cent last year. However, the current debt relief initiative has been slow. The resources released for development through debt relief were in practice much smaller than those indicated by aid statistics. Debt relief has also not been additional to official development assistance (ODA), as it was expected to be. We are deeply concerned to note that, exclusive of debt forgiveness, in 2006 official development assistance from countries members of the Development Assistance Committee declined to the lowest level since 1999. That falls far short of the Group of Eight Gleneagles pledge in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010. The recent reiteration of pledges indicates a downward revision of targets rather than a scaling-up, as was predicted and required. The ODA commitment by the donor countries should be fulfilled immediately. Development partners and the international community should also take steps to help Africa integrate into the global economy through foreign direct investment (FDI). The recently released World Investment Report 2007 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) registers that FDI into Africa doubled between 2004 and 2006 to a record $36 billion. In 2006 many African countries incorporated into their policy the specific measures and regulatory frameworks to ensure steady inflows of FDI. The report recognizes that the investment is spurred by a generally improved business climate in this region. Despite these increases, the region’s share of global FDI declined to 2.7 per cent in 2006 from 3.1 per cent in 2005. This matter should also be addressed as a priority. Bangladesh has been actively engaged in the areas of peace and development for Africa. There has been hardly any United Nations peacekeeping mission in Africa in the last two and half decades in which Bangladesh did not participate. Currently around 10,000 Bangladeshis are working in 12 United Nations peacekeeping missions. We send our peacekeepers even to the most risk-prone areas. We do this in keeping with our Charter commitment and in the spirit of solidarity with our African brethren. Our Blue- Helmet soldiers have been working shoulder to shoulder with our brothers in Africa in restoring peace in this region. As a member of the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, Bangladesh is actively engaged in supporting the ongoing development efforts in Burundi and Sierra Leone. I reiterate the Bangladesh Government’s firm commitment to further strengthening our support and cooperation for the development of Africa. In development, as in peace, Bangladesh walks with fellow African nations — as a member of the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Least Developed Countries group. The Brussels Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) outline a set of actions by the global community to address the socioeconomic challenges facing the 50 most impoverished countries, 34 of which are in Africa. Fulfilment of the commitments of the Programme of Action will go a long way in addressing Africa’s problems. As the current Chair of the LDCs group, we believe Africa should remain at the top of our priority agenda. Within the framework of South-South cooperation, countries like Bangladesh can and must strive to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s sustained development. Over the years Bangladesh has successfully adopted a number of innovative development ideas like microcredit, non-formal education and women’s empowerment. Microcredit is the simplest of concepts that makes the profoundest of changes in the societal landscape. This idea has now been replicated in around a hundred countries, including many in Africa. The world’s largest non-governmental organization, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), has started its programmes at grassroots level in post-conflict areas of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Involving non-governmental organizations and civil society actors, we have been able to strengthen our institutions and deliver broad- based social sector programmes. We remain ready to share our experiences in these countries with all other areas on the African continent. NEPAD is based on a new vision for Africa. Addressing extreme poverty is obviously a strategic choice, well embedded in NEPAD. It is also based on the realization that progress in developing Africa cannot be achieved without the social and economic emancipation of the majority of its long neglected nations. Let us resolve to address precisely this challenge.

My delegation aligns itself with the statements by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and by the representative of Benin on behalf of the African Group. We thank the Secretary-General for his three thorough reports (A/62/203, A/62/204 and A/62/321) on the items we are discussing today: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, and the Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa. My delegation wants to emphasize agenda item 64, which concerns NEPAD. We strongly welcome the progress made by African countries, with the support of international partners, as well as domestic stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector. While we welcome progress made so far in implementing the two tracks of the NEPAD infrastructure programme, the medium- and long-term strategic framework, we agree that there is an urgent need to scale up investment in infrastructure and capacity building. My delegation commends the Secretary-General for placing special emphasis on the issue of health in his fifth consolidated report, and further welcomes the Africa Health Strategy: 2007-2015 presented to the African Union Conference of Health Ministers in April. We also emphasize the need to support other international initiatives in the area of global health, such as the Oslo Declaration following the September 2006 initiative on Global Health and Foreign Policy. My delegation also welcomes the progress achieved in implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Since Sudan’s voluntary accession, in January 2006, we have supported efforts aimed at encouraging remaining African countries to join the Mechanism. Sudan, immediately after joining the APRM, established the necessary organs to accelerate implementation of the Mechanism, with the participation of all domestic stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the private sector. Our programme places special emphasis on women’s empowerment, promotion of democracy, accountability and the rule of law. During the last few months these organs have held many organizational meetings aimed at mapping the way towards implementation. For African countries to benefit from NEPAD, a comprehensive plan of action is required to integrate African economies into the world economy as well as into the international trading system. Market access for African commodities is of overriding importance for Africa. Accession of African countries to the World Trade Organization is vital for the process of integration into the world economy. The international community should fulfil its commitments to support NEPAD and national efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. In addition, we call upon the international community to support the efforts of African countries to combat climate change and adapt to its adverse impacts. While welcoming the efforts of the development partners, including the Group of Eight, towards relieving the debt of the African countries, we believe that more remains to be done. We draw attention to the constraints on my country’s benefiting from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, and we look forward to international and regional support to overcome them. Our experience in Sudan illustrates the necessity of addressing the critical economic and developmental dimension of conflicts, and thus the vital role of improving the socioeconomic conditions of people in achieving sustainable peace. Therefore, wealth sharing arrangements were essential components of the three signed peace agreements in the Sudan: the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, The Darfur Peace Agreement and the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement. Moreover, climate change and environmental degradation constitute a basic root cause of conflict. Unilateral sanctions imposed on my country since the 1990s continue to seriously hamper the Government of National Unity’s efforts to address the root causes of conflict, provide the peace dividend for the people, eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development and internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Those are stumbling blocks on the country’s road to attract much needed foreign direct investment and official development assistance. We agree with the Secretary-General in asserting the linkage between peace and development, and we call on the international regional actors to support the Government’s efforts to make the smooth transition from relief to development. The central role of regional organizations in the sustainability of peace is vital, particularly to post-conflict countries in Africa. That calls for the urgent implementation of the 10-year capacity-building plan to enhance Africa’s peacekeeping capacities, as contained in the relevant paragraphs of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. Finally, my delegation would like to touch upon agenda item 47, “2001-2010: Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa”. Malaria is a major public health threat, with wide-ranging ramifications in developing countries, particularly in Africa. In Sudan, it is one of the most serious threats and impediments to social and economic development, and obstructs efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. We agree with the Secretary-General, who maintains that despite global efforts, malaria remains a global threat. Sad to say, almost the entire population of Sudan is at risk of malaria, with varying degrees of intensity. It is estimated that in Sudan malaria affects around 7.5 million people, and is responsible for the death of around 35,000 persons annually. In public sector health facilities, malaria accounts for around one-fifth of outpatient attendances, and in pediatric hospitals the fatality rate ranges from 5 per cent to 15 per cent. The disease leads to around 38 per cent of maternal mortality and nearly 20 per cent of low weight births. Scientific evidence points to the effect of climate change on the incidence of malaria, as higher temperatures are seen to accelerate the development of parasites and cause mosquitoes to mature faster and live longer, thus increasing the frequency of potential transmission. To confront these challenges, my Government has designed a national strategy, and set up a special national unit to combat malaria through improved disease management, disease surveillance and epidemic management, prevention, and capacity- building in the health sector. The strategy aims at reducing malaria morbidity and mortality by 40 per cent by 2007. This national strategy focuses mainly on prevention as a means to combat the disease. There is a strong partnership to execute this strategy between the Government and the World Health Organization, UNICEF, non-governmental organizations, local communities and the private sector. Unfortunately, these efforts are impeded by the lack of adequate and predictable funding and by poor capacity. My delegation believes in the need to strengthen efforts to make the fight against malaria a basic element of global diplomatic efforts.

Uganda is delighted to take part in this debate. My contribution today will be on the agenda item concerning malaria. Malaria has killed many people in sub-Saharan Africa. I want to discuss something I have seen for myself. I have seen people walking into drugstores and asking for tablets to treat malaria. The drugstore owner is not even a trained pharmacist. The so-called anti- malarial drugs are sold like any other item in the shop. Very often, the customer-patient does not have enough money to pay for the drugs, and tells the storekeeper this. The storekeeper then gives him tablets equivalent to whatever money he has. He then walks out of the store and takes the drugs. Because the tablets are less than the normal dosage for treatment, the patient will not be cured. In another scenario, a patient walks into a clinic, where he tells the doctor that he has been taking drugs for malaria, but the malaria has not gone. Because he has been told that malaria can be cured only by quinine administered through a drip method, he asks the doctor to give him the quinine. The doctor graciously grants his request and administers the drug in that manner. He has not examined the patient, but simply does what the patient wants. This approach is obviously unprofessional, but unfortunately there are a good number of doctors who act in that way. The result is that the patient develops resistance to any other, less strong drug. What conclusions can we draw from these scenarios? First, the drugs are sold like any other commodity; there are no measures to ensure their quality. More often than not, expired drugs are sold. Secondly, the patient takes a smaller dosage than is required, because that is what he can afford, and is not cured. Thirdly, instead of using his own professional judgement, the doctor follows what the patient wants. For him, money is the primary concern. Not all doctors behave in this manner, but a good number do. Therefore, there is a need to put in place a regulatory mechanism to ensure that any errant doctor will be punished. There is also a need for the authorities, in partnership with the private sector, to make sure that medicines are affordable, and to put in place laws and regulations penalizing shopkeepers for selling medicines. Only authorized pharmacists would be allowed to sell them, and only by prescription. In the fight against malaria, most attention should be directed at prevention. In this connection, mosquito breeding grounds, such as stagnant water, should be tackled. In Uganda we have put in place an elaborate vector control system aimed at putting emphasis on prevention rather than cure. Recently we have introduced controlled indoor spraying of DDT after fighting a battle with the so-called environmentalists. DDT has been a success story in most countries, and we believe it is a strong weapon to fight malaria. We have also provided a good number of people with treated mosquito nets, but we need assistance from the international community and relevant private sector institutions to supplement Government efforts in this regard. This is an area where public-private partnerships can be forged. But the whole question of provision of mosquito nets goes hand in hand with poverty eradication measures. For instance, someone with no shelter in the form of a house or hut has nowhere to hang a net. So a house or a hut and a bed are prerequisites to the provision of mosquito nets. A poor person will be tempted to use a net to sleep on, instead of for its purpose, because he cannot afford bedding. That is no exaggeration. I should also mention the lack of transport. Many people who could have been saved have died because they could not be transported expeditiously to a hospital when they fell sick from malaria — either because there were no roads or, even if there was a road, because there was no ambulance. Therefore, the question of infrastructure as well as means of transport must be addressed. I have witnessed another scenario, concerning laboratory services. Some are ill-equipped to test for malarial parasites. I know of a laboratory/clinic where everyone tested for malarial parasites has a positive result, when that may not be justified. Patients are therefore treated for malaria that is not there, with disastrous consequences. The question of efficient laboratory services must therefore also be addressed. There is also a need to train health workers who can sensitize rural communities about hygiene and ensure the proper administration of drugs. Lastly, I would like to thank those organizations and Governments that have put in place measures to scale up anti-malarial interventions in populations at risk. In that regard, our thanks go to the United States for its President’s Malaria Initiative, to the Global Fund and to the World Bank for its Booster Programme for Malaria Control in Africa.

At the outset, I commend the President for the able manner in which he is presiding over the business of the General Assembly at this session. My delegation fully associates itself with the statements made this morning by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and by the representative of Benin on behalf of the Group of African States. I shall therefore not seek to address the diverse issues on which they have already spoken. We thank the Secretary-General for his reports (A/62/203 and A/62/204) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and his note (A/62/321) transmitting the detailed report on the Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa. As we all know, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development is a home-grown programme of the African Union that aims to achieve socioeconomic development on the continent. Six years ago the African leaders decided to renew and transform their development agenda through NEPAD, in the realization that Africa was the only continent lagging behind in development and experiencing increasing poverty levels. Today we are happy to note that NEPAD has been recognized by the United Nations and other cooperating partners as a useful tool to develop infrastructure, agriculture, trade and investment, as well as to promote private sector and human resources development. For our part, as Africans, we have developed democratic and accountable governance institutions that are being nurtured through the African Peer Review Mechanism. To date, 26 countries — including my own — have acceded to the Mechanism. We are hopeful that the international community will step up its efforts and increase its resources to help Africa to develop and achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As indicated by the representatives of Pakistan and Benin, we are greatly concerned about the overall decline in flows of official development assistance (ODA). It is indeed regrettable that most development partners have not met their obligation to contribute 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to ODA. Furthermore, the promise made by the Group of Eight at Gleneagles to scale up ODA for Africa has not materialized. At this point, I want to focus my attention on malaria, which continues to be the number-one killer in several regions of the world — particularly in many parts of Africa, including Zambia. Since the inception of the Roll Back Malaria strategy the world has seen — besides the establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria —increased political will and financial commitment to control malaria. But the disease has continued to threaten 40 per cent of the world’s population, in 107 countries. Around 500 million people suffer from acute malaria each year, resulting in about 1 million mortalities annually, with the most vulnerable being women and children. Zambia, like the rest of the international community, recognizes that. Many developing countries, including Zambia, that are adversely affected by the disease support all the efforts made by the international community to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Malaria also has adverse effects on long-term socioeconomic sustainable development, in that it affects the performance of those infected, who, in turn, cannot provide for their households. Based on reported cases of malaria in Zambia, it is estimated that there are at least 4.3 million clinical cases per year, with children and pregnant women being the most affected. In response, since 2000 the Zambian Government has identified malaria control as an urgent health priority and consequently has been implementing the Roll Back Malaria strategy at country level since 2001. Furthermore, we are committed to the Abuja Declaration, which seeks to reduce malaria in Africa by 50 per cent by 2010. The Declaration set a target of 60 per cent coverage for access to insecticide-treated bed nets and the taking of preventive medicines, namely, intermittent presumptive treatment. Other milestones achieved by my country — as stated in the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/62/1) — include the free distribution of bed nets and the implementation of immunization campaigns, which have led to a 10 per cent reduction in the incidence of malaria over a period of about five years. In addition, we are carrying out indoor residential house spraying, as well as providing effective life-saving drugs for those infected. Those positive intervention programmes have been effectively implemented, resulting in the saving of many lives, with support from all our partners at the global, regional, subregional, country and community levels. It is also encouraging to note that our partners have continued to buy into our national malaria strategic plan in order to accelerate the achievement of the Abuja targets and, indeed, the Millennium Development Goals. That only affirms donor confidence in the implementation of our national malaria programme. Notwithstanding those achievements, Zambia continues to face a number of challenges. They include inadequate knowledge about the interaction of the package of interventions and outcomes; a weak and constrained health system that may not cope with the added pressures of a national programme expansion, coupled with the brain drain and high staff turnover; an inadequate communication infrastructure, which inhibits the distribution of insecticide-treated nets; and the fact that, owing to financial constraints, the Government has not been able to offer competitive conditions of service to retain and motivate highly trained staff. For Zambia to effectively address those challenges and scale up the malaria programme, the following assistance is required, among many other measures: technical support to improve management programme systems at all levels; funds for improved diagnosis of malaria cases; insecticide-treated nets and mass distribution; and technical and financial support to carry out operational research and sustain efforts to find environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical- based interventions. In conclusion, my delegation thanks the international community for its continued support at both the national and regional levels in combating this epidemic. The Global Fund initiative has provided renewed impetus to the programmes and interventions of Member States designed to combat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. We also reaffirm our support for the work of the international community aimed at the full realization of the goals set out in the Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria, and, indeed, in the Millennium Development Goals, to achieve a malaria-free country. We appeal to the international community to commit additional resources in order to be able to respond to the additional challenges, and we ask that such resources be made available on time.

The delegation of Senegal thanks the Secretary-General for submitting to the General Assembly his fifth consolidated report on implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (A/62/203), as well as the reports on the causes of conflict (A/62/204) and implementation of the Decade to Roll Back Malaria (A/62/321, annex). I take this opportunity to welcome in particular the commitment to African development that our Secretary-General demonstrated by recently establishing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Africa Steering Group to accelerate the achievement of those Goals in Africa. That is a far- sighted action that will, we hope, make it possible to step up the development process on the continent. He deserves our thanks and congratulations. My delegation aligns itself with the statements made by the representative of Benin, on behalf of the Group of African States, and by the representative of Pakistan, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Five years have already passed since the Assembly’s adoption on 4 November 2002 of resolution 57/7, by which the international community endorsed the then-Secretary-General’s recommendation, set out in paragraph 4, that NEPAD “should be the framework within which the international community, including the United Nations system, should concentrate its efforts for Africa’s development”. The resolution also urged “the international community and the United Nations system to organize support for African countries in accordance with the principles, objectives and priorities of the New Partnership”. NEPAD, we must remember, is a partnership with two dimensions: internal and international. It is intended to be a link between Africans themselves, on the one hand, and, on the other, between Africa and the rest of the world, which has expressed its total support by welcoming NEPAD’s relevance and ambitious goals. Proof is to be seen in the many initiatives and promises of aid to Africa since its adoption. In some five years’ existence NEPAD has had mixed fortunes. Certainly, there has been progress resulting from African efforts that have made possible, inter alia, the creation of a more stable environment on the continent; strengthened governance and transparency; increased democratization of society; and the promotion of gender equality and equity, respect for human rights and greater adherence to the African Peer Review Mechanism. But it must be said that the enthusiasm of NEPAD’s early days contrasts with the current reality, halfway to the crucial 2015 deadline set for the achievement of the MDGs. Indeed, whereas development requires colossal economic efforts, particularly in the African context, inaction seems to have been more prevalent during NEPAD’s first five years, to the detriment of effective implementation. We have noted a succession of study meetings, workshops and other round tables, rather than real action. The Secretary-General’s various reports are enlightening on that point. The reasons are to be found at three levels. First, African States and bodies have not always been able to get past the stage of bureaucratic consideration in order to tackle the concrete implementation phase. But there have also been shortcomings with regard to raising people’s awareness and promoting NEPAD initiatives. We therefore fully support the Secretary-General’s invitation to African countries “to take steps to effectively implement the many NEPAD projects and programmes they have already adopted.” (A/62/203, para.63) In that connection, I am pleased to announce the decision taken in September by the NEPAD Steering Committee of Heads of State and Government, on the margins of the Assembly’s general debate, to meet on 22 November this year in Dakar, Senegal, at a mini- summit to discuss NEPAD’s future in order to give it new vigour. That meeting will enable us to give new direction to NEPAD’s implementation at a time when the process of integrating its secretariat into the African Union is making significant progress. There have also been shortcomings with regard to the mobilization of international support, which remains indispensable, even if the main responsibility for development of the continent lies primarily with the Africans themselves. While there have been positive developments in this area, the lack of sufficient resources continues to be a major constraint for Africa. In that regard, we express our concern about the progressive decline since 2004 in the volume of aid provided by the industrialized countries. Paradoxically, this decline, which has occurred despite the commitment of the Group of Eight and the European Union to double official development assistance (ODA), and the arrival of new sources of development financing, is taking place at a time when those very countries have proceeded to cancel the multilateral debt owed by the highly indebted countries. One can imagine that the drop in this aid from the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a way of compensating for the cancellation of the multilateral debt undertaken in 2005, at the risk of cancelling out the expected effects. In addition, the lack of concrete results in the multilateral trade negotiations at Doha, which were expected to spur the exports of countries of the South, and of Africa in particular, place almost insurmountable obstacles in the path of our economies. Without a halt to the grave distortion of free trade caused by the agricultural subsidies of the developed countries, which are destroying our farming communities, we will never be able to roll back poverty. To this must be added the weakness of foreign direct investment, despite the business opportunities offered by NEPAD projects and the gradual improvement of the business climate in the continent. Another source of concern for us is the situation imposed on a number of African countries by the sharp and unjustifiable increase in the price of oil, which yesterday reached more than $88 per barrel, compared with $26 only four years ago. That is nearly a 240 per cent increase. The Assembly can imagine the disasters that such a situation can bring about for the control of inflation, for products involving big energy consumption, for balanced budgets and for the financing of development projects. Moreover, the situation seems to obey no other logic than the unchecked quest for profits by the oil monopolies, to the detriment of the lives of millions of people in poor countries that do not produce this source of energy, which is indispensable for development. Even if development aid, the cancellation of the debt and free trade continue to be important for the States of the South, particularly in Africa, their effectiveness will only be limited in the present context without concrete measures to remedy the effects of the growth in oil prices. That is the reason for the proposal made by the head of State of Senegal recently at the 5th meeting, in the Assembly’s general debate, when he called for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to add 2 per cent to each oil price increase: 1 per cent to fight poverty, and the other 1 per cent to combat the degradation of the environment. The final shortcoming is the lack of integration of NEPAD priorities into the interventions of bodies of the United Nations system. It is therefore urgent for those bodies, pursuant to resolution 57/7, to effectively align their actions with the development model established by NEPAD. To conclude on the NEPAD item, my delegation welcomes the decision by the General Assembly last year to organize, during its sixty-third session, a high- level meeting on the status of the implementation of numerous commitments by the international community to respond to Africa’s development needs. Since the 2000 Millennium Summit, the last five years have been dominated internationally by the holding of four great conferences, crucial events in the march of humankind in solidarity towards a better world: the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg; the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey; the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Geneva and Tunis, respectively; and the 2005 World Summit, held here in New York. Those world meetings marked a turning point in the international community’s taking into account the specific needs of Africa to help it enter the third millennium. The situation I have described is evidence of the great importance attached to this high-level meeting in terms of the international community’s understanding and appreciation of Africa’s needs. Creating conditions for sustainable development in Africa also means rising to the challenge of stability and lasting peace. Senegal welcomes the remarkable efforts by the African countries to overcome the demons of division, incomprehension and intolerance. We call on them all to continue these beneficial efforts for national reconciliation, the only guarantee of lasting peace, to which the African people aspire. In the subregion, and particularly in Senegal, the positive developments in Côte d’Ivoire are an immense source of hope of finally seeing that brother nation emerge from the maze of a crisis that has lasted much too long and rediscover its role and place within the subregional and continental family. Another reason for satisfaction is the successful holding of elections in Sierra Leone, whose people, following in the footsteps of Liberia, have given proof of great maturity by setting themselves firmly on the path of reconciliation and democracy after more than a decade of war in that carnage-torn country. With respect to the Sudan, Senegal continues to express its readiness to work for the installation of a frank and open dialogue between the different protagonists, and is particularly pleased with the important progress noted recently as a result of an intelligent partnership between the African Union and the United Nations. This form of partnership must be enhanced and extended to other countries, such as Somalia, where the situation requires greater attention by the Africans and the international community, to keep that brother nation from falling into the abyss of anarchy and chaos. It is also essential that everything be done to stop the devastating pandemic of malaria, which every year, through its significant number of victims in Africa — more than a million per year — causes immense losses to the African gross domestic product, estimated at more than $12 billion. We should therefore continue to support African efforts, through increased mobilization of resources within the framework of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as through strengthened implementation of quick-impact initiatives agreed at the 2005 World Summit. To conclude, I reaffirm how unique and effective is the framework offered by NEPAD for the effective deployment of a world partnership for development in Africa. Senegal hopes that the international community and the United Nations system will be able to give more support for the plan, made by the African leaders through NEPAD, to enable the African countries to take their rightful place among the prosperous nations.

Let me thank the President for organizing this plenary discussion with a special focus on Africa. My delegation associates itself with the statements made by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and by the representative of Benin on behalf of the Group of African States. I take this opportunity to thank the Secretary- General for the informative reports on the issues under consideration. By highlighting the complex range of challenges confronting Africa’s development, the United Nations can, we believe, help refocus attention on viable solutions and mobilize a coalition of the international community to comprehensively address those significant problems. With regard to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Kenya actively participates and supports the implementation of the various NEPAD projects and programmes. We note with appreciation that some NEPAD initiatives are being implemented, and call for concerted, enhanced efforts to bring them speedily to fruition. African countries have made tremendous progress with regard to the African Peer Review Mechanism. Kenya completed its African Peer Review Mechanism process last year and presented its report at the Summit of the African Union held at Banjul. We seek to maintain dialogue with the secretariat, as well as with other peers, to effect meaningful and lasting change in the lives of the Kenyan people and the rest of the African peoples. Our country report highlighted challenges and gaps faced by Kenya in the implementation of peer review. We are committed to implementing the recommendations therein to the fullest extent, and we call for the support of the international community in that endeavour. According to the Secretary-General’s report on NEPAD (A/62/203), there has been some improvement in the past five years with regard to the situation of official development assistance (ODA), debt relief and foreign direct investment. That is an indication that some resources are likely to be available for more pressing development needs in the social and economic fields. Indeed, a good number of countries in Africa have registered positive economic growth figures in the past few years. However, the positive trend does not match the resource requirements for general development purposes and specific NEPAD projects and programmes. One of the main problems is that support has been provided in a selective manner, thus leaving the majority of countries even more vulnerable and not able to undertake their individual and collective responsibilities. For instance, debt relief initiatives have targeted certain specific countries while other heavily indebted countries have been left out. As a result of efforts to improve the economies of developing countries, in the course of the past four years a number of countries have crossed over the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) threshold and are now classified as being at the lower threshold of developing countries. The transitional conditions prevailing in those countries, especially in the area of debt relief, require some attention. We therefore call for a programme of support for them, as a guarantee against the risk of rolling back the gains that have been made. Trade is an important component of development. Unfortunately, international trade rules are currently unsupportive of the interests of developing countries. The suspension of the Doha Round in July 2006 was an unwelcome development that dampens the prospects of the multilateral trading system. An unfair trading system that imposes punitive tariffs on sectors where countries selectively enjoy a competitive edge — such as agricultural produce and manufactured goods like textiles and garments — discourages export diversification and manufacturing capacity building. It is therefore not surprising that, according to the World Bank, Africa’s share of world trade declined from 3.5 per cent in 1970 to about 1.4 per cent in 2005. It is worth noting that, when the non- oil trade effect is considered on its own, Africa’s share of world trade is shamefully low. NEPAD represents the resolve of African leaders to spearhead the development of the continent. That task cannot be accomplished by Africans by themselves. We therefore emphasize the need for concerted efforts by the international community to support African leaders in attaining the goals set under NEPAD. With regard to the 2001-2010 Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa, I wish to underline the fact that malaria continues to threaten the lives of nearly half of all humanity worldwide. The disease is most prevalent in Africa, and continues to hinder social and economic development in numerous ways. However, there has been a resurgence of international attention to and support for malaria control, thus giving hope to the affected populations. Progress has been made in research on prevention and treatment methods, resulting in long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, rapid diagnostic tests and other highly effective approaches. There has also been an increase in funding for malaria control, both at bilateral and multilateral levels, particularly through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We encourage development partners to continue with that trend. More important, we should work more closely together in the African region to share best practices, especially on malaria warning mechanisms. In Kenya, national malaria-related targets are being reached at a faster rate, following the Government’s deliberate policy and focus. With the support of our partners, we recently launched the new artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). ACT treatment is now available free of charge in all Government and faith-based organizations’ hospitals. The improved distribution of treated mosquito nets and the implementation of other preventive measures are bearing fruit. The focus and impact would be even greater if a decision were made to establish entities in Africa to manufacture mosquito nets and malaria medication. We believe that such a move would improve accessibility, lower cost and build local capacity for self-reliance and self- sufficiency. I turn to the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. It is no secret that the continent has faced devastating conflicts over the past 20 years. The end to the conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southern Sudan was a substantive step towards overall peace in Africa. According to the reports of the Secretary-General and the Human Security Report, the number of conflicts in the world has fallen by over 40 per cent during the past dozen years. The fact that conflict is becoming less common in general, and particularly in Africa, is very encouraging indeed. Owing to the negative correlation between conflicts and development, investment, peace and security, and the general welfare of the people, my delegation calls for concerted efforts at conflict resolution and the reconstruction of affected countries. That is one sure way of giving hope to the people of affected countries. In addition, Kenya urges increased involvement by the African Union and the United Nations system in conflict monitoring, resolution and reconstruction, in particular through the promotion of political and technical cooperation between continent and subregional organizations. In that respect, it is important to strengthen African peacekeeping capabilities and capacity. Kenya hosted last December the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, dealing with peace, security, democracy and development in the region. The objective of the Conference was to establish a framework to promote peace, security and development in the Great Lakes Region and end the recurrence of violence and conflict in the whole region. A pact was signed by member States, and it is now being implemented. We thank our partners, especially the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region, for their valuable support in preparing for the Conference and addressing the conflicts in the region, including their commitment to continued and sustained support. We trust that this and other focused discussions on the development needs of Africa — in particular, the high-level meeting on the theme of Africa’s development needs: state of implementation of various commitments, challenges and the way forward, scheduled to take place during the sixty-third session of the General Assembly — will re-energize the international community’s attention and its efforts to support the African continent in addressing its development, social and security problems. Lastly, with a view to mainstreaming and sustaining focus on Africa’s development needs within the United Nations system, my delegation reiterates the request for the Secretary-General to appoint an office- bearer to the position of Special Adviser on Africa and to strengthen that Office adequately.

First, my delegation aligns itself with the statements made by the representatives of Pakistan and Benin on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and the Group of African States, respectively. We also thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive and informative reports and his constructive support for the development of Africa. As we all know, the primary goal of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is to eradicate poverty through an integrated and strategic development framework aimed at placing African countries, both individually and collectively, on a path to sustainable growth and development, thus halting the marginalization of African countries in the globalization process. While African countries have the primary responsibility for their own economic and social development, they need to be supported by an enabling and equitable international economic environment to achieve economic prosperity within the context of internationally agreed goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We wish to make a few comments on the efforts Malawi is making to achieve the MDGs. Malawi’s estimated population is about 12 million people, with an average of 5.7 persons per household. It is estimated that there are 1.9 million households in the country. About 75 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. Infant and child mortality rates are estimated at 104 and 189 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Malaria is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, especially among expectant women and children under five years of age. To mitigate that problem, the Government has developed a malaria strategic plan for the period 2005 to 2010, in line with the objectives of the Roll Back Malaria programme. That has brought together major partners involved in the delivery of health services, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the United States Agency for International Development, Japan’s International Cooperation Agency, research institutions and non- governmental organizations. Under Malawi’s strategic plan, our country has recorded a number of achievements in the management of malaria cases. So far we have distributed about 5 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets to households. As a result, the proportion of expectant women and children under five years sleeping under treated nets increased from 8 per cent in 2000 to 20 per cent in 2006. By the end of this year, Malawi plans to distribute 3 million more nets, with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and President Bush’s Malaria Initiative. However, a shortage of staff remains the biggest challenge faced by the health delivery system in Malawi. In the agriculture sector, Malawi has made significant achievements in food security. We are determined to decrease by half the proportion of the population that suffer from extreme poverty and hunger and to improve their nutritional status by 2015. Given that our economy is agro-based, Malawi has one of the highest budgetary allocations to agriculture and food security, part of which has been used in the past two years to subsidize hybrid seeds and fertilizers, with a view to increasing food production. Currently Malawi has a food surplus amounting to 1.4 million tonnes over and above our national requirements. Part of the surplus produce has been exported to neighbouring countries in the southern Africa region. While challenges remain, Malawi’s recent experience in food production provides important lessons for achieving food security in Africa. One of those lessons is that African Governments need to make bold decisions, such as to subsidize farm inputs as long as the aim is to eradicate extreme poverty. For that reason, Malawi will continue with its subsidy programme until we reach an acceptable level of security in the country. In addition to agricultural production, Malawi has given infrastructure development a high position in its sustainable development programme. In that regard, it has presented to NEPAD two infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing productivity and access to international trade. The first is the Mozambique-Malawi transmission interconnection project, which is intended to increase access to diversified, reliable and affordable supplies of energy and to expand both Malawi’s and Mozambique’s opportunities to benefit from bilateral and regional power trading on the Southern African Power Pool. The project consists of three components: first, the construction of a transmission interconnection line from the Malawi electricity grid to the Mozambique electricity grid, thereby interconnecting Malawi with the Southern African Power Pool network; secondly, capacity building and technical support to upgrade and expand power trading; and, thirdly, the replacement of obsolete equipment. The project, supported by the World Bank, will remove bottlenecks in the supply of electricity in Malawi, which have stifled economic growth over the years. The second project is the Shire-Zambezi waterway project, which aims to connect landlocked Malawi to the sea through the Shire river in southern Malawi and the Zambezi river in Mozambique over a distance of 238 kilometres, which is the shortest route to the sea for Malawi’s import and export trade. The project will provide a multimodal inland transport linkage within the southern and eastern African regions and beyond, and promote the competitiveness of the countries of those regions in the international market. It will also substantially reduce the import and export transport costs. Those two projects are in line with NEPAD’s goal of enhancing sustainable economic growth through regional economic cooperation and integration. They are also in line with the Almaty Programme of Action for landlocked developing countries and the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, both of which aim to address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and least developed countries. Malawi belongs to both categories. We urge the international community to support, through NEPAD, the initiatives Malawi has embarked upon under those two infrastructure projects to facilitate its desire to bring prosperity for its people. We believe that the international community has an urgent responsibility to ensure that excellent initiatives, such as the electricity and waterway projects, succeed in practice. We commend the NEPAD secretariat for the work it is doing, and urge it to increase its advocacy role with regard to the MDGs, market access, official development assistance reform and the adoption of NEPAD principles and priorities by African Governments. Before I conclude, I would like to say that Malawi has acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism and is among the countries that have contributed to the Trust Fund set up by the United Nations Development Programme to support the implementation of the Mechanism. We look forward to the General Assembly’s decision to convene a high-level meeting on Africa’s development needs, as requested by resolution 61/229. We also join those who have thanked the developed countries for their assistance to launching the NEPAD e-schools initiative. Malawi considers information technology to be a priority for Africa’s development. We hope that the initiative will be replicated in all African countries as soon as possible, to bridge the digital divide between Africa and other countries and to open up new economic opportunities for Africa’s young generation.

First, the Chinese delegation would like to express its condolences on the death of the Prime Minister of Myanmar. The Chinese delegation fully endorses the statement made by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the G77 and China. We thank the Secretary-General for his fifth consolidated report (A/62/203) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and his report on causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/62/204). We endorse their conclusions and recommendations. Since the launch of NEPAD, African countries have made tremendous implementation efforts. In recent years the African economies have maintained a healthy growth rate, creating conditions for the elimination of poverty and the realization of sustainable development. However, as stated in the Secretary-General’s report, most African countries are still not on track in terms of implementing most of the Millennium Declaration Goals (MDGs). With regard to both last year’s implementation of NEPAD and the development report, China wishes to stress the following points. First, African countries should play a leading role in implementing NEPAD. It is necessary to take multifaceted measures to address the big gap between international support and Africa’s practical needs. We must adopt measures on all fronts. The international community — the developed countries in particular — should honour commitments, increase assistance, open markets, cancel debts and reduce conditions attached to assistance. In the meantime, assistance should be assured in the priority areas defined by the practical needs of the African countries, and the quality of assistance should be improved. In addition, African countries must be helped with development capacity building in order to enhance their ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and raise funds themselves. Secondly, one focus of NEPAD is helping African countries benefit from economic globalization. To this end, countries should make joint efforts to complete the Doha round of negotiations as soon as possible. The major developed countries should drastically cut their agricultural subsidies to facilitate the export of competitive African products. Commitments to trade assistance should be effectively fulfilled to help African countries enhance their ability to take part in international trade. Thirdly, South-South cooperation should be further enhanced. As a beneficial supplement to North- South cooperation, South-South cooperation has huge potential. As the continent with the largest number of developing countries, Africa should play a bigger role in South-South cooperation. For decades China and the African countries have treated each other with sincerity, engaged in mutual support and achieved remarkable results in South- South cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefits. China actively supports the implementation of NEPAD by African countries. The Forum on China- Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), set up in 2000, shares with NEPAD not only the same goals of promoting mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, but also the same priority areas. At the FOCAC Beijing Summit last year President Hu Jintao announced, on behalf of the Chinese Government, eight policy measures aimed at strengthening practical cooperation between China and Africa and supporting the development of African countries. Those measures include increasing assistance to Africa by providing loans and export buyers’ credit on preferential terms, setting up the China-Africa Development Fund, assisting the construction of the African Union conference centre, cancelling the debts of some African countries, giving tariff-free access to the products of some African countries, establishing zones of economic and trade cooperation, and strengthening cooperation between China and Africa in areas such as the development of human resources, agriculture, health and education. On the margins of the general debate at this session of the General Assembly, the Foreign Minister of China and dozens of his African counterparts held their first political dialogue and issued a statement. The meeting was a resounding success; it was here that Foreign Ministers exchanged views on implementation of the Beijing Summit agreements. China will continuously strengthen its cooperation with the African countries on the basis of sincerity and friendship, consultation on an equal footing, efficiency, pragmatism, mutual benefit and gains for all. The United Nations bears the important responsibility of maintaining world peace and security. For it to successfully fulfil this noble mission, it needs the trust and support of its Member States, the assistance and cooperation of regional and subregional organizations and unremitting efforts to exploring innovative and creative methods. China believes that preventive diplomacy should be accorded high priority in addressing the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. History has shown that the prevention of crisis and conflict is much more effective than remedial measures taken afterwards. Over the past five years the United Nations has spent more than $18 billion on peacekeeping. Effective prevention will not only greatly reduce peacekeeping expenses, but also spare numerous people from the scourge of war. To prevent and settle African conflicts, it is necessary to identify their causes. Most armed conflicts on the African continent are rooted in poverty and under-development. Only through properly addressing the root causes, especially the development issue, can we seize the initiative in conflict prevention and improve the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping. We also believe that coordination and cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations should be strongly reinforced. The African Union, taking advantage of its experience in preventing and settling African conflicts, has in recent years played an ever more important role in responding, on behalf of the international community, to conflicts in Africa. On the one hand, the United Nations should continue to enhance its cooperation with the African Union Peace and Security Council to make full use of its early warning mechanism and Africa’s peacekeeping capability. On the other hand, it should provide assistance of various kinds to the African Union to help it with capacity building. In spite of the long distance between us, China and Africa have traditionally maintained friendly relations. China regards Africa as an important actor in our joint efforts to maintain world peace and seek common development. We greatly appreciate the results achieved by the African countries in addressing their problems through united efforts and with the support of the international community. We will continue to work with the African countries in support of their pursuit of greater achievements in political security and development. China will make its own efforts in this process.

On behalf of my delegation, I thank the Secretary-General for his insightful report (A/62/203) on progress in implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It provides us a valuable opportunity to consider what African States have achieved so far, how they should direct their development processes, and what other countries can do to help them reach internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As we look back to the past from the halfway point to 2015, we can see that substantial progress has been made towards achieving the MDGs. However, as the Secretary-General notes in his report, progress is slow and uneven. Unfortunately, most African countries are not yet on track for meeting most of the MDGs. We all understand that the MDGs will not be truly achieved if the African States do not reach their targets. My delegation believes that what is needed to spur growth and development in Africa is a combination of African commitment and international support. NEPAD, a collective vision and strategic development framework for Africa, represents the will of Africans for development. My delegation commends the strenuous efforts of African countries to implement the Partnership. We are pleased by the progress achieved in infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, information and communications technologies and other important areas, as reported by the Secretary- General. At the same time, the international community has been supporting NEPAD through a number of international actions and initiatives. Moreover, the United Nations system has stood firmly as an important pillar of international support for NEPAD. My delegation especially welcomes and supports the Secretary-General’s initiative in launching the Africa Steering Group, which will work as the central United Nations vehicle for African development. My delegation believes that the African Peer Review Mechanism process is instrumental in putting mutual accountability to work for good economic, political and corporate governance and human rights observance. Therefore, although the process has been slow, it is inspiring to see that, as of June this year, 26 countries — accounting for approximately 75 per cent of Africa’s total population — have acceded to the Review Mechanism. We hope that the accession process will be accelerated, helping NEPAD to achieve greater effectiveness through greater synergy. While we note encouraging progress on debt relief, we also recognize that more timely and faithful delivery of official development aid commitments to Africa is needed. As pledged in Korea’s Initiative for Africa’s Development, the Republic of Korea is in the process of substantially increasing our overall development assistance to Africa by 2008. At the same time, drawing lessons from our own history of development, we place emphasis not only on increasing the scale of our aid, but also on effectively sharing our experience with African countries. The Korea-Africa Forum, launched last November as a regular consultation channel, will serve as a good opportunity to share our experience. We also support African ownership of Africa’s development, and to that end will cooperate with African regional organizations such as the African Union and NEPAD. We will also cooperate closely with international institutions and other donors to improve aid effectiveness. Trade has long been recognized as the engine of development. In that connection, we strongly support early resumption and completion of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. My Government also supports Aid for Trade, particularly for Africa, which is home to almost two thirds of the world’s least developed countries. To that end, the Republic of Korea is expanding duty-free and quota-free access for least developed countries. We will also increase our contribution to the Integrated Framework for least developed countries and expand our training programmes on WTO rules and regulations. The digital divide, if it continues to widen, may evolve into a serious obstacle that prevents developing countries from participating in the international business system, which is increasingly dependent on information and communication technologies. As we pledged in Korea’s Initiative for Africa’s Development, the Republic of Korea will cooperate with African partners to bridge the digital divide by sharing our technologies and know-how. In that context, I would like to emphasize the importance of South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation as complements to North-South partnership. My delegation therefore supports the efforts of the African countries to intensify and enhance South-South cooperation as well as triangular cooperation in order to promote growth and development in that region. Durable peace and stability are prerequisites for sustainable development. It is encouraging to see the significant progress made recently in achieving peace and stability in Africa. My delegation fully supports the goal of achieving a conflict-free Africa by 2010. The Republic of Korea will continue to support post- conflict peacebuilding activities within the United Nations framework and through other forms of international cooperation. We also welcome the United Nations initiative to eradicate epidemic diseases, including malaria and HIV/AIDS. Far too many African lives, especially among the youngest generations, are lost to epidemic diseases. The youngest generations are the future of Africa. In addition to their terrible human toll, these diseases undermine development efforts. The Republic of Korea will strongly support international efforts to eliminate these epidemics in Africa. As the Secretary-General points out in his report, African development will not be realized through the efforts of any single player. Rather, it will require a joint effort by African countries, the international community and the United Nations. The Republic of Korea, together with other development partners, will stand with African countries in accelerating growth and achieving the MDGs.

Allow me to congratulate Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his able stewardship of the Assembly and to thank him for convening this important joint debate. Israel welcomes the Secretary-General’s fifth consolidated report (A/62/203) on progress in implementation and international support related to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The report examines policy actions taken by the international community to help African countries meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and implement NEPAD projects and programmes. Israel wishes to reiterate its strong support for the development initiatives and principles of the African Union. The existence of an enterprise owned, led and managed by the African Union is an outstanding example of the effectiveness of regional initiative and cooperation. By balancing the principles of responsibility, solidarity and partnership, NEPAD has improved the chances for progress and prosperity on the African continent. In that regard, we commend the accession to date of 26 African countries to the African Peer Review Mechanism, which reflects the genuine desire of those African nations to make good on the promises of NEPAD: good governance, democracy, peace and security, respect for human rights and sound economic management. Taken together, those States account for 75 per cent of the total population of the continent. Israel encourages those countries that have not undergone the process to consider doing so soon. Similarly, the full mobilization of African resources should be facilitated, as it is inherently tied to NEPAD’s success. Israel also welcomes the commitment of the United Nations to strengthen collaboration and coordination among its components in order to provide the necessary support for the effective implementation of NEPAD, and endorses the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report. Israel has always considered its relations with Africa to be of the highest priority. Beginning in the late 1950s, when it was still a developing country itself, Israel sought to build development partnerships with the newly independent States of sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, earlier this year, on Africa Day, Israel celebrated 50 years of African relations during a special ceremony dedicated to honouring and promoting the Israeli-African relationship, with a focus on partnerships for development. With that long record of cooperative work in Africa and the continuing tradition of friendship and solidarity, Israel offers its experience and expertise through MASHAV — the Centre for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — assisting NEPAD and helping the African States. That is accomplished by sharing know-how in such areas as agriculture, food security, the empowerment of women, education and health, bilaterally or with the participation of United Nations development funds and programmes. A sense of MASHAV’s impact is given by the fact that last year 568 African trainees from 33 countries participated in 112 different courses in Israel, in fields including agriculture, community development, education, medicine and public health, science and technology and small enterprises. An additional 688 African trainees participated in on-site courses in 13 African States. Israel also dispatched 20 experts for short- and long-term consultancies in 9 different countries on the African continent. In addition to bilateral aid and training programmes, Israel actively supports international initiatives such as the World Bank’s International Development Association programmes and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative programme for debt reduction. Israel has already forgiven the debt of a number of African countries, and will continue to consider additional debt relief for others, to the extent that resources allow. The pandemic of malaria in Africa, which claims the lives of an estimated 3,000 infants and children daily, is a tragedy of unparalleled proportions. Malaria is a curable disease, and the answer lies in strengthening the African medical and public health infrastructure. Israel has been doing all it can in that regard, in particular to address the “human resources for health” crisis. To address HIV in Africa, specially designed courses for local medical staff have taken place in Israel, enjoying the participation of more than 27 African doctors and nurses. The health care teams have also included social workers and cultural mediators, who often provide care and combat non-adherence to drug treatment. The training covers issues such as HIV drug resistance and paediatric AIDS, and a meticulous chain of reporting is maintained within the team. With regard to public health, Israel is proposing the establishment of a community health centre concept, based on an Israeli model called Tipat Halav, which literally means “a drop of milk”. In Israel, these clinics have helped diminish infant mortality, maternal morbidity and mortality, and have proved to be an effective tool for mother and child health education. The programme is replicable and has a wide range of applicability. A prenatal health care clinic and emergency centre, in line with the project I have just mentioned, has already been established in Ghana. Israel also conducts blindness prevention and eye care missions in African partner countries with limited eye treatment facilities. These missions are undertaken by teams of two to three Israeli ophthalmologists in local hospitals or clinics. Hundreds of surgical procedures are performed by the visiting Israeli teams, working together with local staff and restoring sight to many patients. Israeli ophthalmologists also train the local personnel, and ophthalmological equipment and supplies are donated by the Government of Israel. It has been noted that, while we have reached the midpoint to the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in 2015, the unfortunate reality is that most African countries are off track to meet most, if not all, of the Goals. By adopting NEPAD, which is built around the MDGs, African countries have put the MDGs at the centre of their development agenda. As achievement of the MDGs is strongly linked to technology transfer and technical cooperation, Israel is increasing its contribution to development, and will continue to do its utmost in that regard, as it has over the past four decades. Israel is in the process of creating new and innovative partnerships and strengthening its relationship with Member States and United Nations funds and programmes in these areas. For its part, Israel belongs to a group of like- minded countries looking for ways to collaborate on initiatives promoting the transfer of technologies for sustainable development and in fields such as agriculture, water, renewable energy and natural resources. To that end, we hope to see in the Second Committee later during this session the adoption of a resolution on agricultural technologies for development. Although Israel’s assistance to Africa may appear rather modest to some, it is worth stressing that, as a nation of barely 7 million citizens, Israel, carrying heavy financial burdens as a result of the need to defend its existence, makes a per capita contribution to Africa that is among the most significant in the world. On the basis of an enduring friendship, we are committed to working together with African countries to build on the momentum of NEPAD and achieve its promised outcome. We do so because we are convinced that the challenges facing Africa are part of our collective responsibility and inherent in our moral traditions and Jewish ethics. We do so because we believe in the potential of Africa and its people, the importance of partnership and good-neighbourliness. And we do so because we believe in fulfilling commitments.

This timely meeting gives Member States the opportunity to focus on matters relevant not only to Africa, but to the entire international community. Africa’s interests and needs are central to the Organization Africa’s interests and needs are central to this Organization, and must be addressed as such. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is part of our collective response to those interests and needs. We believe it is helping to overcome years of social and economic struggles that have thwarted the best hopes for the continent. The international community’s commitment to support Africa and NEPAD is closely associated with the implementation of pledges made by donors at international summits and conferences. We reiterate that every effort must be made to deliver on commitments undertaken in bilateral and multilateral arrangements related to NEPAD. Our success will not be judged by the number and magnitude of pledges. Rather, it will be gauged by the actual support we give to the determination shown by African Governments and societies to eliminate obstacles to peace and development. In extending such support, either through NEPAD or other means, one fundamental concept must be retained and concretely applied: what is needed is not simply a partnership for Africa; we must also partner with Africa. That is precisely the concept behind much of Brazil’s cooperation with African countries in areas such as health, education, agriculture, science and technology and energy. Through HIV/AIDS projects, Brazil has been donating lifesaving drugs to five countries, and it plans to expand such assistance to other nations. More important, we integrate and coordinate an international technical cooperation network committed to facilitating the transfer of technology for the production of antiretroviral drugs in Africa. In the last five years approximately 3,000 students from 18 African countries have joined free graduate and post-graduate programmes in Brazilian universities. By helping to form skilled professionals, we hope to contribute to the long-term sustainability of social and economic development in Africa. In Ghana we have opened the first overseas office of EMBRAPA, the agricultural research corporation that lies at the heart of the agricultural revolution that has taken place in Brazil in the last decades. Brazil and its African partners will work on projects related to crops of great importance for many countries in the region, such as tropical fruits, cotton, rice, cashew nuts and manioc. We are optimistic that lessons learned in Brazil can be useful in restoring, expanding and strengthening the economic sector that is vital to numerous countries in the continent. In a related area, Brazil is proposing cooperation in the production of clean and renewable sources of energy: ethanol and biodiesel. Soil and climate conditions found in many parts of Africa are suited to producing such fuels. The potential economic and social impact of such cooperation is immense and extremely positive. These are some of the initiatives that Brazil has developed with Governments in Africa. But partnering with Africa requires more. Serious and constant efforts are needed to make the multilateral system increasingly more responsive to the interests and needs of Africa. The successful conclusion of the World Trade Organization Doha Round; the strengthening of bodies such as the Economic and Social Council; a meaningful reform of the Security Council; and the revitalization of the General Assembly — those are all instances where Brazil already works with African countries. We are fully prepared to deepen our cooperation in these crucial endeavours. Accomplishment of these efforts will help to provide safe and stable ground for development and peace in Africa, and therefore will benefit the international community as a whole. Those two elements — sustainable support and increased multilateral responsiveness — constitute the core message that President Lula has delivered to African leaders in his official trips to the continent, the latest of which, incidentally, ended today. This is the message I have been instructed to deliver in my dealings with delegations of all Member States, African and non-African. More important, this is the message Brazil will seek to turn into deeds in all United Nations initiatives related to Africa. My delegation is confident that the Assembly will be sensitive to this call.

My delegation wishes at the outset to support the statements made by Benin on behalf of the Group of African States and by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I wish to express my appreciation for the reports of the Secretary-General on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (A/62/203) and on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/62/204). As the Assembly knows, of all the continents, the African continent is the most affected by wars, conflict, poverty, underdevelopment, illiteracy, malnutrition and the spread of deadly diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This jeopardizes the lives of millions of its peoples, in spite of the continent’s wealth and untapped riches. The main challenges facing development in Africa are reflected in the full implementation of a true international partnership for development, through the fulfilment by the international community of its commitments and an appeal to the developed countries to support development in Africa by formulating concrete programmes of action aimed at attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Similarly, the African countries must continue to take steps that could lead to the effective implementation of the various projects and programmes under the rubric of the New Partnership. My country maintains that the achievement of debt cancellations should be coupled with more efforts to achieve the Goal of the official development assistance for Africa, as well as support for African economic structures and exports and improved access of such exports to international markets so that the continent can participate in international trade. The amount of aid given at present to roll back malaria falls short of the Goals, due to the lack of finances, lack of expertise, the weakness of health structures and substandard products. International support also has fallen short of rendering the Partnership initiative for the sustainable development of Africa strong and effective. My country reiterates that we should cooperate towards integrating NEPAD into the structures and institutions of the African Union in a manner that will guarantee united efforts and avoidance of overlapping. Strengthening cooperation between the Union and the United Nations is of paramount importance, because then the continent can make use of United Nations expertise and experience in maintaining peace and attaining stability, thus devoting itself to sustainable development and peace.

I join preceding speakers in thanking the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports on the items under consideration. We support the statements made by Benin and Pakistan on behalf of the Group of African States and of the Group of 77 and China, respectively. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was adopted by African leaders as a strategic development framework to address the myriad challenges facing the continent and its people. African leaders recognized that increasing poverty, underdevelopment and continuous marginalization required a new radical intervention led by Africans themselves. NEPAD was therefore created to provide a platform to confront the challenges and champion Africa’s renewal. Ghana and Africa have evidence to show that the international community has been a faithful partner in the development efforts of our continent. The numerous activities supported by our development partners and the wider international community demonstrate their commitment to helping African countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is evidence that poverty levels in some countries have generally declined since 1990, and progress has also been made in other dimensions of human development, such as access to education and reductions in child mortality. However, as can be observed, the progress has been rather slow and uneven, and in most cases falls far short of the promises made. Many African countries are still struggling to meet the objective of reducing poverty and hunger. Even in countries that have made substantial improvements there are still groups that remain trapped in extreme poverty. Apart from the demonstrable commitment shown by African countries to the ideals envisioned in the NEPAD, there is visible evidence that many countries have demonstrated their resolve to take ownership of their own development agenda. Nevertheless, the need for a strong global partnership in support of Africa’s development cannot be overemphasized, because the critical needs of African countries cannot be solved by national or regional efforts alone. Concerns such as external debt, climate change, global trade policy, technology and financing for development are among the issues that can only be effectively addressed at the global level. Over the past year there has been some progress in extending and deepening debt relief through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, complemented by bilateral debt relief granted by the Group of Eight countries and other donors. But, despite the decline in the debt stock relative to gross domestic product, total debt service obligations remained almost unchanged, dropping from 4.2 per cent in 2005 to 4.1 per cent in 2006, due to higher interest rates. The debt burden contains spending on public investment and ultimately retards growth and employment generation. This raises the question of additionality of aid, which was supposed to be a key component of the HIPC Initiative. Yet official development assistance (ODA) has declined. According to some accounts, current and projected levels of ODA fall short of the Group of Eight pledge in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010, even when debt relief is included. In addition, the Secretary-General’s report expresses concern about the capacity of the International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Fund to issue new grants and affordable loans. The report notes that as of May this year donor countries had made commitments for less than half of the additional $10 billion required by the two bodies from 2006 to 2016. This shortfall, the report indicates, needs urgent attention. On malaria prevention, we acknowledge the increased international funding following the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In addition, recent pledges from donors have raised our expectations that more funds will be available for malaria, a long-term major killer in Africa. But charity, they say, begins at home. So, while the international community is called on to do more, it behoves African leaders to also continue pursuing prudent policies that will enhance their domestic resource mobilization and also attract foreign investment, as well as making judicious use of resources that accrue from debt relief, among other things. In its contribution to last year’s debate, Ghana said that we were awaiting the day when a Secretary- General’s report would be replete with information about Africa’s economic, financial, development and technological advancement as well as economic progress, while making less mention of conflicts. We have not yet reached that milestone, but evidence on the ground provides some relief that progress is gradually being made on a number of fronts. Today Africa is afflicted with far fewer conflicts than it was a decade ago. Sierra Leone and Liberia are among the success stories. Challenges still remain, including the crisis in Darfur, whose resolution must continue to be of priority to the United Nations. The improved effectiveness and readiness of the international community, including the African countries themselves, to respond to conflict through peacekeeping has been a major factor in containing violent conflict. It needs mentioning also that much of the credit for the improvement of the security situation rests with Africa. The African Union Peace and Security Architecture and the conflict management mechanisms of regional organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), are the building blocks which provide capacity for peace and security on the continent. But much of all these efforts will achieve little success unless African countries and their peoples continue to show commitment to these ideals. We must do more on our own to provide the congenial environment for the continent’s development.

First, I congratulate the President and the other members of the bureau on their direction of the work of this session. My delegation renews its readiness to contribute its full cooperation in the achievement of the President’s mission. I thank the Secretariat for the relevance of the reports (A/62/203, A/62/204 and A/62/321) presented for our consideration. They are concise and precise, which makes them easy to use. My delegation fully associates itself with the statements made by Benin on behalf of the Group of African States, and by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, but wishes to make some comments on the subjects before us. The present session is being held halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose implementation on the African continent goes hand in hand with implementation of the projects of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Following the United Nations conference that produced the Millennium Declaration, adopted on 8 September 2000, the African Heads of State, wishing to implement the principles of good political and economic governance and to improve progress towards development, conceived a strategic development framework supported by a collective vision for the whole continent. That vision and strategic framework constitute the matrix of NEPAD, whose overall objective is to accelerate sustained economic growth and durable development in Africa, and thus to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs in that part of the world. The need for the practice of good governance as a way to achieve better management of municipal and other public affairs was expressed by Mr. Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, at the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in March 1995, in the following terms: “Good governance should be understood both as a means and a goal of development, guaranteeing the participation of the people, political stability, institutional development and respect for human rights”. It was following that line of thinking that the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity adopted the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance (AHG/235 (XXXVIII), annex I) on 8 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. Its preamble is the best illustration of that acceptance, along with the establishment of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). All those initiatives by African leaders are important milestones. They show genuine commitment to a new beginning for the continent, which is being realized today by the spontaneous and voluntary adherence of 27 States to the APRM. I did, indeed, say 27 and not 26, because this morning Djibouti became the twenty-seventh country to sign the memorandum of understanding in adhesion to the APRM. It should be emphasized here that my country, which adheres to the APRM, regards evaluation by one’s peers as an indispensable development tool, because of its considerable impact in reinforcing the institutional, political and economic capacities of our States. There is no doubt that the evaluations of Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Algeria and South Africa give irrefutable proof of the determination of the African States to establish a healthy, propitious environment for transparent management. As for work in progress, we would mention my country’s launch of the self-assessment process three weeks ago, with a view to bringing the process of evaluation by its peers to a conclusion in the first half of 2008. By adopting NEPAD, whose sectoral objectives are based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the African countries placed the Goals at the heart of their development programmes and their strategies for fighting poverty. Henceforth, the African economic growth sought in the NEPAD framework no longer constitutes a simple condition for the reduction of poverty, but must also be seen as a result of that reduction. Accordingly, economic growth capable of contributing to the eradication of poverty is based on a growing dynamism of the private sector, with free trade as its motor. At the same time, the numerous macroeconomic imbalances in African States, due to unfavourable international economic trends, point to the crucial role that increasing aid and reducing the debt can play in raising the living standards of millions of people living in extreme poverty. That is why, from the beginning, with the vision of NEPAD focused on the idea of partnership, the African leaders have insisted on the need for Africa to create with the rest of the world — so that globalization may be equitable and profitable to all — a new spirit of solidarity. The goal is to build a common future for humanity, in all its diversity, based on the condition that we share as human beings. This, then, is an appeal to the continent’s partners to make an effort to create policies and measures at the world level that not only meet the needs of African countries, but will also be formulated and implemented with their real participation. At a time when we want to make an evaluation halfway to 2015, we must admit that Africa is lagging in the achievement of most, if not all, the MDGs. Certainly, despite the progress made by the continent in numerous areas in recent years, Africans bear a measure of responsibility. However, the responsibility of the international community should not be downplayed. In this regard, we appreciate the frankness of the reports, which eloquently underline the failure of Africa’s partners to respect their commitments to support the implementation of NEPAD. My delegation agrees with the report of the Secretary-General about the problems and constraints in implementing NEPAD, and in particular the question of weak institutional capacities for planning and executing development programmes at the national and regional levels, as well as the problem of insufficient resources. In any case, in the spirit of the New Partnership, the principle of the collective responsibility of all the countries of the continent should prevail in the resolution of these problems. In this connection, my country, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, will host, from 24 to 26 October, the Seventh Africa Governance Forum, with the theme “Building the Capable State in Africa”. Regarding resources, the idea of basing financing sources for NEPAD on African countries themselves is at the beginning stages of implementation. Success could make it easier to obtain support from development partners. As for the mobilization of the international community — so far timid, according to the report — it is desirable that it evolve along with the efforts and seriousness demonstrated by African leaders. Moreover, Africa is waiting for the support of the international community in the crucial area of access to the markets of the countries of the North. It is also desirable that multilateral commercial agreements — notably, those resulting from the final negotiations of the Doha Round — prioritize the needs of Africa and include provisions on development adapted to those needs. The success of NEPAD requires a shared approach to its implementation. Burkina Faso believes that the debate should be pursued at national level in each African State, so that each sector of the population may understand this initiative and take ownership of its contents. The political will strongly expressed by Heads of State will remain just a good intention if communities at grassroots level do not become involved in implementation, especially since the social environment is as important as good governance, stability and many other factors in the decision-making process of international investors, public and private. That is why Burkina Faso is engaged in an extensive campaign to raise awareness on NEPAD and its tool to promote good governance, the APRM. The campaign includes forums to exchange views with civil society, universities and national and local decision- makers. My country intends to pursue its advocacy, while emphasizing the execution of development projects, in accordance with NEPAD’s guiding principles, on whose basis Burkina Faso has adjusted its national strategy in the fight against poverty. I cannot end without acknowledging the inestimable contribution that the United Nations system has been making for decades to help Africa emerge from underdevelopment.