Communiqué of Second Meeting

Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
26 March 2001
Abuja, Nigeria

At the invitation of His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Second Meeting of the Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 26 March 2002. The Meeting was attended by the following dignitaries:

1. His Excellency, Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika
   President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria;
2. His Excellency, Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso
   President of Republic of the Congo;
3. His Excellency, Mr. Joaquim Alberto Chissano
   President of the Republic of Mozambique;
4. His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
   President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
5. His Excellency, Mr. Paul Kagame
   President of the Republic of Rwanda;
6. His Excellency, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade
   President of the Republic of Senegal;
7. His Excellency, Mr. Thabo Mbeki
   President of the Republic of South Africa;
8. His Excellency, Mr. Dijob Divungi Di Ndinge
   Vice President of the Republic of Gabon;
9. His Excellency, Mr. Meles Zenawi
   Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;
10. The Rt. Hon. Sir Anerood Jugnauth
    Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius;
11. Her Excellency, Mrs. Fayza Abou El-Naga
    Minister of State for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of Egypt;
12. His Excellency, Mr. Modibo Sidibe
    Minister of Foreign Affairs and Malians Abroad;
13. His Excellency, Mr. Sadok Fayala,
    Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia In Charge of Maghreb and African Affairs;
14. His Excellency, Mr. Lawrence Agubuzu,
    Assistant Secretary General of the OAU; and
15. His Excellency, Mr. Said Djinnit.
    Assistant Secretary General of the OAU.

2. Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda participated as Observers. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (ADB) were also represented by their officials. The Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) also attended and addressed the Summit. The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Union Unity (OATUU) also briefed the Committee on the Declaration of the Union adopted at its meeting in Dakar, Senegal in February 2002. The Committee took due note of the presentation.

3. In his opening address to the Summit, the Chairman of the Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government of NEPAD, President Olusegun Obasanjo, welcomed members of the Committee to the meeting. He observed that NEPAD initiative has become the most attractive basis of productive and viable interaction and cooperation between Africa and the international community.

4. The Chairman recalled the major decisions taken at the maiden meeting of the Committee and expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the implementation of those decisions. These include the elaboration of draft Action Plans on the various priority sectors and on the African Peer Review Mechanism, containing the parameters of good governance. He stressed that the maintenance of peace and security was the bedrock of sustainable development in Africa, which must also be addressed by the Summit. He concluded by urging his colleagues to discuss the issues and agenda of the Summit with frankness, openness and forthrightness.

Consideration of reports of task teams:

Sub-Committee on Peace and Security

5. The meeting considered the Report of the Sub-Committee on Peace and Security under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, and reviewed the conflict situations in Africa. The Implementation Committee was also briefed on the various conflict situations prevailing on the African continent and on the progress made in the efforts towards the resolution of these conflicts.

6. The Committee expressed its grave concern regarding ongoing conflicts, which are responsible for the loss of lives, destruction of property and infrastructure, thereby impeding the development of the continent. It, therefore, urged all parties involved in conflicts to seek peaceful solutions and to cooperate in ongoing efforts and initiatives to end these conflicts. The members of the Committee pledged to extend their full support to these peace efforts and initiatives and to enhance their coordination.

7. In this regard, the Committee underlined the centrality of the commitment to peace, and requested its Sub-Committee on Peace and Security to focus on the following priority areas:

1. Enhance capacity to conduct thorough inclusive strategic assessments of situations in regions affected by conflicts;
2. Support efforts at developing early warning systems at continental and sub-regional levels, including the development of strategic analysis and database systems;
3. Support post-conflict reconstruction and development in all affected countries, including rehabilitation of national infrastructure, the population as well as refugees and internally displaced persons, with a special focus on sustainable programmes of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation;
4. Support efforts to curb the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking in small arms and light weapons in Africa;
5. Support efforts to promote democracy, good governance and respect for human rights through appropriate policy and institutional reforms; and
6. Assist in resource mobilisation for the African Union Peace Fund.

Enhancing the capacity for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution in Africa

8. The Implementation Committee was further briefed on the ongoing discussions among African Union Member States aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of existing continental and sub-regional mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution. In particular, the Committee extended its full support to the ongoing efforts aimed at reviewing and enhancing the effectiveness of the AU Central Organ including the review of its mandate, its membership, its methods of work and funding. It also underscored the need for greater coordination of sub-regional mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution, AU Mechanism and the UN Security Council.

9. Furthermore, the Committee supported the process of the ongoing discussions and consultations on the establishment of the Council of the Wise to complement the efforts of the envisaged AU Peace and Security Council.

Political Governance and the African Peer Review Mechanism

10. On Political Governance and the African Peer Review Mechanism, the Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government considered and strongly supported the Draft Report on Good Governance and Democracy as well as an African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The Mechanism will enhance African ownership of its development agenda, through a system of self-assessment that ensures that policies of African countries are based on best current knowledge and practices.

11. In this connection, the Summit stressed that an effective African Peer Review Mechanism, designed, owned and managed by Africans, must be credible, transparent and all-encompassing, so as to demonstrate that African leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities and obligations to their peoples, and are genuinely prepared to engage and relate to the rest of the world on the basis of integrity and mutual respect. It, therefore, mandated the Steering Committee to finalise the Report for adoption at its next meeting.

12. The Committee, therefore, strongly supported the establishment of a portfolio, in the African Union, of a Commissioner to be responsible for Democracy, Human Rights and Good Governance.

Economic and Corporate Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism

13. The HSIC also reviewed the issue of Economic and Corporate Governance in Africa, with a view to promoting sound macro-economic and public financial management and accountability among members, while protecting the integrity of their monetary and financial systems. In this regard, eight (8) Draft Codes and Standards for Economic and Corporate Governance for Africa and an African Peer Review Mechanism were presented for the consideration of the meeting.

14. After due deliberation, the Summit approved the eight (8) Draft Codes and the African Peer Review Mechanism. It also recommended that the technical aspects of the African Peer Review Mechanism should be conducted by an independent, credible African institution, separate from the political process and structures.

Priority sectors

15. Taking into account the need to fast-track Africa's development agenda under the aegis of NEPAD, the Summit also considered Draft Action Plans on the following key themes/sectors:

1. Agriculture and Market Access;
2. Infrastructure (Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Water and Sanitation, Transport and Energy);
3. Capital Flows;
4. Human Development (Health and Education).

16. The Committee supported the main thrust of the Draft Action Plans and directed the Steering Committee to finalise these and other Action Plans, for presentation at the next meeting of the Committee. These include Draft Action Plans on Capacity-building, Poverty Alleviation, Gender Issues, including Disaster Management.

Marketing and the implementation of NEPAD

17. The Summit called for greater efforts at popularizing NEPAD, especially within the African continent, as a means of deepening ownership and shared responsibility. It also emphasized the need to promote NEPAD among all African countries in a manner that involves the leadership and the various segments of the African society, including women and youth organizations. In this respect, the Committee directed the Steering Committee and the NEPAD Secretariat to urgently implement the marketing and communication strategy of NEPAD.

18. Furthermore, the Committee reiterated its conviction that NEPAD is a veritable mechanism for the reconstruction of Africa and a vehicle for the realization of the International Development Goals for the continent. It, therefore, urged all African countries and the international community to renew their support and commitment to the programme, especially as it moves to the implementation stage, in line with the mandate given to the Committee at the 37th Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001.

19. The Committee observed that African ownership is central to the NEPAD process, which must be retained and strongly promoted, so as to meet the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples. It also observed that while the principle of partnership with the rest of the world was equally vital to this process, such partnership must be based on mutual respect, dignity, shared responsibility and mutual accountability.

20. The Committee emphasized that NEPAD is a mandated initiative of the African Union (AU). Therefore, there should be greater cooperation and coordination between the AU and NEPAD Secretariats, as well as with the NEPAD Steering Committee.

21. The HSIC reiterated that one of the goals of NEPAD is the promotion of regional integration. They, therefore, called on the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the building blocs, to speed up the implementation of their integration programmes. It also re-affirmed the need to integrate gender issues in the NEPAD process as well as the promotion of youths as potential facilitators of Africa's development and integration.

22. The Committee noted, with satisfaction, the commitments made by the development partners at the recently-concluded International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Mexico, to provide increased funding for Africa's development. It expressed the hope that these commitments will be speedily actualized. Furthermore, the HSIC emphasized the importance of the new relations being developed with international development partners. In this regard, it welcomed the on-going engagements with Developed States and Multilateral Institutions and urged that these interactions be continued to meet the ultimate objectives of the new development paradigm. In this regard, the HSIC called for the creation of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to finance part of the African needs for commercial payments.

23. The Committee further noted that there is convergence and complementarity between the objectives of the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) and NEPAD in the context of the African Union. However, it also observed that there are areas of overlap and possible duplication that need to be addressed. The Committee directed the NEPAD Steering Committee, in cooperation with the OAU Secretariat, to submit proposals on the rationalization of the two initiatives at its next meeting.

Conference on Financing for NEPAD, Dakar, Senegal, 15-17 April 2002

25. The Committee took note of this important Conference and called on all stake-holders, especially the private sector to participate actively at this meeting.

International terrorism

26. The Summit strongly condemned the menace of international terrorism in all its ramifications, and called for continued international cooperation and collaboration to contain the scourge. In this connection, it urged an early ratification and entry into force of the OAU Convention on Combating Terrorism as a means of addressing the regional dimension of this problem.

Acceptance of invitations

27. While accepting the invitation from the Republic of South Africa to host the Fourth Summit Meeting of the Head of State and Government Implementation Committee in Durban, South Africa, on 8 July 2002, the Committee also accepted, in the spirit of partnership and development cooperation, the invitation from the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to host the Third Meeting of the Committee in Rome, Italy, during the World Food Summit in June 2002.

Appreciation

28. The HSIC expressed appreciation to the OAU, the ECA and the ADB for the technical support they have continued to provide for the NEPAD process. It also expressed its deep appreciation to President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the hospitality and excellent facilities put at the disposal of delegates, which ensured the success of the meeting.

Issued at Abuja on the 26th Day of March 2002