Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellency the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the OAU,
Distinguished Members of Civil Society organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a real pleasure to again welcome you to the United Nations Conference Centre. Your presence here in such large numbers testifies to the strong interest you have, as individuals and as organizations, in the future of our beloved continent. I would also like to congratulate the OAU for maintaining the momentum and convening this second civil society conference exactly a year after the first one.

In this brief statement, and drawing on the outcomes of the Third African Development Forum (ADF III), I will outline some concrete ways in which the role of civil society in ensuring a vibrant and strong African Union can be advanced. I will then focus on the critical importance of partnership between civil society and other development actors.

Mr. Chairman,

Since the purpose of this meeting is to establish a mechanism to facilitate interface between African civil society and the African Union, let me share with you some outcomes of ADF III, which ECA staged in March this year in close collaboration with the OAU, devoted to the theme "Defining Priorities for Regional Integration".

As many of you are aware, ADF brings together officials from all governments and major continental organizations, along with leaders of essential stakeholder groups, such as parliamentarians, the judiciary, civil society, the private sector, women, youth, media and the Diaspora. ADF III was preceded by a special Symposium on the African Union designed to garner civil society input, and was attended by a number of you. We will be distributing copies of the ADF III "Consensus Statement and the Way Ahead" during this meeting, and you will see that the involvement of civil society is at the heart of the document. In the meantime, let me highlight some of the key ADF III outcomes as they relate to broadening participation and deepening ownership:

• First, the ADF demonstrated that there is a widespread demand from stakeholder groups for an African Union responsible to the People of Africa, not just the States of Africa. And they want a forceful African Union. Thus, many suggested that the new legal functions of the African Union should guarantee rights defined beyond those by an individual state;

• Second, the African peoples must own the process of regional integration. It must be broadened from a government-led process to one that engages the broadest spectrum of Africans, including citizens, their elected representatives, civil society organizations, intellectuals and academics, the private sector, and the Diaspora;

• Third, the AU should build on the OAU-CSO meeting of June 2001 by establishing the Economic, Social and Cultural Council as a consultation mechanism for liaison with stakeholders. This mechanism should focus its activities on monitoring the African Union and other regional and sub-regional organizations and initiatives;

• Fourth, Gender equity in institutions for representation for the African Union must be ensured;

• Fifth, given that half the population in Africa is youth, the active participation of young people in the processes and institutions of the African Union is important;

• Sixth, The involvement of stakeholders in peace and security initiatives is essential to their sustainability. The African Union should encourage citizen-based peace initiatives;

• Seventh, the success of the AU will depend on good governance, stakeholder participation, human rights and democratization at all levels.

The ADF Consensus was brought to the attention of the Seventy-Fifth Ordinary Session of Council of Ministers on 13 March 2002. We are pleased to note that the OAU Secretary General has personally espoused many of the ADF recommendations and is actively pursuing their operationalization in the process of transformation to the AU. I commend the ADF III Consensus to each and every one of you as it articulates the common voice of Africans from across the board.

Mr. Chairman,

An important framework that we can draw upon in strengthening the African Union is the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA). The CSSDCA is predicated on partnership, and I would like to say a few things in this regard.

Now, more than ever, the role of civil society is critical to the development of a strong, united Africa. For too long, the idea of involving all stakeholders in development has been talked about for some time, yet action has not always been as forthcoming as we might all have liked.

We only have to review the experience of recent global events such as Doha to see that the relationship between African governments and African civil society was so weak that the total was nowhere near the sum of the parts. African NGOs formed coalitions with each other and their counterparts in the North to campaign for a fair deal for Africa in global trade. African countries, to the limited extent that they were able, fought for the same fair deal. Yet, aside from a few initiatives launched mainly by the NGOs, the level of interaction between civil society and Governments was minimal, to say the least.

This lack of synergy also applies to the relationship between civil society and the regional inter-governmental institutions in Africa. We have missed numerous opportunities such as Doha to strengthen our partnership in favour of our countries and peoples. We must never again miss the boat.

The reasons all of us may put forward for going in different directions are many. One side may say the other does not base its advocacy on sound analytical work and sound strategy. Another side may argue that the other panders to neo-liberal principles based on paradigms that rob Africa of its independence and ownership. Some may even conclude that mechanisms established to ensure collaboration between civil society and the institutions in question have failed. But these are not viable excuses.

If our collective goal is to help Africa develop in the shortest possible time, then civil society, Governments, inter-governmental organizations and other players in the African development have no choice but to work together. What we need to do much better than we have done to date is to define the `how' and the `what'. How can we ensure a virtuous cycle of collaboration? What do we define as issues of our common interest? How do we ensure that our work programmes are based on the needs of African countries and peoples, rather than on our own skewed perspectives of what we think is good for Africa? It is all about partnership, and we should all be clear that none of us can succeed if we work in isolation.

Mr. Chairman,

Dear Friends,

We at ECA have taken note of criticism by civil society about some of our work, notably at the recent Third World Network/CODESRIA meeting to critique NEPAD. We are committed to strengthening our partnership with civil society and will soon be unveiling a new strategy for our African Centre for Civil Society that we are confident will lead to work that is more cutting edge, client-focused and responsive to Africa's needs. We welcome your inputs into this process.

With these words, let me wish you successful deliberations, and say how much we at ECA look forward to the fruits of this important meeting.

Thank you.