缅北禁地

Mr. Ban Ki-moon visiting the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, during his first official trip as the new 缅北禁地Secretary-General.

Photograph: Reuters / Selome Samuel

During his first official trip as 缅北禁地Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon assured Africa鈥檚 leaders that the continent will remain a central priority for the organization. Africa has achieved much through 鈥渦nity of purpose,鈥� he told a summit meeting of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 29 January, just four weeks after taking office. 鈥淯nity of purpose is also the foundation of Africa鈥檚 partnership with the United Nations,鈥� he emphasized, 鈥渁s we take on the broad range of challenges we share.鈥�

Those challenges, Mr. Ban continued, include tackling ongoing conflicts in C么te d鈥橧voire, Somalia and Sudan, building peace in countries just emerging from war, combating disease and ill health, reducing poverty, promoting broad-based development and countering the impact of climate change.

He commented to journalists: 鈥淢y presence here in the first month of my tenure as the Secretary-General of the United Nations is a strong sign of the growing partnership between the United Nations and the African Union and of the high priority I attach to Africa.鈥�

Mr. Ban鈥檚 trip, his appointment of an African woman (former Tanzanian Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro) as deputy secretary-general and his numerous affirmations about the continent鈥檚 importance came amidst some concern within Africa that the end of the tenure of the former Ghanaian secretary-general, Kofi Annan, might bring a shift in course. As a headline in the independent daily L鈥橭bservateur Paalga of Burkina Faso expressed it: 鈥淯N: change in men, change in priorities.鈥�

Mr. Ban tacitly acknowledged this worry in his address to the AU summit. After 15 years of being led by Africans (Mr. Annan and his Egyptian predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali), the 缅北禁地is now led by a non-African, observed Mr. Ban, who is from the Republic of Korea. 鈥淏ut like all human beings,鈥� he told the heads of state, 鈥渕y origins are in the cradle of humanity, Africa, and I am proud of that.鈥�

The outgoing 缅北禁地Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, urged
Africans to work with his successor to advance Africa鈥檚 cause.

Photograph: 缅北禁地/ Eskinder Debebe

The fundamental reasons for the UN鈥檚 emphasis on Africa lie in the continent鈥檚 unfortunate realities, noted then Under-Secretary-General for Africa Legwaila Joseph Legwaila. 鈥淧eople are constantly reminded of the carnage in places like Darfur,鈥� he told Africa Renewal. 鈥淧eople are reminded of the AIDS pandemic. And of course we are always described as the poorest of all continents.鈥� The challenges facing Africa will not be different because the 缅北禁地now has an Asian Secretary-General, he said. 鈥淎frica will continue to experience the problems it has been experiencing.鈥�

A built-in focus

Africa became a central priority for the 缅北禁地years before someone from the continent ascended to the world body鈥檚 highest office. At the urging of African countries, the 缅北禁地General Assembly in 1986 held a special session to find ways for the continent to overcome its unprecedented economic crisis. Delegates from Africa, the rich donor countries and other parts of the world negotiated a five-year 缅北禁地Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. It amounted to a pact 鈥� unique in 缅北禁地history for its focus on just one world region 鈥� in which African countries pledged to carry out sweeping economic reforms and donors promised to provide more aid and other support.

At the programme鈥檚 conclusion, then Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar found that while Africa had undertaken a range of initiatives and achieved 鈥渘otable progress towards democratization,鈥� the continent鈥檚 economic and social conditions 鈥渁ctually worsened鈥� during that period. The General Assembly responded by drawing up another plan, this time lasting a decade, called the 缅北禁地New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. It too achieved disappointing results.

African leaders then decided to take the initiative. In 2001 they adopted the New Partnership for Africa鈥檚 Development (NEPAD), an African-led plan to achieve continental peace and development. 鈥淭he Africans for the first time decided that they were not going to wait for the General Assembly to come up with a plan,鈥� explained Mr. Legwaila. 鈥淭he Africans realized that they themselves would have to take their destiny into their own hands.鈥�

The General Assembly welcomed this African commitment. Rather than drafting another 缅北禁地plan, it decided in November 2002 that the international community should instead support Africa鈥檚 own efforts, through NEPAD.

In September 2005, leaders from across the globe assembled at 缅北禁地headquarters to review progress in reducing global poverty and achieving other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for human well-being. Noting that Africa lags particularly far behind in reaching the MDGs, they included a special section in the summit 鈥渙utcome document,鈥� highlighting the continent鈥檚 specific requirements. They reiterated international support for NEPAD and pledged more aid, debt relief, trade opportunities and other assistance. 鈥淲e reaffirm our commitment to address the special needs of Africa,鈥� the world leaders declared.

For the many different parts of the 缅北禁地system, Africa has become a built-in priority. Much of the UN鈥檚 peacekeeping and humanitarian work concentrates on Africa. The 缅北禁地Development Programme (UNDP) devotes about half of all core programme spending to Africa 鈥� some $680 mn in 45 sub-Saharan countries in 2005 alone.

Dr. Margaret Chan, who took office as the new director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) in early January, announced that her two chief goals would be to improve the health of women and of Africans. 鈥淭he people of Africa,鈥� she noted, 鈥渃arry an enormous and disproportionate burden of ill health and premature death.鈥� She pledged the WHO鈥檚 help in strengthening Africa鈥檚 weak national health systems.

Passing the torch

As his decade as Secretary-General drew to a close, Mr. Annan reflected on the accomplishments and disappointments of his tenure. Among his greatest achievements, he believed, was focusing global attention on the fight against poverty, through the MDGs campaign.

In an address to the General Assembly in September 2006, Mr. Annan recalled that when he first took office in 1997, he felt that the world faced three main challenges: ensuring that globalization would benefit all humanity, healing the disorder of the post鈥揅old War period and promoting human rights.

While these challenges were global, he said, they also concerned him directly, as an African. 鈥淎frica was in great danger of being excluded from the benefits of globalization,鈥� he said. 鈥淎frica was also the scene of some of the most protracted and brutal conflicts. And many of Africa鈥檚 people felt they were unjustly condemned to be exploited and oppressed, since colonial rule had been replaced by an inequitable economic order on the global level and sometimes by corrupt rulers and warlords at the local level.鈥�

Being from Africa, Mr. Annan had a particular advantage in speaking bluntly to African leaders about issues they were not always comfortable addressing. During his first year in office, he urged African leaders, in especially forceful terms, to do far more to safeguard and advance human rights. Such rights, he said, 鈥渁re not a luxury of the rich countries for which Africa is not ready.鈥�

Citing the concept of a 鈥渞esponsibility to protect,鈥� he repeatedly encouraged African leaders to act against genocide and other massive human rights violations in neighbouring African states, contrary to their earlier tendency to remain silent about such abuses. And he strongly urged African leaders to speak out frankly and publicly about HIV/AIDS and to devote greater efforts to combating the pandemic.

In December, following Mr. Ban鈥檚 selection as the new Secretary-General, Mr. Annan urged Africa鈥檚 缅北禁地representatives to work with his successor 鈥渢o advance Africa鈥檚 cause and agenda within the organization.鈥� Mr. Ban, in turn, pledged to build on his predecessor鈥檚 legacy. He vowed to concentrate on the goals already set for the UN, rather than find 鈥渘ew frontiers to conquer.鈥�

The ravages of war

As Mr. Ban learned firsthand during his Africa trip, the UN鈥檚 agenda on the continent is a highly ambitious one. No goal is more important than achieving peace and security, he affirmed. Addressing the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Mr. Ban recalled his own childhood experience in war-torn Korea, which showed him 鈥渉ow war robs individuals of the chance of building a decent life and whole societies of the chance to prosper.鈥�

To help achieve a more peaceful future for Africa, Mr. Ban noted that the 缅北禁地currently has more than two-thirds of all its peacekeepers worldwide stationed there. As of January 2007, there were nearly 55,100 uniformed peacekeeping troops and police on the ground in six African missions 鈥� in C鸥te d鈥橧voire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan and the Western Sahara, and on the Ethiopia-Eritrea border.

In addition, Mr. Ban reported that the 缅北禁地had just allocated $35 mn from its new Peacebuilding Fund to help consolidate peace in Burundi (another $35 mn was allocated to Sierra Leone in March). He also reaffirmed the UN鈥檚 support for helping the AU build up its own capacities for peacekeeping and conflict resolution.

Some countries are demonstrating notable progress. The DRC, in the wake of its first democratic elections in 40 years, is now a 鈥渢rue source of hope for all of Africa,鈥� Mr. Ban stated during his visit to that Central African country. Liberia also 鈥渟hines as an example,鈥� he said.

But the conflicts in C么te d鈥橧voire and Somalia have been more intractable, the Secretary-General acknowledged, and 鈥渂leed like open wounds on the face of the continent.鈥� Most serious at the moment is the crisis in Sudan鈥檚 western Darfur region, 鈥渢he largest humanitarian crisis in the world.鈥� Mr. Ban met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during the African summit in an effort to secure the Sudanese government鈥檚 support for a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur. 鈥淭he people of Darfur have waited much too long,鈥� the Secretary-General stated after the meeting. 鈥淭his is just unacceptable.鈥�

Because of the spillover of the violence in Darfur into neighbouring Chad, Mr. Ban proposed in a report to the Security Council in February that the 缅北禁地also authorize a mission of up to 11,000 peacekeepers for eastern Chad, to deter cross-border attacks and protect 120,000 displaced Chadians and 232,000 Sudanese refugees.

From poverty to climate change

Combating poverty and promoting economic and social development are also daunting tasks for Africa, and the new 缅北禁地Secretary-General took the occasion of a visit to the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, to highlight them. 鈥淚 feel very much humbled by what I am seeing now,鈥� he said during the visit. 鈥淭hat makes me resolve again my firm commitment to work for the improvement of living conditions, education, water, sanitation, housing 鈥� all these are the challenges which we must overcome.鈥�

While some African countries have achieved reasonably strong economic growth rates and are making progress towards at least some of the MDGs, much of the continent lags far behind, Mr. Ban noted in his AU address. He reported that he would soon convene a working group of African stakeholders, international organizations and donors 鈥� a 鈥渃oalition of the willing鈥� 鈥� to develop an action plan to advance the MDGs in Africa.

Addressing the effects of climate change will be a major focus of his global agenda, Mr. Ban has affirmed frequently since taking office. In Addis Ababa, he noted that the impact of climate change 鈥渨ill fall disproportionately on some of Africa鈥檚 poorest countries.鈥� He cited 缅北禁地estimates that 30 per cent of Africa鈥檚 coastal infrastructure could be inundated by rising sea levels linked to global warming, that more than a quarter of Africa鈥檚 habitats could be lost by 2085 and that tens of millions of people could be in jeopardy. 鈥淭he time has come for the rest of the world to assist African countries in adapting to the effects of a warming planet.鈥�

Given the numerous problems and enormous potential of Africa, Mr. Ban assured Africans that their concerns will be at the top of the international agenda. 鈥淭he success or failure of the United Nations in the coming years,鈥� he said in Addis Ababa, 鈥渨ill be determined largely on this continent.鈥�