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Statement
from ActionAid International on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of
the launch of the OAU
ActionAid
International, Africa Regional Office (ARO)
May 25, 2005
Who
we are: ActionAid is an International Non-Governmental organization
headquartered in Johannesburg South Africa and works in over 40 countries
globally and in 22 countries in Africa. We have been doing development
work on the continent for more than 30 years. ActionAid works with the
poor and excluded constituencies in Africa. All its 22 programmes are
led by Africans. As such, the organization has very strong and long established
roots on the continent.
Another
africa is an imperative!
ActionAid
International would like to take this opportunity to congratulate African
peoples, organizations and governments on the occasion of the 42nd
anniversary of the launch of the Organization of African Unity (OAU),
now the African Union (AU). While we celebrate the strides the continent
has made this far at the start of the 21st century, it is necessary
to reflect on challenges encountered and what must change.
The AU’s
predecessor, the OAU, presided over much of the decolonization of Africa
and the cold war era. The OAU was instrumental in the dismantling of apartheid
in South Africa and formation of a non-racial democratic state. It thus
fulfilled Nkrumah’s vision of political freedom for the whole of Africa.
Political freedom that followed from decolonization was, however, not
accompanied by economic liberation and independence. Despite the continents
immense wealth in natural resources, Africa remains the world’s poorest
continent.
The last
few years of the OAU era saw the IMF and World Bank impose economic structural
adjustment policies upon African states. These neo-liberal economic policies
were largely to the detriment of the poor, women and other vulnerable
groups. The OAU was thus characterized by a serious failure to deliver
socio-economic rights. Its achievement was largely in the defense of African
state sovereignty based on the principle of non-interference in internal
affairs of member states. As such it was unable to build credibility with
African citizens suffering from mis-rule and human rights violations.
It was also not prepared to question authoritarianism amongst its group
of peer statesmen. The OAU however, did a great deal to prepare the way
for the launch of its predecessor the African Union (AU).
Events
of the last decade reveal that there is increasing political will on the
part of the African Union and its organs to meet its obligations to African
citizens.
The 1990s
and in particular the launch of the AU in 2001 marked the dawn of a new
era. The AU has in its few years of existence made tremendous progress
in addressing issues of conflict, trade, governance, and economic development.
The efforts so far made by Africa have not been complimented by the developed
countries especially the G8.
In Africa,
340 million people, or half the population live on less than US $1 per
day. The mortality rate of children under 5 years of age is 140 per 1000,
and life expectancy at birth is less than 55 years. Less than 60 % of
the population has access to safe drinking water let alone other basic
services.
Aid
and Debt
Aid can
make a huge difference in the lives of the poor, and especially women.
Rich countries should give more untied aid and ensure that it is spent
on helping the people who most need it. Africa must demand that aid from
rich countries is not tied to economic conditions such as reducing trade
barriers or privatization of water, electricity and other essential services.
Africa must refuse any aid that is tied to goods and services from donor
countries.
Many
African countries continue to struggle to service their debt while striving
to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Reduction
of poverty by half, by 2015 as envisioned by the MGDs will require a doubling
of the growth levels to some 8 to 9 per cent annually for the next decade.
The financial requirements for such doubling of growth levels are incompatible
with present and projected levels of debt servicing. The AU should therefore
unite with African civil society groups and call for the unconditional
writing-off of Africa’s debt.
African
governments should assume the responsibility to ensure that debt cancellation
frameworks-if adopted- deliver tangible results for the poor and excluded.
African governments should actively pursue policies for prudent debt management,
economic diversification, human development and sustained economic growth.
Debt
has become a huge obstacle to African attempts to combat HIV/AIDS. The
$ 15 billion paid annually by Africa to her creditors could be better
applied to providing health care to millions of people and fight the war
on HIV/AIDS. Action Aid is persuaded that debt has an astronomical human
cost that should be collectively resisted by African governments and civil
society. Conversely debt cancellation could potentially double African
governments’ expenditure on health and education
International
Trade
Trade is
a necessary but insufficient tool for development and poverty reduction.
To make sure that increased trade will benefit the poor, a number of distributive
domestic and international policies should also be enforced, i.e., trade
should be regulated so that the current unfair trade rules can be rebalanced
in order to distribute wealth and reduce inequality. The rules of international
trade in agricultural products are stacked in favour of the most powerful
countries and their businesses. G8 policies have been disastrous for African
farmers. In particular the failure of the G8 to adopt even limited proposals
for a moratorium on reducing European and American tariff duties and subsidies
for US and European agriculture. The small amounts of aid received from
developed countries amounts to a small bandage for haemorrhaging economies
in Africa. ActionAid International calls upon African governments to adopt
a common position in the lead to the next WTO ministerial meeting to be
held in Hong Kong in December.
African
countries must demand that the focus of trade negotiations should change
from achieving trade liberalisation for its own sake, to increasing trade
in order to achieve development. African governments should partner with
African social movements and civil society groups to address the anti-democratic
negotiating procedures of the WTO as a matter of urgency. ActionAid International
calls for the immediate elimination of all export subsidies and for all
other trade-distorting subsidies to be phased out.
Privatisation
of Essential Services
Africa must
give priority to the basic rights of its poor masses. African countries
must unequivocally reject privatization of basic services such as water,
education, health and electricity. Privatization of these basic services
has had dire consequences for women and the poor. In the context of Africa
education can no longer be viewed as a privilege but a fundamental right
for every child. We, therefore, urge the African Union (AU) to reaffirm
the rights to education, health and clean, affordable and accessible water
as critical both to African development, fighting HIV/AIDS and arresting
common pandemics such as cholera, tuberculosis and malaria.
Health
and HIV/AIDS
More than
70 % of total numbers of people infected with HIV in the world live in
Africa and of these 60% are women. All essential services required to
fight HIV and AIDS in Africa such as Voluntary Counseling and Testing,
Anti Retroviral Treatment, condom access and orphan support are at 5%
of required coverage. The decline in GDP in most African countries is
in part linked to HIV prevalence.
The burden
placed upon women to care for the ill, the aged and minor dependants is
unjust and unsustainable.
Africa
must demand a comprehensive international approach to HIV/AIDS, to ensure
the right and access to HIV&AIDS related care for poor and excluded
people, especially women and children.
It is
evident that the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa is inextricably linked with
poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and the denial of human rights.
ActionAid International therefore urges African civil society groups and
governments to unite in the Global Campaign against Poverty G-CAP). This
united front of African governments and peoples should demand that developed
countries commit to a multilateral timetable for universal access to anti-retrovirals
for people living with HIV and AIDS in Africa. It should also demand that
developed countries ensure that their actions on aid, debt and trade contribute
to making this achievable.
On their
part African governments should demonstrate their seriousness to fight
HIV/AIDS through comprehensive policies and programmes at the national
level. Two key starting points would be increasing budget allocations
for health to the 15% of GDP levels as agreed in Abuja, and promotion
and protection of women’s human rights as envisaged in the AU Protocol
on the Rights of Women.
Peace,
Conflict and Security
Violent
conflict has been a major cause of the increase in poverty witnessed on
the African continent over the last two decades. However ‘peace’ is not
just about the absence of war. It is also about justice and human security.
The AU’s
objective in situations of conflict should not simply be to stop conflict,
but also to ensure sustainable and inclusive post-conflict reconstruction.
African efforts alone will not suffice to end sporadic and recurrent conflicts
experienced in different parts of the continent. ActionAid International
exhorts the AU to partner with civil society groups to demand that the
international community: Support an International Arms Trade Treaty, support
the African Union’s peacekeeping and peace building capacity, and ensure
that aid does not worsen conflict, in line with OECD guidelines.
Women’s
Rights
The subordination
of women and girls in Africa is still entrenched in laws and policies,
as well as in the absence of laws or policies that promote or protect
their rights. Women and girls are still largely excluded from decision
making processes.
For many
African women poverty is not just about material lack. It is also about
denial of rights as human beings and as citizens. Their subordinate status
makes women vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence that is fuelling the
AIDS crisis.
With
intractable conflicts still affecting large populations in sub-Saharan
Africa, the peculiar situation of women and other vulnerable groups can
not be ignored. In most conflicts across Africa, women’s’ sexual and reproductive
rights are often violated with impunity by male belligerents, peace-keepers
and Aid workers. These violations occur in situations where no remedial
processes exist. The unmitigated spread of HIV/AIDS as a consequence of
conflict remains an under-appreciated phenomenon. Access to treatment,
care and support for women who are raped and infected with HIV during
conflicts is almost non-existent. The AU should unite with African civil
society groups to ensure that women are protected in all situations of
emergency. The AU should take drastic measures against individuals and
groups that perpetrate rape as a tool of war. Collective efforts should
also be undertaken to ensure that victims have access to treatment, care
and support.
ActionAid
International calls upon the AU to commit itself to radically change the
unequal power relations between women and men. African leaders are enjoined
to lead by example in issues of women’s rights and taking action. African
governments must implement existing international and regional frameworks,
including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) (UN 1979) and the Dakar and Beijing platforms for
Action, (1994 & 1995). We also urge the speedy ratification of the
AU’s own Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and its implementation.
Issued
By:
Asenath
K. Omwega
International Director Africa
ActionAid International
P.O Box 554-00600
Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone +254-20-4440458/69
Fax No. +254-20-4450089
E-mail:Asenath.Omwega@actionaid.org
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