National Summit Announces "Continuation"
allAfrica.com
March 1, 2000
by Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
Washington, DC - Making a fine distinction between the descriptive terms
"permanent" and "continuing," the National Summit on Africa has announced it
will go on as an organization. "The United States conducts foreign policy
with Africa each day," Summit president Leonard Robinson told reporters
Tuesday. "The National Summit plans to influence and guide what that process
should be in this century."
Using a "National Policy Plan of Action" approved by 2,300 official
delegates who attended a National Summit held in Washington two weeks ago,
Mr. Robinson outlined three broad roles for the group:
* To facilitate and monitor the implementation of the National Policy Plan
of Action by working with local grassroots organizations and
not-for-profits;
* To continue the process of informing Americans about how "Africa Matters"
by holding six one-day policy forums in various cities over the next year;
and
* To hold a National Summit on Africa every two years.
Robinson said, however, that the Summit has not decided to become a
permanent organization. "That is premature," he said. A decision to become
permanent can only be made by the Summit Executive Committee which has not
yet met to make such a decision.
"There are a number of outstanding questions to be decided," explained a
Summit official: "whether we will establish a new executive committee,
membership, our tax exempt status, name." The official insisted that for
now, the group is best described as a "continuing organization."
Many observers think it is only a matter of time before the Summit announces
that it has decided to become a permanent organization. In a January memo
sent to the Summit board, Robinson seemed to come down squarely on the side
of this, suggesting a new board and consideration of a new name for a
permanent organization. Critics claim that this violates a promise agreed to
when Summit planners first came together that the organization would end
after the national meetings, following which organizers would "share lists
of delegates with African organizations, pack up and close the office."
But even these critics, like Salih Booker who resigned from the Summit's
Executive Committee protesting its plans to perpetuate itself, acknowledge
"a new reality" defined by what appears to be overwhelming sentiment for
continuing among the thousands of delegates and observers who came to
Washington.
"People from all over the country who met here are now ready for marching
orders and a lot of thought needs to be given to this," says Summit board
member Gay McDougal, Executive Director of the International Human Rights
Law Group. McDougal acknowledges having "ambivalence" about a continuing
role for the Summit. "Leonard and [Summit board Chair] Herchelle (Challenor)
are really focused on trade and investment issues. Human rights issues are
not a priority." If the Summit does become permanent, "it must substantially
empower the regional groups" working on Africa issues across the country,
McDougal thinks.
But such regional power would be almost certain to bring to the fore issues
such as human rights, labor and responsible corporate behavior in Africa
that the Summit Secretariat would prefer to duck, say some critics. "The
high profile Washington D.C.-based policy types are really different from
the deliberative delegates who attended," says Booker.
Tim Bork, who helped begin the Summit organization three years ago as a Ford
Foundation official, echoed McDougal's emphasis on reaching out to the
grassroots. "The Summit itself proves that this can be successful. The goal
is to make U.S. Africa policy better. Something should grow out of the
Summit that does this. We need a critical mass of activities."
"We're building on the Summit's momentum," says Leonard Robinson, listing
priority areas of immediate concern in the 200+ page Plan of Action. At the
top of this list is passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
"as soon as possible." Robinson acknowledges that the act "is not a perfect
piece of legislation," but says that "we believe a new bill should surface
to take account of other related requirements not in the Africa Growth and
Opportunity Act."
Other priorities outlined by Robinson include debt relief, debt forgiveness
and debt reduction; support for crisis management and peacekeeping on the
African continent, promotion of democracy and human rights, basic education,
"especially for girls and women," increased U.S. support for infrastructure
development, and increased U.S. assistance to "impact significantly on AIDS
in Africa."
Quoting the Reverend Leon Sullivan, with words that suggest some permanence,
Robinson said, "none of this is going to happen overnight; we're talking
years, decades."
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