From: Nunu Kidane <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2003 08:44:29 -0700
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Adna-list] UPDATE: G8 - Joint Statement from African NGOs
ADNA UPDATE: 030604
Message from: Jubilee USA Network
For contact information see also:
http://www.africaaction.org/adna
contact: "Marie Clarke Brill" <[log in to unmask]>
G8 SUMMITS 2002 TO 2003: FROM A TRICKLE TO A DROP
JOINT STATEMENT FROM AFRICAN NGOS AND TRADE UNIONS
AS THE G8 SUMMIT COMES TO AN END IN EVIAN, FRANCE
Tuesday, 3rd June 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The outcome of the 2003 Summit of the G8 reveals that the political will of
the eight most powerful nations to meet their obligations to Africa has
simply dried up.
2001 saw the G8 summit heavy on rhetoric, 2002 saw the release of a G8
Africa Action Plan, but the outcome of the 2003 Summit has been stunning on
its failure to make progress on the Debt, health, trade and agriculture
issues.
Quite apart from the obligations of the G8 to Africa or the meeting of the
Millennium Development Goals in Africa, the G8 has failed to match the
progress reached by the African Union over the last year.
Aid, the Monterrey Commitments and Debt
We, representatives of six of the largest continental organisations and
national networks headquartered in five Africa cities, bringing together
women's organisations, labour, researchers, development and advocacy NGOs
across Africa, recognise that there has been some progress on raising the
US$6 billion promised by the G8 in 2002. However, the G8 is still a long way
off meeting the US$25-35 billion required by the UN to halve poverty in
Africa by 2015. Much of the new pledges announced recently including the
well appreciated US$10 billion offered by the US for Global AIDS programmes
or the money to fill the HIPC finance gap are not on the table yet. It
should be noted that the G8 continues to spend less than 0.3% of their gross
national product on aid. In all, the G8 Summit closes with offers of
assistance in the range of less than 1% of what was spent on the war in
Iraq.
Health and HIV/AIDS
In the light of the deadlock in the last Doha WTO Inter-ministerial, the G8
summit is a lost opportunity for progress on the right of African countries
to import, produce and distribute cheap life-saving drugs such as
anti-retroviral medicine for AIDS and other life threatening diseases.
This G8 has failed to indicate sufficient progress in raising the resources
to eradicate polio, combat tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS. The amount
allocated is still a far cry from the $10billion the UN fund needs, to treat
and prevent these diseases.
We reaffirm that the right to clean, affordable and accessible water is
critical both to African growth, fighting AIDS and arresting common
pandemics such as cholera etc. We are concerned that the international
policy discourse on water is dislocated from the experience in Africa of
privatisation schemes that leave private suppliers unable to supply water at
affordable rates for the poor and more importantly, poor people without
water.
Trade and Agriculture
The 2003 G8 was ultimately a disaster for African farmers. It failed to
adopt even limited proposals for a moratorium on reducing European and
American tariff duties and subsidies for US and European agriculture. These
policies are perverse. While millions of African farmers, most women's
livelihoods, are ruined by these policies, European livestock are ensured
major state subsidies.
We note the commitment of the G8 to refocus on support to African
agriculture, but the G8 avoided translating this commitment into a tangible
amount.
Lessons for Africa
One or two drops of aid out of Evian amounts to a small patch for the
haemorrhaging economies of Africa. Without a change in world trade rules,
the rhetoric of ensuring a fresh start for Africa will not translate into
meaningful action or a new partnership for Africa. We strongly urge Africa
leaders and citizens to take forward the initiative and the primary
responsibility for resolving Africa's development crises. Key on our horizon
is the need to prepare a common African position in the lead up to the WTO
Inter-ministerial in Cancun, Mexico.
Despite the failure of Evian, the G8 continues to have outstanding
obligations and commitments to Africa. For this reason, Africa must remain
on the agenda of the G8 until these obligations are fulfilled. We shall
continue to track, lobby and inform public opinion of these obligations.
SIGNATORIES
Representatives of six of the largest continental organisations and national
networks headquartered in five Africa cities, bringing together women's
organisations, labour, researchers, development and advocacy NGOs across
Africa, met and signed this statement.
AWEPON - African Womens Empowerment Network
Helen Wangusa, Coordinator, Kampala, Uganda
Mob Tel :+256-77-522-717
Off Tel: +256-41-286-916
CODESRIA Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
Adebayo Olukoshi, Executive Secretary, Dakar, Senegal
Mob. Tel: +221-6586197
Off: Tel +221-8240374
COSATU - The Congress of South African Trade Unions
Neva Matgetla, Head, Policy Unit, Johannesburg, South Africa
Mob Tel: +27-82-5636968
FEMNET - African Womens Communication and Development Network
Muthoni Wanyeki, Executive Director, Nairobi, Kenya
Mob Tel: + 254-733605812
Off Tel: +254-2-3741301/20
MWENGO - Mwelekeo wa NGO
Ezra Mbogori, Executive Director, Harare, Zimbabwe
Off Tel + 263-4-721469
Hm Tel: + 263-4-884306
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
Brian Kagoro, Coordinator, Harare, Zimbabwe
Mob Tel + 263-91266430
------------------------------
This message from Jubilee USA Network is distributed through the Advocacy
Network for Africa (ADNA)
Nunu Kidane
Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA)
Communications Facilitator for ADNA
Africa Action
1634 Eye Street, NW, #810,
Washington, DC 20006, USA.
Tel: (202) 546-7961 Fax: (202) 546-1545
www.africaaction.org_______________________________________________
Adna-list mailing list
[log in to unmask]
http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/adna-list
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
