Media Release: In commemoration of Africa Day, 25 May 2008.
In commemoration of Africa Day, 25 May 2008.
Today African countries commemorate Africa Day. This annual event is a commemoration of the founding of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) in 1963. The African Union (AU) succeeded the OAU during 2002 in an event that earmarked an institutional revolution on the African continent.
The vision of the AU is a united Africa with greater solidarity and unity between the different countries and all segments of society. One of the objectives to achieve this vision is to promote common positions on issues of interest to African countries and its people.
The AU specifically chose themes that coincide with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa for this year’s commemoration of Africa Day. Included in these MDGs are the eradication of poverty (Goal 1) and a global partnership for development (Goal 8).
During the European Union (EU)-Africa Summit of December 2007 in Lisbon, a Joint EU-Africa Strategy was adopted. Included in this Strategy is a Partnership on the MDGs (4th partnership), which is closely linked to the Partnership on Trade and Regional Integration (3rd partnership).
One of the priorities of the latter is to support the African integration process with an objective of political and socio-economic integration of Africa in line with the Abuja Treaty of 1991 - this Treaty led to the establishment of the AU.
One of the expected outcomes of this is to create synergies between the African integration process and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). One of the activities to be undertaken is to specifically ensure that EPAs support the African regional integration initiatives.
The recent history of the European Commission’s (EC’s) EPA negotiations with African countries till the end of 2007, attested to a total different approach as stipulated in the Joint EU-Africa Strategy. The EC’s approach bares witness to a disregard for the AU’s regional integration process and its Declarations on EPAs.
Therefore, as a dedication to Africa Day, we, the undersigned Namibian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), call on the EC to:
1. honour their signed United Nations’ Millennium Declaration for achieving the MDGs by the year 2015, as well as the range of EU adopted measures to accelerate the progress towards attaining these MDGs;
2. honour the provisions of the 2006 adopted “European Consensus on Development” to ensure a policy coherence for development towards Africa in achieving the MDGs;
3. honour the Partnership on Trade and Regional Integration of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy with regards to the African regional integration process to ensure that the EC’s EPA negotiations support this process;
4. acknowledge the AU’s recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in its regional integration process;
5. recognize the AU’s Declarations on EPAs and adapt its negotiations in this regard accordingly;
6. honour the acquis principle contained in Cotonou Articles 37.6 and 37.7 to ensure that no country shall be worse off post-Cotonou;
7. allow for the revision of contentious issues experienced during the 2007 interim EPA negotiations before commencement of any negotiations towards full EPAs;
8. refrain from including the new generation issues in the EPA negotiations, which are not a requirement for compatibility with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules;
9. allow maximum flexibility in the EPA negotiations to ensure that African governments retain their policy space with sufficient time allowed to consult with all affected stakeholders; and
10. refrain from using underhand tactics to coerce African countries to sign EPAs.
Signed by:
National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW)
Komeho Namibia Development Agency (Komeho Namibia)
The International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW)
Young Women Christian Association (YWCA)
Children with Language Speech Hearing Problems (CLASH)
Labour Resource & Research Institute (LARRI)
Ndatinda College
Namibia Rural Development Programme (NRDP)
Women Solidarity Namibia (WSN)
Nelago Kasuto - Coordinator for the Namibian CSOs
Tel: +264-61-230450
Fax: +264-61-240343
Email: komeho@iway.na
25 May 2008
