African Diplomacy Observer

During an extraordinary Summit held in Algiers (Algeria) on 21st March 2007, around twenty Heads of State and Government from Africa evaluated the implementation and realization of the NEPAD. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has been conceived as a strategy to set conditions (strenghten good governance, democracy, prevent and manage conflicts, develop physical infrastructures and ICT, etc.) for Africa’s development. Unfortunately, so far, and since its adoption in 2001, the NEPAD didn’t meet  expectations African leaders and analysts placed into it; for instance, the construction of infrastructures, that is supposed to strengthen regional integration and boost intra-african trade within sub-regions and Africa at large, experienced some delays which kindled some critics and doubts about the NEPAD’s efficacy to support Africa’s long walk towards sustainable growth and development.

Despite these difficulites, one must take into consideration the numerous challenges (economical, political, technological, social, cultural, etc.) Africa is facing, and therefore bear in mind that achieving these objectives will require sustainable efforts and commitments. In that respect, African leaders and analysts should try to improve the NEPAD instead of undermining its work, considering it an usefulness instrument and calling for the creation of another institutions or initivitives. The multiplication of institutions will not necessarily create development. To illustrate that fact, the existence of several (sometimes competing) sub-regional and regional organizations throughout African, aiming at enhancing Africa’s integration does not necessarily positively impacted on the continents’ integration. We must rather try to improve existing institutions and programs. The summit also raised lack of sufficient financial support from the international community to fund the construction of infrastructures.

The NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) which met during that event, took note of the joint proposal by the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Secretariat of the integration into the Processes and Structures of the African Union (AU) whose objective is certainly to rationalize and coordinate efforts at the continental level to carry out with more efficiently NEPAD’s projects and avoid duplication; the HSGIC also concluded that the NEPAD is a Program of the AU which constitutes a philosophical framework, a vision and mission for Africa, not an implementing institution. Furthermore, it precised that the implementation of the NEPAD should be done through countries, Regional Economic Communities (REC), Development institutions requires, Bilateral and Multilateral organizations.

Some precisions have also been made relating to the organizationnal structure of the NEPAD; with regard to these clarifications, the NEPAD Secretariat is to be conceived as a technical body, and  the HSGIC as an executive body which provides leadership and political orientation to the NEPAD Secretariat. The HSGIC also recommended the creation of a Planning and Coordinating Authority whose profile and structure should be defined later.

Source: Institute for Security Studies Resource Centre

The ultimate objective of the African Union (AU) is the political and economic integration of the continent leading to the creation of the "United States of Africa". That objective and ideal was reiterated at the occasion of the recent African Union Summit held on 22-30 January 2007. In that respect, the organization decided to devote the forthcoming Ordinary Session (it will be the 9th Session) of the Assembly schedule in Accra (Ghana) in July 2007, to the theme: "Grand Debate on the Union Government".

To that end, Member States, the Commission of the AU and the Regional Economic Communities has been requested to undertake national, regional and continental consultations on the future of the Union. One may hope that the AU, as well as member States, will take this opportunity to get African populations involved more closely in the life of the Union and in the debate on its future. So far, different sub-regional and regional initiatives undertook throughout Africa and aimed at strenghtening political and economic integration have failed in involving African populations and national stakeholders (private sector, organizations of civil society, academia, etc.).

This gap is notable while observing the policy of representation of the AU toward Africa; a policy that has been caracterized by little efforts to bring the Union, its objectives and ideals closer to the populations; on the contrary, efforts were made, with reasons, towards political and diplomatic representation in key diplomatic hub (Geneva, New-York, etc.). In addition, the African Union also decided a couple of year ago to get involved Africans from the diapora; but very little has been done vis-à-vis populations on the continent, the primary target, in principle, of any economic integration initiative.

In that respect, great efforts must be undertaken in ordre to vulgarize the objectives and ideals of the AU as well as the organization itself: how it functions, what are its initiatives, its achievements, etc. In this vein, efforts undertaken by the Division of Communication and Information (DCI-AU) aiming at creating more awareness and enlightening the world in general and the youths in particular on the history of the AU and the activities of the AU Commission should be sustained and strengthened with a particular focus on African populations.

On February 8 and 9, 2007, was held in Malta an International Conference on the "Diplomacy of Small States" that envisionned to address some of the difficulties Diplomacies of Small States are confronted with while evolving in the current international diplomatic scene. During the conference presentations and discussions by the speakers and participants tried to answer questions related to how can these states employ diplomacy to help build the global stability vital for their own existence? How they evolve in the current international diplomatic environment? How can they influence global processes that strongly affect them (e.g. trade negotiations, climate change, environmental pollution, water scarcity, etc.)? How can they be heard on the global scene given their limited human and financial resources? Which tools could help them perform their classical functions and advance their national interests?

The Malta Conference set the stage for a year-long project on the Diplomacy of Small States which will include meetings (in Geneva in June 2007, Brussels in September 2007 and London in January 2008) during which will be addressed a range of realities Small States (including those from Africa) within the framework of their diplomatic deployment in the international diplomatic arena, seminars for diplomats from Small States, training and research projects.

This project is of a particular interest for most african diplomatic apparatus considering the relative political, diplomatic and economic marginalisation/isolation they are suffering from in the current international arena; a marginalisation that could easily be exemplified while looking at their place in international diplomatic circles.