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Assembly of african union opens here with optimism { July 9 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Assembly of African Union Opens Here With Optimism
Addis Tribune (Addis Ababa)
NEWS
July 9, 2004
Posted to the web July 9, 2004
The Third Assembly of the African Union opened on Tuesday at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference Center. The fully attended assembly of African Heads of State and Government began with a keynote address by Professor Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union.
In a moving speech, the Chairperson said that the journey from Algiers to Sirte, from Sirte to Lome, from Lome, where the foundations of African Union was consolidated, to Durban then to Maputo, where the march began with the establishment of the Commission, from Maputo to Addis Ababa today was an exciting journey that resulted in the installation of the Commission of the African Union, the launching of the Pan-African Parliament, the start of the Peace and Security Council with the court of justice and the financial institutions such as the African Central Bank, the African Investment Bank and the African Monetary Fund on the horizon.
He, however, said that all was not rosy for the continent. The times, he stated, were no doubt hard. All the big international meetings, he said, did not yield concrete results.
Inspite of it all the Chairperson was optimistic that Africa, with its great opportunity, will become the number one continent.
He said Africa was often projected as a risk, a risk for herself but also a risk for the whole world. "For us, Africa is a great opportunity despite everything. Our potentials are immense with fresh glimmers of peace appearing on the horizon. This continent, which is twice the size of Russia, three and half times the size of the United States of America, three times the size of China and six times that of the European Union is the ecological lifetime of the world", he said, adding, "it is a land so much endowed with natural resources, a land destined to become a demographic power. By the year 2025 we shall have a population of more than one billion 300 million Africans, almost as many as a Chinese or the Indians, more than the European Union and the United States put together, with the advantage of a younger population with nearly eight million below 15, we will tomorrow become the new market. Tomorrow, we will become the young market " Professor Konare ended his address with that optimistic note.
The Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Anan, took the flour to remind the august assembly that first and foremost the root causes of insecurity and under-development, which he said often lay in poor governance, should be addressed.
He was warmly applauded when he said, "Let us always remember that constitutions are for the long-term benefit of society, not the short-term goals of the ruler. Let us pledge that the days of indefinite one-man or one-party governments are behind us. Democracy is not perfect and democratization is not easy. But the more accountable governments are, the more likely they are to be responsive to the needs of their people-whether that need is to prevent famine, fight poverty, or halt the spread of HIV/AIDS."
The outgoing chairperson of the African Union, President Chissano, who decided to address the assembly in Kiswahili in an apparent move to encourage African languages as working languages of the Commission, said that the vision of African leaders of shaping the African Union with the bodies capable of fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the African people continued to gain momentum. He, however, warned that the situations of tensions and conflicts that still remain in some parts of the continent constituted the major challenge in efforts for development.
"It does not suffice to claim this century as the century of Africa. It is imperative that we relentlessly commit ourselves in the implementation of development projects and programmes of our continent. The agenda for the this session provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our determination and dedication in pursuing the objectives that we have set for ourselves," he said.
The assembly of heads of state elected President Olusegun Obasanjo as its next chairman. Without much ado, President Obasanjo said that his immediate focus of attention was to work together with the Commission to accelerate the on-going restructuring exercise in the Commission, to bring the process to a speedy conclusion in order to enhance its service delivery capacity. This, he said, will be in line with the decision taken last year in Maputo on the matter. Secondly, President Obassanjo said, the fundamental objective of the African Union is essentially to accelerate the implementation of the African economic community in order to achieve rapid socio-economic integration of the continent. "In this context the vision, mission and the strategic plan of action as espoused by the Commission should indeed provide the right impetus to re-energize the collective drive towards the attaindent of these goals. It is an established fact that in order to achieve socio-economic integration political stability, peace and security are necessary conditions that must be in place." It is against this background, he said, that "we intend to confront head on the conflict situations in Africa with renewed vigor and determination."
Meanwhile, the outgoing Chairperson of the African Union, and the President of Mozabique, Joaquim Chissano, said that despite the positive developments in the continent there was a concern with the difficulties which the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire was going through. President Chissano appealed to the fending parties in Cote d'Ivoire to develop efforts aimed at overcoming their differences with the support of the African Union, ECOWAS and the United Nations.
Condemning the recent coup d'e'tat attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the emergence of the mercenary phenomenon, President Chissano reiterated his appeal to the need for the adoption of punitive and discouraging measures against mercenarism in the context of the implementation of legal instruments to combat terrorism.
Concerning partnership between African and the rest of the world, President Chissano said that it was important to attend the China-Africa summit. Out of the results from the summit, he mentioned the cancellation of a significant part of Africa's debt, and China's will ingress to enhance its relations with Africa, through NEPAD, the opening of its markets to Africa, the increase in the number of scholarships and the assistance in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculoses.
Meanwhile, the third Assembly of the African Union rejected Libya's request to move the Commission of the African Union from Addis Ababa.
The leaders said that as the AU Commission and its headquarters are in- separable, the seat of the AU Commission shouldn't be moved elsewhere from Addis Ababa. Libya's request would not be entertained as the issue had been declared in the Constitutive Act and ratified by member countries.
The Summit also agreed to hold the 4th regular summit of the African Union in Sudan and the day to be communicated through normal diplomatic channels.
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