For Immediate Release
June 20, 2005
EU-US Declaration on Working Together to Promote Peace, Stability, Prosperity, and Good Governance in Africa
We remain committed to combining and accelerating our efforts in
support of Africa and its leadership, while acknowledging its ownership
of present and future African development.
We share the same belief that solidarity is an essential principle
that should guide our action and that we, together with all other
members of the international community, have an obligation to assist
African efforts in the quest for peace, stability, democracy and
prosperity. We share the same objectives with poverty eradication as
the primary aim of our relations with the developing world and we
therefore undertake to increase our efforts to assist Sub Saharan
Africa in its efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and reach
the internationally agreed goals contained in the Millennium
Declarations.
We share the same hope built on the realisation that today there is
an environment and leadership in much of Africa with a genuine
commitment to better governance and a new resolve to take care of
Africa's own conflicts.
We are working to support Africa's efforts to expand peace and
security across the continent. In this context, we welcome that an
increasing number of African nations are committing themselves to
holding democratic elections, thereby paving the way for more
representative government. Improving respect for human rights and
governance, consolidating democratic processes and reforming the
security sector are central prerequisites for development. African
nations are undertaking increased efforts to resolve conflicts and have
achieved important progress in establishing their own security
structures through the African Union and its Peace and Security Council
as well as at the sub-regional level.
Together we have been working to strengthen the African Union and
other regional organisations that aim to improve stability in Africa
and we are collaborating on the G8/African Union action plan to enhance
capacity for peace support operations. We are committed to continue to
assist African peace support operations as the EU has done through its
African Peace Facility and contributions from its Member States and the
US through the Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative by increased
contributions to enhance the Peace Support Operations capacity and
support for ongoing operations in Africa.
The African Union/NEPAD have provided Africa with an ambitious
vision and strategy for the 21st century. We will work closely with the
African Union as a key political interlocutor in our relations with
Africa.
The African Union and the sub-regional organisations have
decisively assumed responsibility and leadership for resolving many of
the armed conflicts that for so long have marred the continent. We are
prepared to contribute to these efforts through:
Supporting broad and inclusive processes of implementing the
comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan, capable of reconciling and
accommodating the aspirations of all sectors of society and all regions
of the country, while ensuring that the fight against impunity from
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law is
sustained. To end the continuing violence and suffering of hundred of
thousands in Darfur is an immediate priority. We reaffirm our strong
support for the AU leadership in resolving the crisis and urge the
parties to commit themselves wholeheartedly to resolve the conflict
peacefully and engage constructively in the AU-sponsored negotiations
in Abuja.
Reaffirming our continued support to the Somalia reconciliation
process and assisting the Somali people and institutions, in their
efforts to re-establish stability and governance. We are also committed
to support efforts to resolve the border stalemate between Ethiopia and
Eritrea. Both processes have much to contribute towards stability,
development and security in the strategic region of the Horn of
Africa.
Combining support for stability in the Great Lakes region,
including through the disarmament of armed groups, Security Sector
Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo, assistance in the
organisation of the coming democratic elections in Burundi and the DRC
and international observation thereof, and participation aimed at a
successful outcome of the International Conference on the Great Lakes
region. We have instructed the Joint Contact Group to continue to work
together in order to address the problems in the region.
Continuing to support a regional approach to peace and security in
West Africa, with a view to enhancing conflict management in ECOWAS and
particularly by supporting United Nations and African efforts to
consolidate transition processes in C te d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea-Bissau and encouraging national reconciliation in
Togo.
Effective and well-governed states are critical to a peaceful and
secure environment and protecting human rights; encouraging transparent
and accountable public management and private sector growth delivering
essential services and allowing resources to be used effectively. We
will support the African Peer Review Mechanism as an important tool for
peer learning and reforms it will trigger at the country level.
The U.S. and the EU note with deep concern the continuing
governance and human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, which has led to a near
breakdown of the economic situation of one of the most promising
economies in Africa and caused huge flows of Zimbabweans to flee to
neighbouring countries. We call upon the Government of Zimbabwe to
reverse anti-democratic policies and to open a genuine dialogue with
all stakeholders. We also note that serious food shortages are looming
in Zimbabwe, and we stand ready, as in the past, to assist the
Zimbabwean people with food aid and other humanitarian assistance.
Life expectancy is increasing in every continent except Africa,
where it has fallen for the last 20 years. HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis continue to affect too many people in Africa. We are
committed to continue our support for the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and
Malaria. We recognise the importance of education and gender equality
for life expectancy and agree to intensify efforts in this regard.
We commit to work together to address both the immediate needs and
the underlying causes of natural disasters and complex emergencies
which plague the continent, including through collaboration on the
assessment process, to ensure that needs are identified in an accurate
and timely fashion, that assistance is appropriately targeted and
arrives in time to save lives. Together, we commit to urgently
increasing both our funding and engagement in these humanitarian
emergencies.
To ensure a longer-term solution to the problem of famine and
poverty in Africa, we will work with AU/NEPAD to support implementation
of its Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan, which will
help expand production and market opportunities, enhance agricultural
productivity, and thus reduce the risk facing Africa's poorest
farmers. We further commit to support AU/NEPAD's efforts to increase
regional economic integration in Africa as an important element of
efforts to increase agricultural productivity, open our market to allow
African exports to enter duty free until 2015 and, in this regard, will
undertake efforts to promote accession of African countries to the
WTO.
These commitments require resources. These should come from many
sources, as set out at Monterrey, including increased foreign direct
investment, trade, remittances, public aid and private charitable
contributions. We recall the responsibility of developing countries
for their own development through good governance, the rule of law, and
sound policies, and the crucial importance of national ownership for
development strategies. We stand ready to increase our financial
assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa to meet urgent needs, promote
development and economic growth, reinforce sound policies and good
governance and support their efforts towards meeting the Millennium
Goals.
In today's globalised world, developments in one continent often
have immediate and far-reaching repercussions on life in other
continents. Peace, stability and better economic prospects for all
people in Africa are therefore in the interest of Americans and
Europeans alike. The long road towards sustainable social, political,
and economic development in Africa is a road that Africa should not be
left to walk alone.
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