Means of implementation – Bridging the Gap

1. Means of implementation – Bridging the Gap An ECA Secretariat Presentation by Kasirim NWUKE at the Seventh Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-7)and the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 21 October 2011

2. Outline • Introduction • Background and context • Assessment of each of the commitments • Conclusion

3. “We commit ourselves to … enhancing the global partnership for development …” United Nations, General Assembly resolution 65/1 “Each developing country has primary responsibility for its own development – strengthening governance, combating corruption and putting in place the policies and investments to drive private sector-led growth and maximize domestic resources available to fund national development strategies. Developed countries, on their side, undertake that developing countries which adopt transparent , credible and properly costed development strategies will receive the full support they need, in the form of increased development assistance, a more development-oriented trade system and wider and deeper debt relief.” ‘All of this has been promised but not delivered.’ Secretary-General of the United Nations “In Larger Freedom” (2005)

4. Introduction: Objective and purpose • Provide an overview of progress made in fulfilling the SD commitments on the various means of implementation; • To provide recommendations for consideration and adoption by policy makers; • To provide evidence for advocacy by CSOs and other stakeholders.

5. Background • Commitments: • Agenda 21; • Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21; • Johannesburg Plan of Action; • The Millennium Declaration; • Paris Declaration; • Accra Action Agenda; • AU Commitments • Various G-7/G-8 and other commitments

6. The Means of Implementation Commitments • Financing sustainable development; • Aid and Development Effectiveness; • Technology Development and Transfer; • Capacity Development; • Globalization and Trade; • Regional Integration • South-South cooperation.

7. ON FINANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT “We will work with developing countries to meet the international development goals..” G-8 Genoa Communiqué “We commit ourselves to … assisting developing countries in ensuring long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring as appropriate.” UN General Assembly resolution 65/1

8. Issue 2: Financing sustainable development

9. ON AID AND DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS “The fulfillment of all development assistance commitments is crucial” UN General Assembly resolution 65/1 “ODA is essential in the fight against poverty. We commit ourselves to strengthening the effectiveness of our ODA in support of countries’ efforts ..” G-8 Okinawa Communiqué “We will strive gradually to increase the volume of official development assistance (ODA) and to put special emphasis on countries best positioned to use it effectively” G-8 Cologne Communiqué

10. 3. Aid and Development Effectiveness (AE and DE)

11. ON TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFER “We commit ourselves to … promoting the strategic role of science and technology, including information technology and innovation…” UN General Assembly resolution 65/1 “We are committed to study, share, and facilitate the responsible use of bio-technology in addressing development needs” G-8 Genoa Communiqué

12. 4. Technology development and transfer

13. ON CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT “No government seriously committed to achieving education for all will be thwarted in this achievement by a lack of resources” G-8 Okinawa Communiqué

14. 5. Capacity Development (CD)

15. ON GLOBALIZATION AND TRADE “While globalization has increased the cost of Africa’s ability to compete, we hold that the advantages of an effectively managed integration present the best prospects for future economic prosperity and poverty reduction.” African leaders in the NEPAD document “Experience shows that despite the unparalleled opportunities that globalization has offered to some previously poor countries, there is nothing inherent in the process that automatically reduces poverty and inequality” African Leaders in the NEPAD document

16. 6. Globalization and Trade

17. ON REGIONAL INTEGRATION The objectives of the Union shall be to:….Accelerate the political and social integration of the continent ” Constitutive Act of the African Union “The task on which we have embarked, the making of Africa will not wait … what we require is a single African Organization through which Africa’s single voice may be heard, within which Africa’s problems may be studied and resolved.” Emperor Haile Selassie, 1963

18. 7. Regional Integration (RI)

19. 8. South-south cooperation

20. Conclusion and Recommendations for action- Bridging the Gap • Commitments on means of implementation have largely not been met; • To achieve the SD objectives, African countries and their development partners need to scale up action; However, African countries are responsible for driving their SD agenda. Success depends on aggressive action in a number of areas, including; • Domestic resource mobilization and high quality capacity development; • Strengthening the AU as the voice of the continent; • Continental and Regional integration; • Harnessing the economic interdependence of countries; • Emphasizing development effectiveness; • Promoting S,T&I for sustainable development; • Diversifying their economies; • Increasing their voice in multilateral organizations/institutions.

21. SOME Recommendations for - Bridging the Gap Accelerate economic growth; Use the tax code to create incentives for sustainable development; Enhance institutional mechanisms for debt restructuring; Re-start the stalled Doha round of international trade negotiations; Push on GATS especially on temporary movement of workers; African countries should issue bonds in international markets to mobilise additional resources for sustainable development; Strengthen capacity for debt management; Introduce and enforce quality assurance in capacity building institutions and projects; Strengthen the AUC and the RECs; 21

22. Thank You, Merci knwuke@uneca.org