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Africa: US NGO Statement, Denver SummitAfrica: US NGO Statement, Denver Summit Date distributed (ymd): 970610
WOA Document This posting consists of a press release and a short statement fromthe Congressional Black Caucus and a coalition of US NGOs on the occasionof the Denver Summit. A full statement of position is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.africapolicy.org/denver/denindex.htm A text version of the full statement may be obtained (in two parts)via e-mail. Send the message "send denver" to apicdata@igc.org.
Please type it exactly as written, as that will facilitate a reply.
News from the US-Africa Trade Policy Working Group
Conveners: Bread for the World, Washington Office on Africa For immediate release: June 7, 1997 For more information, contact:
Doug Tilton (tilton@africapolicy.org)Ray Almeida (noskunos@erols.com) CBC and NGOs Say Africans Must Have Voice in Economic Policymaking Washington, D.C. -- The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and twenty-tworeligious and secular organizations have issued a statement calling onthe leaders of industrialized nations to consult with Africans before makingpolicy decisions which affect African nations. The heads of government of the Group of Seven (G7) countries Canada,France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United Stateswill hold their annual economic summit in Denver, Colorado from June 20to June 22. The event has become known as the Denver Summit of Eight inrecognition of the inclusion of the Russian leader, Boris Yeltsin, in mostof the summit deliberations. The Summit participants are expected to consider measures to promoteeconomic liberalization in Africa and to accelerate the integration ofAfrican nations into global economic networks. The CBC and the organizational endorsers of the statement, "Africaand the Denver Economic Summit," insist that African representativesshould be take part in reaching decisions that directly affect Africannations. They fear that, otherwise, the Summit will repeat the errors ofthe 1884-84 Berlin Conference, at which the major European powers and theUnited States carved up the African continent, establishing colonial enclaves
and imposing commercial regulations. -30-
Africa and the Denver Economic Summit We applaud the industrialized nations participating in the Denver Summitof Eight for the decision to pay particular attention to Africa. However,we greatly regret that the participants will have no opportunity to consultdirectly with African officials. If Africa is to be on the agenda, Africansshould be at the table. It is imperative that the Denver Summit of Eight not become a modern-dayBerlin Conference at which powerful nations make decisions about Africa'sfuture without consulting Africans themselves. Africans across the continentare initiating projects and debating policies consistently and constructively.We urge policy makers to recognize these developments and to establisha mechanism to facilitate systematic consultation with all those whoselives will be affected by the choices made. This requires that the summitparticipants initiate a dialogue that involves not only their counterpartsin African governments, but also a broad cross-section of African public,private, and civil society sector representatives. We hope that such discussionswould develop a comprehensive program of action for consideration at the1998 economic summit. We recognize that Africans do not speak with one voice, nor are allindividuals and groups equally well-equipped to make their voices heard.Consequently, a particular effort must be made to consult with those whotypically find themselves on the political and economic periphery: ruraldwellers, women, workers, youth, the unemployed, elderly, and disabled.We fear that, in the absence of these perspectives, certain principlesfundamental to policy development and assessment will be ignored. Theseinclude criteria that have already emerged from our own discussions withAfrican community and civil society organizations and that resonate withour experiences in domestic struggles for social and economic justice: (1) The single most important question which must be asked about anyAfrica initiative, whether multilateral or bilateral, is: What impact willthe action have on Africa's economically poor majorities and the most marginalizedsectors of each society? (2) Programs and policies should be designed to produce explicit, tangiblebenefits for poor communities. It should never be assumed that benefitswill "trickle down" from the economically or politically powerfulto the marginalized. (3) Action must be undertaken simultaneously on a number of fronts andpolicies must interlock to form a coherent and comprehensive whole. Initiativesin one area must not be undermined by action (or inaction) in another. (4) All multilateral and bilateral initiatives should facilitate andmodel increased popular participation in decision making, greater accountabilityof officials, and improved transparency. Such "process" concernsshould take precedence over a rigid insistence on any particular economic
regime.
June 6, 1997
Signed: Congressional Black Caucus Africa Faith and Justice Network
Africa Fund
Africa Policy Information Center
African-American Institute
American Committee on Africa
American Friends Service Committee, Washington Office
Bread for the World
Catholic Relief Services
Center of Concern
Church World Service / Lutheran World Relief
Constituency for Africa
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Justice and Peace Office
Mennonite Central Committee
Missionaries of Africa
Oxfam America
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Society of African Missions Office of Justice and Peace
TransAfrica
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Washington Office on Africa
This material is produced and distributed by the Washington Officeon Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit church, trade union and civil rightsgroup supported organization that works with Congress on Africa-relatedlegislation. WOA's educational affiliate is the Africa Policy InformationCenter (APIC). |
