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STATEMENT BY HON. MOHAMED AFFEY Mr. President,
Let me commend you on the able manner in which you have continued to steer the affairs of this session. It is a great honour to me on behalf of my delegation to address this high level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the New Partnership for African Development. The decision by the United Nations General Assembly to hold this meeting is timely and a recognition of the importance of NEPAD to the African peoples and their development partners.
Mr. President,
Several decades since the independence of most African countries, African countries are still grappling with problems such as poverty, disease and illiteracy. Over the last decade, Africa has continued to sink further in the abyss of oblivion owing to the marginalization brought about by globalization and the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Mr. President,
Africa has seen several initiatives aimed at resolving the myriad of problems affecting the continent. However, none of these has been able to achieve the desired results largely due to the lack of good will from our partners, inadequate resources for implementation and limited ownership and participation of African Governments and peoples. It is out of this frustration that African leaders have agreed on the New Partnership for African Development as Africa’s development blueprint, which places emphasis on the twin principles of ownership and partnership. The recent launching of the African Union by African leaders is testimony of the commitment of African leaders to the integration of Africa for the advancement of the African people.
The African continent is plagued with many obstacles to development such as the heavy debt burden, rising levels of poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemics, hunger and malnutrition and illiteracy. For Africa to be able to surmount these problems, concrete measures are required in resolving the debt reduction, market access for African products, funding for health services, infrastructure development, environmental protection and human resources development and especially the education of our children. We will count on the support of our partners in resolving and tackling these challenges.
Mr. President,
Kenya continues to play a major role in the NEPAD process. H. E. President of the Republic of Kenya last June hosted the Eastern African Summit on NEPAD which came up with a way forward for NEPAD in the sub-region. To ensure the integration of NEPAD in the domestic policy and the participation of all stakeholders, the Government has established a private sector task force, which is working with the Government in mainstreaming NEPAD priorities.
At the regional level, Kenya is committed to the principles of regional integration, one of the building blocks of the African Union. Kenya has actively supported and is a member of several regional of economic integration blocs. In addition, Kenya has continued her efforts in peace building in the region evidenced by her role in the Sudan and Somali peace processes.
Mr. President,
We in Africa were encouraged by the warm reception extended to NEPAD by the High-level segment of the Economic and Social Affairs of July 2001, the International Conference on Financing for Development of March 2001 and the just concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development. We are convinced that for NEPAD to succeed, the support of the United Nations and the international community is paramount.
In conclusion, we call on the Secretary-General to consider how the United Nations will structure its support for NEPAD in relation to the ongoing final review of the United Nations New Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF).
I thank you.
Kenya Mission to the United Nations © 2002 by CODIA |