Addis Ababa, 02 May 1998 - The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reiterated his call to African governments to drastically cut down on military expenditure in order to free up resources for development. Speaking at a press conference at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ethiopia, Mr. Annan suggested that military expenditure be reduced to no more than 1.5 per cent a country's Gross Domestic Product. The Secretary-General - who was in Ethiopia on the first leg of an 11-day tour of several eastern African countries - touched on a variety of issues, among them Africa's conflicts, the famine in southern Sudan, the situation of refugees from Rwanda and Burundi in Tanzania, the sustainability of Africa's economic renaissance, his vision for the continent in the next century and the role of the media in projecting Africa's image.

Mr. Annan ascribed most conflicts in Africa to poor governance, and urged that African societies should opt for paths that ensure respect for human rights -- which he described as paramount to any development. "There are no African human rights. Human rights are universal and intrinsic in all humans and they can neither be given nor taken way," he said. Mr. Annan, who was on his first visit to Ethiopia since becoming Secretary-General, described the famine in the Sudan as tragic, and stressed that the UN was doing all it could and would soon begin food-drops. He noted however that the level of aid needed to contain the situation was far in excess of what was currently available, attributing this to the increasing unwillingness of donors to put money into humanitarian work in Africa. "Donor fatigue has set in and the level of aid required is simply not forthcoming," he said, exhorting the international community to respond in greater measure to the needs of the starving in Southern Sudan.

The Secretary-General, whose tour includes the Great Lakes countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, announced that he would consult with the leaders of these countries over the refugee situation. Burundi maintains that refugees in Tanzania have taken part in guerilla attacks against the army in the ongoing conflict between Burundi's armed forces and rebels. Rwanda on the other hand has denied reports that there is a fresh wave of refugees fleeing from persecution by the country's Tusti-dominated army into Tanzania. Asked about hopes for Africa's future, Mr. Annan welcomed the prospect of an economic renaissance on the continent, warning however that a vision of sustained economic growth would only be possible if proper economic policies were implemented and kept in place. While agreeing that Africa still needed external assistance, Mr. Annan insisted that ultimately, the onus of economic development rested squarely with Africans, and as such it was up to them to take rational decisions and actions that would lead to faster growth.

Responding to a statement that the Bretton-Woods institutions frequently imposed economic reforms on African countries, the Secretary-General said that structural reform was clearly needed to revive countries with severe financial and economic problems. Yet, he added, accepting International Monetary Fund (IMF)_rescue packages was not obligatory, but a matter of choice for the government in question. He cited the example of the economic meltdown in Southeast Asia, observing that South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia had adopted different responses to IMF rescue packages, with varying degrees of success.