Report of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole and the Seventh Meeting of Intergovernmental Group of Experts

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 30 April - 4 May 1999

  1. Attendance

  2. Agenda and organization of Work

  3. Account of Proceedings

    Opening Addresses
    Discussion on Conference Theme: The Challenge of Financing Development in Africa (agenda item 4)
    Discussion on the Current Economic and Social Situation in Africa (agenda item 5)
    Report on the Work of the Commission 1996-1998 (agenda item 6)
    Coordination and Collaboration among United Nations Agencies at the Regional and Subregional Levels in Africa (agenda item 7)
    Rationalization and Harmonization of ECA-sponsored Institutions: A Progress Report (agenda item 8)
    Proposed Programme of Work and Priorities of ECA for the Biennium 2000-2001 (agenda item 9)
    Statutory Issues: Reports from Intergovernmental Committee of experts of SRDCs and Reports from other subsidiary organs of the Commission (agenda item 10(a) and (b))
    Any other business (agenda item 11)
    Adoption of the Report (agenda item 12)
    Closure of the Meeting (agenda item 13)

A. Attendance

  1. The nineteenth meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole (TEPCOW)/seventh Intergovernmental Group of Experts was held in the United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30 April to 4 May 1999. The meeting was formally opened by H.E. Mr. Mekonnen Manyazewal, Vice-Minister of Economic Development and Cooperation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, delivered a statement at the opening ceremony of the meeting. The representative of Uganda, outgoing chair of the Committee presided over the opening ceremony.
  2. The meeting was attended by representatives of the following member States of the Commission: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, the Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, the Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  3. Observers from the following Member States of the United Nations were present: Japan and Palestine.
  4. Switzerland, not a member of the United Nations, was also represented.
  5. The following United Nations bodies and specialized agencies were represented: United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office (RCNYO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP), International Labour organization (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Programme of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
  6. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was represented.
  7. Observers were present from the following intergovernmental organizations: Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations (AATPO), African Centre for Applied Research and Training in Social Development (ACARTSOD), African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), African Organization of Cartography and Remote Sensing (AOCRS), African Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Manufacturing (ARCEDEM), Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), Banque Central des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Institut de formation et de recherche démographiques (IFORD), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Regional Centre for Services in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (RCSSMRS), South African Development Community (SADC), Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI) and United Nations Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP).

B. Agenda and organization of Work

8. The Committee adopted the following agenda and organization of work:

Conference Theme: The Challenges of Financing Development in Africa

  1. Opening of the meeting.
  2. Election of the bureau.
  3. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.
  4. Discussion on Conference Theme: "The Challenges of Financing

    5. Development in Africa".

  5. Discussion on the current economic and social situation in Africa.
  6. Report on the work of the Commission 1996-1998.
  7. Coordination and collaboration among the United Nations agencies at the regional and subregional levels in Africa.
  8. Rationalization and harmonization of ECA-sponsored institutions: A progress report.
  9. Proposed programme of work and priorities of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) for the biennium 2000-2001.
  10. Statutory issues:
    1. Reports from intergovernmental committees of experts of SRDCs; and
    2. Reports from other subsidiary organs of the Commission.

  1. Any other business.

  2. Adoption of the report.

  3. Closure of the Meeting.
  1. The Committee elected the following members of the bureau:

    2. Chairman: Nigeria

    First Vice-Chairman:         Namibia

    Second Vice-Chairman: Morocco

    Third Vice-Chairman: Cameroon

    Rapporteur:                 The Tanzania

  2. The Committee established an open-ended subcommittee on resolutions which was chaired by Namibia. The following were the core members of the resolutions subcommittee:

    3. North Africa - Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia

    West Africa - Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and the Niger

    Central Africa - Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon

    East Africa - Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda

    Southern Africa - South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe