Africa Regional Hearing for the Millennium Assembly Opening
Remarks by Your Excellency, Ato Seyoum
Mesfin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; It is my honour to welcome you to Addis Ababa, to the Economic Commission for Africa and to this Africa Regional Hearing for the Millennium Assembly. The Millennium Assembly process is an integral part of the ongoing effort by the United Nations to address its relevance in the context of a world that has changed significantly since the Organization was established more than fifty years ago. The world we live in today is one defined by the challenges of poverty reduction, political pluralism, and globalisation, as well as the deepening crisis of multilateralism. As such, the idea is not to simply celebrate the dawn of a new century, but to use the occasion to articulate a clear vision for the United Nations, as well as to strengthen its role in meeting these profound challenges. To arrive at concrete proposals for a revitalised United Nations, the Secretary-General has initiated a process of dialogue that is participatory, drawing on as wide a range of views as possible, towards a Millennium Summit of Heads of State in the second half of next year. The Secretariat has held consultations with a large number of delegations of member States. In this regard, Mr. Miles Stoby, Coordinator of the Millennium Assembly -- who I am pleased to say is here with us today -- has held a series of informal meetings at UN Headquarters with the permanent representatives and chairs of regional groups. In addition, discussions have already taken place within the UN family, in the context of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination. A pivotal plank of the whole process is the regional hearings, which are designed to be informal events convened by the regional commissions in each region to generate innovative, goal-specific ideas that should define the future United Nations' agenda in the five core areas of its work: peace and security; economic and social affairs; development co-operation; humanitarian affairs; and human rights. These hearings are intended to elicit a wide cross-section of views, from government representatives but also from academia, the private sector, from NGOs and from civil society at large. They provide an important forum for individuals, groups, and civil society actors to speak frankly and openly about how they envision a United Nations of the 21st century. This Africa Regional Hearing is the second in the series of five, the first having been convened in Beirut in May this year. All the hearings are focusing on the following key questions: What are the new challenges and expectations of the UN? What kind of UN do member States and stakeholders want to see? How should the UN interact with its various constituencies? And how do the member States contribute to making this happen? To provide answers to these global questions, we need to zero in on the regional context, the key challenges that face the continent, and on how the UN can enhance its effectiveness in delivering solutions to Africa's problems. As you all know too well, these challenges include the debt crisis and its effects on social development, the imperative of regional co-operation and integration, and above all the spate of internal and inter-state conflicts, which generate considerable human rights and humanitarian issues. Nowhere better are these challenges -- and the linkages between them -- more eloquently articulated than in the Secretary-General's 1998 Report on "The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa". The Secretary-General’s Report firmly situates the African development challenge in the context of the global challenges facing the UN, and I commend it to you highly as a key input into this Hearing. Before I conclude these introductory remarks, let me say something about the format of this hearing. At ECA, as most of you know, we have undertaken significant innovations in the way we conduct our meetings. In line with our role in building consensus and advocating for Africa, we believe in creating as much space as possible for participatory, interactive dialogue, towards well-articulated outcomes. This is the spirit in which this two-day hearing has been designed. In this context, I would like to extend a special welcome to the civil society representatives taking part in this Hearing. We at ECA are committed to civil society involvement in our work. Indeed, it was only yesterday we concluded our first meeting of the Committee on Human Development and Civil Society. I am delighted that many of the civil society actors who attended the Committee meeting are here with us today. Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, Colleagues and friends, As you can see from the programme, the hearing is being conducted in full plenary, divided into four panel discussions. We want you the participants, rather than us the organisers, to steer the discussions. We want to hear your views, and by opting for an informal approach we want to provide as conducive an environment as possible. It is towards this end that formal interventions are at a bare minimum. Presentations from our distinguished panellists will be as short and to the point, and the panel moderators will ensure a free and vigorous exchange of views. There will be no rapporteurs and no formalistic report of the proceedings of this hearing. Rather, to ensure an uninhibited discussion of the issues at hand, a record of proceedings will be prepared without attribution. The conclusions and recommendations of the proceedings will serve as vital inputs into the deliberations of next year's Millennium Assembly and the Millennium Summit -- which are scheduled to take place in New York at the 55th session of the UN General Assembly. I thank you again for joining us. I must say that I am very much looking forward to your active participation in the deliberations over the next two days, and I am convinced that the contributions we make can form an important part of the Millennium Assembly process, towards a more effective UN in the 21st century. We are delighted that the Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia has agreed to deliver the opening statement at this Hearing. We recognise that the Honourable Minister has taken time out from his hectic schedule to join us today, and we are most grateful for his support, as well as for the support of our host country to the work of the Commission and the United Nations. Let me now give the floor to His Excellency Ato Seyoum Mesfin, to deliver his statement. |