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Farewell to wars, Africa gears up for revival
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-10 13:22
BEHOLD, THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA, BUT WHEN?
Limited by smallness and powerlessness, African voices traditionally gets
drown out by the resonance of the rich and influential West and new Asian
upstarts. Years of conflicts and disputes have done nothing good to help,
either. But African countries have realized in order to have a say in world
affairs that eventually affect themselves, they have to speak with one voice.
After a contentious debate at an emergency African Union summit on UN reform
in August, 46 of the pan-African body's 53 members reaffirmed a joint position
on the continent's Security Council representation adopted in July in Libya,
refusing to drop demands for two permanent veto-wielding seats on an enlarged UN
Security Council.
The outcome had disappointed the so-called G4 -- Brazil, India, Japan and
Germany -- which has been lobbying for African backing for its proposal to
enlarge the council to 25 members, with six new permanent seats without veto
power and four non-permanent seats.
Algerian Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Baali, one of the most forceful
opponents of the G4 draft, felt clearly vindicated.
"We are pleased that the AU has maintained its unity, articulated around the
position we adopted" in Libya last month, he said. "We believe the African
position is a realistic position, a legitimate position."
The AU, which insists on veto power for two permanent Security Council seats
that would be allocated to Africa, seems determined to strengthen its
representation in the world body.
Formed three years ago, the AU has played an indispensable role in resolving
disputes and maintaining peace in the region, achieving remarkable progress in
Cote d'Ivoire crisis and the peacekeeping in the Great Lakes region, and
bringing the Sudanese government and the western Darfur rebels together on peace
talks.
Furthermore, Africa's leaders have agreed last month that a union government
was needed for the poorest continent to hold its own among the world's other
regional blocs.
Revisiting an idea that goes back decades ago and was once championed under
the banner of "pan-Africanism" by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, the
leaders said the union should not only be of governments but also of the African
people.
"The necessity for eventual union government is not in doubt," said the
leaders in a collective statement after meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
They said the pursuit of a union government should be based on identifiable
shared values and common interests.
"Such values may include among others democracy and human rights, liberal
economic management framework in particular monetary and fiscal discipline,
development of African human resources, agricultural resources among others,"
they said.
The continent is already heading toward regional economic integration.
Several economic blocs in the region, such as the East African Community (EAC),
the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), have been implementing the practice of custom
unions among member states.
Despite the ongoing efforts to integrate and revive the continent, Africa
still remains home to virtually all of the world 's "ultra-poor" -- leading
critics to complain that not enough is being done to bring the benefits of
growth to the African people.
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