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Statement by H.E. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture on the occasion of the Annual Conference of the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (2014 ReSAKSS Conference)

on the Theme: PROMOTING AGRICULTURAL TRADE TO ENHANCE RESILIENCE

October 8, 2014

African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Excellency Professor Tekaligne Mamo, State Minister of Agriculture of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Excellency Mr. Lapodini Marc Atouga, Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Economic Community of West African States Commission
Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Distinguished Delegates from AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities,
Distinguished Representatives of the Private Sector, Civic Society Organisations, and International Organisations

Dear Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the African Union Commission, I wish to welcome you to this 2014 Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) Conference, that will deliberate on the “Promotion of Agricultural Trade to enhance Resilience” on the African Continent. This ReSAKSS Conference is being held in the context of the 2014 AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security, and at a time when the aspirations of the next fifty years are being articulated within the framework of Africa Agenda 2063.
Let me first express my appreciation for the technical support that ReSAKSS has been providing to Africa and specifically to the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency in advancing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) which is also marking its 10th Anniversary this year: This technical support has been focused on key areas notably:
• supporting the overall efforts of promoting evidence and outcome-based policy planning and implementation as part of the CAADP agenda.
• Producing the Annual Trends Outlook Report which is the main M&E report tracking CAADP implementation on the continent.
• strengthening analytical capacity for planning, monitoring and evaluation and policy analysis at country level by establishing country Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support Systems (SAKSS) platforms in AU Member States.
• strengthening mutual accountability systems in implementing CAADP National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans (NAFSIPs) through joint sector review (JSRs), as well as contributing to the development of the CAADP Results Framework 2015-2025.

Honourable Minster, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is to be recalled that, following the formal launch of 2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security in January 2014 during the AU Summit, the African Union Commission and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, working with Regional Economic Communities and Member States, launched a process and roadmap on articulating the agenda of advancing agricultural growth and transformation for the next decade . This process entailed extensive multi-stakeholder consultations with civil society, private sector, women, youth and development partners, among others, which has helped in crafting broader goals and targets on the agenda. The outcomes were further deliberated by the Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture, which culminated into Ministerial resolutions on transformation of Africa’s agriculture for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods. .
The height of this process was reached during the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State and Government on 27 June 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods was adopted. The Commitments of African leaders through this Declaration include, among others, Boosting intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities and services and Enhancing resilience of livelihoods, and production systems to climate variability and other related risks, which contextualise the theme of this years Annual ReSAKSS Conference: Promoting Agricultural Trade to Enhance Resilience.

The prusuit and achievement of these goals will also be in line with the Theme of the just concluded 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU, which is Pan Africanism and African Renaissance. It is also part of the Africa Agenda 2063 on the Africa We Want.

Honourable Ministers, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

During this AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security, ReSAKSS has been and continues to be a key player particularly in contributing to finalize the CAADP Results Framework that will measure the progress in implementing the Malabo Declaration for the next decade.
The 2013 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR 2013), that will be launched today, is about promoting agricultural trade to enhance resilience. The African Union Commission has partnered with IFPRI to organize this conference in Addis Ababa, just four months after the Malabo Declaration in June this year. This shows the Commitment from IFPRI and ReSAKSS to not only generate but also share high-quality knowledge products to guide policy formulation, implementation, review and dialogue – the core reason why ReSAKSS was established in 2006.
As mentioned earlier, the African Union Commission is committed to promoting agricultural trade and specifically regional trade in order to enhance food security and growth. Therefore, this report comes at a time when we are engaged in developing the Implementation Strategy and Roadmap for the Implementation of the Malabo Declaration. The recommendations from this Conference will be valauble input into the discussions moving forward.
African leaders did further commit themselves to advance Mutual Accountability to Actions and Results and, therefore, the role of Monitoring and Reporting on the 2014 Malabo Commitments is more important today than ever before. The work of ReSAKSS will continue to be more relevant and instrumental in tracking progress of CAADP implementation in the years to come, guided by the CAADP Results Framework, and specifically the targets contained in the Malabo Declaration.
Honoruable Minister, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

In closing , we must all take note that all African citizens have a duty to contribute towards determining our common future, and with governments leading the way by creating conditions for agriculture to thrive and flourish. It is imperative that we put agriculture at the top of our national development agendas by stepping up, and spending up, to ensure a rapid, steady path to the development for our people in line with the vision of the African Union for an integrated and prosperous continent that is a dynamic force on the global arena.
We must all be accountable for commitments we make. We must all believe and embrace the fact that it’s in our hands.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and
I thank You.

Statement by the African Union Commission Chairperson, HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to the High level Meeting on Ebola Response
UNGA, New York. 25 September 2014

 
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliason
Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director General
President of Guinea
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
Dr. Jim Kim from the World Bank
Ministers, Leaders of Delegations
Representatives from International health organisations
Ladies and Gentlemen

The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has caused untold miseries to the peoples of these countries and therefore requires our solidarity, coordinated responses and urgent interventions.

We therefore welcome this initiative by the United Nations to convene a Global Ebola Response Coalition, to enable us to make swift, comprehensive and effective interventions to halt the spread of the disease and address the public health crisis.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The current Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa is unprecedented, both in terms of the region where it is occurring and the number of infections and deaths. Its occurrence in countries that have just emerged from conflicts and are still rebuilding their public health systems, as well as public trust and social cohesion, makes this a huge burden. It has a severe impact on health workers and women, who are at the frontline of the disease in these countries. It also adversely affects children, who are often left orphaned, with no families to take care of them.

Our coordinated and urgent responses to the crisis is therefore necessary: to provide the three countries with financial assistance, with equipment, protective clothing, mobile laboratories and other facilities, to be able to track and contain the disease, and to provide treatment to the sick in a secure environment. Most important, as a result of the severe impact on health workers in these countries, they require health personnel (doctors, technicians, clinicians, nurses) that can help with the immediate and urgent interventions.

Many organizations have shown their solidarity by being in the frontline of efforts in these countries, and we must here single out the medical professionals and health workers especially from Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, as well as the US Centre for Disease Control. The African Union Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), has started deploying the first team of medical and other volunteer personnel from various African countries to Liberia. This includes medical specialists from countries such as Uganda and the DRC that have dealt with Ebola before. We shall be sending further teams to Sierra leone and Guine, but it is yet a drop in the oceans, we need hundreds more volunteers.

Secondly, we have to ensure that countries in the neighbourhood and other regions have systems in place to prevent and trace infection. The ECOWAS and African Ministers of Health, working with the World Health Organisations, since their first meetings in April this year, have already begun to coordinate national and regional efforts in this regard.

Thirdly, the disease in its current manifestations also place economic burdens on the countries concerned, ranging from fiscal strains with money having to be diverted from other causes to fight the disease, restrictions on informal and cross-border trade, as well as on agriculture. Our comprehensive measures therefore have to also look at this economic dimension and we thank the World Bank and the African Development Bank for their efforts in this regard, but we should all do more in this regard.

The recent Emergency session of the African Union Executive Council noted that we should avoid compounding the burden on the affected states, by taking measures whose impact may lead to worse consequences than the disease itself. It was in this context that the Emergency session called on Member states to lift all travel bans on flights and passengers from the affected countries, and to cooperate to put in place measures at borders to ensure screening. We thank those countries who have already lifted the travel ban, and urged those who have not done so to recommence flights to these countries.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The Global Coalition to be launched today must look at all these immediate and urgent issues. At the same time, effective disease control is about having strong public health systems in place, with access to health care for all and institutions at national, regional and continental levels to share information on diseases.

As we assist the affected countries to respond to this immediate crisis, we must not loose sight of this, so that we build resilience in the long term and prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

We hope that the plea made by the Secretary General and other speakers, for all of us to act with speed, will be heeded.

The African Union will continue to stand by the three countries and the region during this difficult period, and thank all partners and the UN system for the continued support and solidarity.

I thank you

Discours d'ouverture de Mr Jalel Chelba,
Chef de la Division de la Société Civile /CUA
Chef de la Délégation de l’Union Africaine

Tunis, Tunisie
1er Octobre 2014

 
Excellence Mr Anouar Ben Khlifa, Secrétaire d’Etat en charge de la Gouvernance et de la Fonction Publique de la République Tunisienne
Mr Ridha Kozdoghli, Directeur General du Centre IFEDA;
Mme Habiba El Mejri Cheikh, Directrice de l’Information et de la Communication de la CUA;
Mesdames et Messieurs les délégués de la société civile, medias inclus,
Distingués invités,
Mesdames et Messieurs,

C’est un grand plaisir pour moi et la délégation qui m’accompagne de m’adresser à cet auditoire de représentants de différents secteurs de la société tunisienne. Nous sommes honorés d’être parmi vous aujourd'hui à l’occasion de cet événement important. Notre présence à Tunis témoigne du grand intérêt accordé par la Commission de l’Union Africaine à l’établissement de rapports directs avec les populations et les citoyens africains.

Il vous souvient que quinze ans auparavant, le 09/09/1999, les Chefs d’Etat et de Gouvernement de l’Organisation de l’Unité Africaine (OUA) ont adopté la Déclaration de Syrte, qui demande la création de l’Union Africaine. L’objectif, entre autres, visait l’accélération du processus d’intégration du continent afin de permettre à l’Afrique de jouer le rôle qui lui revient dans l’économie mondiale, tout en déployant des efforts pour résoudre les problèmes sociaux, économiques et politiques multiformes auxquels elle est confrontée. C’est l’avènement de l’Union africaine (UA) qui peut être considérée comme une étape majeure dans l’évolution institutionnelle de notre continent.

En effet, l’une des principales différences entre l’UA et l’ancienne O.U.A est l’accent mis par l’UA sur le renforcement de la participation de tous les segments de la société dans les affaires de l’Union. Ce principe fondamental a été consigné dans l’Acte Constitutif de l’UA qui prône un partenariat entre les Etats et toutes les composantes de la société.

Pour concrétiser ce principe cardinal, l'Union Africaine a créé un Département au sein de la Commission pour épauler et soutenir les acteurs non étatiques. Cette structure est CIDO (Direction de la Société Civile et de l’Organisation de la Diaspora). En Plus, l’Acte Constitutif de l’UA a prévu la création d'un organe spécifique représentant la société civile, c’est le Conseil Economique, Social et Culturel (ECOSOCC) ; il s’agit d un organe consultatif non résident, dont le secrétariat technique est assuré par CIDO.

Les membres de cet organe sont directement élus par la société civile. Selon les statuts de l’ECOSOCC, on entend par société civile, non seulement les ONG comme certains peuvent le penser, mais tout un éventail d’acteurs indépendants, tels que: les groupes professionnels, les associations dans tous les secteurs, les groupes sociaux tels que ceux représentant les femmes, les enfants, les jeunes, les personnes âgées, les organisations communautaires et bénévoles, les organisations culturelles, les syndicats, les associations de journalistes, médecins, avocats, magistrats etc.

L’ECOSOCC est composé de 150 membres, dont deux représentants de chacun des 54 États membres, 8 représentants continentaux, 10 représentants sous régionaux, 20 membres de la diaspora et 6 représentants désignés par la Commission de l’UA en consultation avec les Etats membres, sur la base de considérations spécifiques.

Nous nous sommes déplacés à Tunis pour mettre en œuvre la décision EX.CL/849 (XXV), prise lors du Sommet de Malabo de juin 2014, par le Conseil Exécutif de l’UA, et qui a demandé à la Commission d’entreprendre une campagne continentale de sensibilisation et de motivation des organisations de la société civile africaine en vue de les inciter à participer en grand nombre aux élections de l’ECOSOCC.

Comme vous le savez, la Commission avait entamé le processus d'élection de la deuxième Assemblée Générale de l'ECOSOCC depuis 2012 mais n’avait pas pu obtenir un nombre suffisant pour la mise en place de la 2eme Assemblée Générale. C’est à la suite de cette constatation que la Commission avait présenté, lors du Sommet de Malabo, un rapport aux organes de décisions de l’Union Africaine en proposant une série d'options et de recommandations pour aller de l'avant. Ce processus vous sera exposé en détail au début de la session interactive de questions et réponses.

La Commission a été mandatée pour mener cette campagne continentale de sensibilisation des OSC destinée à couvrir les cinq régions du continent. Le choix a été de concentrer cette campagne sur les Etats Membres qui n'ont pas eu un nombre suffisant de candidats éligibles pour les élections de l’ECOSOCC. C'est l'entreprise que nous entamons ce jour, ici, à Tunis qui a été représentée au sein de la 1ere AG de l’ECOSOCC par deux OSC. Des réunions similaires ont été organisées durant les derniers jours par cette délégation au Togo, Sénégal, Cape Vert, Bénin, Congo, Gabon, Guinée Equatoriale et Sao Tome et Principe. Les réunions de sensibilisation accomplies ont connues une forte participation des OSC dans ces pays, ce qui témoigne de l’intérêt accordé par la communauté de la société civile africaine aux programmes de la Commission et aux efforts de mettre en place la 2eme Assemblée Générale de l’ECOSOCC.

L’objectif est de finaliser les élections des nouveaux membres de l’ECOSOCC au cours du dernier trimestre pour pouvoir mettre en place l'Assemblée de l'ECOSOCC, avant la fin de l’année 2014.

Il est important de noter que les élections auxquelles nous vous encourageons à participer, sont des élections pour et par la société civile. En effet, vous, les organisations de la société civile, vous serez en même temps les électeurs et les élus. Les gouvernements et la Commission ne seront seulement que des observateurs et des facilitateurs du processus électoral.

Il est également important que vous sachiez que ceux que vous allez choisir seront amenés à partager la responsabilité de la prise de décision et d'orientation du continent et devront travailler avec d'autres parties prenantes pour l’accomplissement du projet commun de tous les citoyens africains. Ils auront également le devoir de vous rendre compte de leurs actions et de maintenir un flux de communication avec les organisations de base pour le bien être de notre société.

Mesdames et Messieurs,

J'espère enfin, que cette réunion vous aidera à vous impliquer davantage dans le processus et vous fournira les outils et informations nécessaires qui vous permettront de mieux constituer vos dossiers de candidatures.

J’espère qu’à l’issue de cette campagne vous serez nombreux à répondre à cet appel au devoir et à prendre part aux prochaines élections de l'ECOSOCC et que la société civile tunisienne qui a démontré son engagement pour les nobles causes, sa grande sagesse pour résoudre et dépasser les différends qui lui ont valu l’estime et la considération sur le plan international, j’espère que cette société civile soit bien représentée au sein de la prochaine Assemblée de l’ECOSOCC.

Je voudrais terminer mon propos en adressant mes remerciements au gouvernement et au peuple tunisien pour avoir accueilli cette réunion et pour avoir garanti toutes les conditions pour son succès.
Mes remerciements vont également à tous les représentants des organisations de la Société Civile tunisienne qui se sont déplacés pour prendre part aux travaux de cette réunion. Je remercie vivement aussi IFADA pour nous avoir fourni ce beau cadre de se rencontrer et pour avoir mobilisé, dans un lapse de temps très court, ce grand nombre d’OSC.

Je salue également les medias, la presse écrite, la presse audiovisuelle et la presse en ligne, qui, outre leur appartenance au paysage associatif, ont un grand rôle à jouer en tant que médiateurs et amplificateurs de messages. Leurs engagement est primordial et l’Union Africaine compte beaucoup sur eux pour informer ses citoyens.

Votre présence a tous, témoigne de votre engagement pour le bien-être des populations africaines et l’essor de notre cher continent.

Nous tenons à vous remercier et vous inciter à travailler davantage en étroite collaboration et en partenariat avec l'ECOSOCC et la Commission de l’Union Africaine pour consolider cette entreprise.

Je vous remercie beaucoup pour votre attention.

Closing Remarks by The Commissioner of Trade and Industry on the Occasion of the 6th Ordinary meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs

Statement by the African Union Commission Chairperson, HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to the High level Meeting on Ebola Response
UNGA, New York. 25 September 2014

 
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliason
Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director General
President of Guinea
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
Dr. Jim Kim from the World Bank
Ministers, Leaders of Delegations
Representatives from International health organisations
Ladies and Gentlemen

The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has caused untold miseries to the peoples of these countries and therefore requires our solidarity, coordinated responses and urgent interventions.

We therefore welcome this initiative by the United Nations to convene a Global Ebola Response Coalition, to enable us to make swift, comprehensive and effective interventions to halt the spread of the disease and address the public health crisis.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The current Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa is unprecedented, both in terms of the region where it is occurring and the number of infections and deaths. Its occurrence in countries that have just emerged from conflicts and are still rebuilding their public health systems, as well as public trust and social cohesion, makes this a huge burden. It has a severe impact on health workers and women, who are at the frontline of the disease in these countries. It also adversely affects children, who are often left orphaned, with no families to take care of them.

Our coordinated and urgent responses to the crisis is therefore necessary: to provide the three countries with financial assistance, with equipment, protective clothing, mobile laboratories and other facilities, to be able to track and contain the disease, and to provide treatment to the sick in a secure environment. Most important, as a result of the severe impact on health workers in these countries, they require health personnel (doctors, technicians, clinicians, nurses) that can help with the immediate and urgent interventions.

Many organizations have shown their solidarity by being in the frontline of efforts in these countries, and we must here single out the medical professionals and health workers especially from Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, as well as the US Centre for Disease Control. The African Union Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), has started deploying the first team of medical and other volunteer personnel from various African countries to Liberia. This includes medical specialists from countries such as Uganda and the DRC that have dealt with Ebola before. We shall be sending further teams to Sierra leone and Guine, but it is yet a drop in the oceans, we need hundreds more volunteers.

Secondly, we have to ensure that countries in the neighbourhood and other regions have systems in place to prevent and trace infection. The ECOWAS and African Ministers of Health, working with the World Health Organisations, since their first meetings in April this year, have already begun to coordinate national and regional efforts in this regard.

Thirdly, the disease in its current manifestations also place economic burdens on the countries concerned, ranging from fiscal strains with money having to be diverted from other causes to fight the disease, restrictions on informal and cross-border trade, as well as on agriculture. Our comprehensive measures therefore have to also look at this economic dimension and we thank the World Bank and the African Development Bank for their efforts in this regard, but we should all do more in this regard.

The recent Emergency session of the African Union Executive Council noted that we should avoid compounding the burden on the affected states, by taking measures whose impact may lead to worse consequences than the disease itself. It was in this context that the Emergency session called on Member states to lift all travel bans on flights and passengers from the affected countries, and to cooperate to put in place measures at borders to ensure screening. We thank those countries who have already lifted the travel ban, and urged those who have not done so to recommence flights to these countries.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The Global Coalition to be launched today must look at all these immediate and urgent issues. At the same time, effective disease control is about having strong public health systems in place, with access to health care for all and institutions at national, regional and continental levels to share information on diseases.

As we assist the affected countries to respond to this immediate crisis, we must not loose sight of this, so that we build resilience in the long term and prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

We hope that the plea made by the Secretary General and other speakers, for all of us to act with speed, will be heeded.

The African Union will continue to stand by the three countries and the region during this difficult period, and thank all partners and the UN system for the continued support and solidarity.

I thank you