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Opening Statement by the Deputy Chairperson of the
African Union Commission at the Peace and Security Council 455th Meeting at the Level of Heads of State and Government, Nairobi, Kenya

- H.E. Idriss Deby Itno, Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council,
- H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya,
- Excellencies Heads of Delegation of the members of the Peace and Security Council,
- Distinguished guests,
- Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to humbly begin by thanking President Idriss Deby Itno, Chair of the Council, and the other members of this organ, for convening this important meeting devoted to the issue of terrorism and violent extremism, in fulfillment of the decision adopted during the recent Malabo Summit. Your presence here today is testimony to your commitment to address a scourge that has blighted the African security landscape in recent years.

The Chairperson of the Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, regrets that she could not be here personally. This is because she is engaged with matters concerning the quest for appropriate continental response to the Ebola outbreak which has become another not only of health but also security concern to the Continent. She conveys her best wishes for the success of this meeting, and assures the Council of the Commission’s determination to continue supporting Member States in more effectively addressing the threat of terrorism and violent extremism on the continent. On Ebola, given the huge social-economic impact of the crisis there is urgent need for a coordinated and collective response at the level of the Union. After extensive consultations it has been agreed that the Executive Council convene on the 8th September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an Extra-Ordinary Session that will include Ministers of Health and relevant experts to develop an appropriate response to the Ebola crisis.

The choice of Nairobi as the venue of this meeting is highly symbolic. It is an expression of our Union’s solidarity with Kenya and its people, as they confront the terrorist threat arising from Al-Shabaab activities. We will not forget the shocking acts that engulfed this city just one year ago, during the Westgate attack. I would like to express AU’s appreciation to President Uhuru Kenyatta for his personal commitment and for all the arrangements made by his Government for the successful holding of this meeting.

I wish to acknowledge the presence of our partners, to whom I would like to reiterate AU’s appreciation for their support. We look forward to an enhanced collaboration in addressing more effectively the issue at hand.

- Chairperson,

The African continent has made great strides in dealing with its traditional security challenges. Inter-state and civil conflicts have declined significantly, and the continent is now governed by norms and instruments that have zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of Government. Through these norms, we have cemented the principles of democracy and good governance.
We have also made considerable progress in consolidating peace and facilitating recovery in countries emerging from conflict.

Our Union has exerted tremendous efforts in deploying robust peace support operations that have had a positive impact on reducing violence, protecting affected populations, defeating rogue elements and creating conditions for meaningful political processes and sustainable peace. We have shown the creativity necessary to develop adaptable and tailored operations to address particular situations.

It is befitting at this juncture to pay tribute to the Peace and Security Council for the critical role it played in these achievements. Indeed, since its establishment, a decade ago, the Council has demonstrated an exemplary commitment in advancing our shared vision of a conflict-free Africa.

While taking pride of the progress made, we should, however, remain mindful of the daunting challenges ahead. The conflicts and crises affecting Libya, South Sudan, Somalia, the Central African Republic and the Northern part of Mali are a stark reminder of the need for continued engagement by the Council and the entire membership of the Union, to bring about the peace and security our people are yearning for. We have to do all it takes to silence the guns.

I would like, at this juncture, to express the AU’s deep concern at the prevailing situation in Lesotho and the threat it poses to the stability of that country and the principles that are at the core of our Union, most notably the rejection of unconstitutional changes of Government.
We reiterate the Chairperson Dlamini-Zuma call to the parties to seek a negotiated solution within the confines of their country’s constitution.

- Chairperson,

The efforts made to date have not been easy. The challenges that we have and continue to face are massive but our learning curve has been steep; we have learned that the onus is on us to deal with our problems.

It is with the same determination, commitment and recognition of the responsibility that lays upon us that we must address the challenges for which we are gathered here today.

When the 2nd Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, held in Syrte in February 2004, agreed on a Common African Defence and Security Policy, it did so on the basis of a definition of security that went beyond traditional state-centric notions to one that is informed by the changing international environment, which imposes additional challenges such as transnational organized crime, mercenarism, proliferation of arms, as well as terrorism, which is this focus of this meeting.

In the past decade, we have witnessed a rise of violent extremism and terrorism.
This threat not only undermines the security of our States, but the very values of religious and ethnic tolerance and harmony that have for long characterized the diverse societies and the democratic values that the continent is striving for.
Terrorists tell us that there is no room for religious co-existence in Africa, that people should not have a say in who governs them or how they are governed, that our youth must eschew modern education, that the sciences that have given us vaccines and modern technology are an evil invention, that our young girls are commodities to be bought and sold in the market place, that the due process of law and the human right to a fair trial is unnecessary and that human life is worthless. These perverse ideas do not come out of any holy book but exists only in their depraved minds.

But make no mistake, these groups are more than thugs with rifles and home-made bombs. They are calculated organized survivalists driven by material interests. They have been able to exploit the conditions of porous borders and limited government presence and regulation, which have allowed transnational crime to flourish. They are engaged in various criminal activities, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, illicit trade and the lucrative business of kidnapping at ransom. These activities have enabled them acquire significant financial resources to recruit and arm followers to continue on with their terror campaigns.

In the Sahel, various criminal and terrorist groups that have long found a safe haven in the vast Sahara colluded to produce the greatest threat to the territorial integrity of Mali. In Nigeria, the group commonly known as Boko Haram has emerged as a serious threat to this country and its neighbors. The group’s brutality knows no limits, as demonstrated by the April 2014 kidnapping of over 200 school girls. Witnessing the terrified looks of those young girls in the video footage, the callousness and cruelty of their captors and the helplessness and despair of their families shocked our conscience and offended the deepest sense of our humanity.
In Somalia, thanks to the unwavering commitment of the troops contributing countries and the support of the international partners, we have been able to deal significant setbacks to Al Shabaab, create the conditions for the re-building of the Somali state and restore the hope of our Somali brethren in a brighter and peaceful future. However, daunting challenges remain.

In Central Africa, the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the LRA has, since its establishment, significantly weakened the capability of this group.

- Chairperson,

As you are aware and as you stated it, our Union has developed a comprehensive and robust counter terrorism framework. In 1992, it adopted the Resolution on the Strengthening of Cooperation and Coordination among African States in which it pledged to fight the phenomena of extremism and terrorism. This was followed in 1994 by the Declaration on the Code of Conduct for Inter-African Relations in which the Union rejected all forms of extremism and terrorism.
These political declarations were later strengthened by the adoption of the 1999 Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and its 2004 Protocol.
Other important instruments include the 2002 Plan of Action that focuses on practical measures to strengthen border security, criminal justice response, intelligence sharing and operational coordination. Indeed only last week the African Intelligence Services held their meeting here in Nairobi aimed at pursuing efforts to work together. The CISSA report is available for your perusal.

On its part, the Commission, including through its African Centre on the Study and Research on Terrorism, has continued to provide member states with various forms of support, including capacity building of its law enforcement agencies, national and regional threat assessments, and a platform for the exchange of information, experiences and development of joint plans.

The Commission has further ensured that Council remains abreast of related matters through the submission of annual reports on terrorism and violent extremism in Africa.
Steps are also being taken to support the Council in operationalizing its sub-Committee on Counter-Terrorism.
Furthermore, and in response to country and region specific challenges, a number of innovative cooperative mechanisms have been put in place. The RCI-LRA in Central Africa and the Nouakchott Process in the Sahelo-Saharan region are illustrative of such an innovative approach.
The AU counter-terrorism instruments, combined with those developed at the global level, together provide an adequate framework and provide the guidance necessary to prevent and combat terrorism. What we need to focus on now is not the elaboration of further legal instruments and mechanisms, but the effective implementation of the existing ones. This requires renewed political commitment. More specifically, I would like to call on Member States that have not yet done so to urgently take the steps required to become parties to the relevant African and international instruments. Such steps should go hand in hand with renewed efforts to fully implement the provisions contained therein.
While we have to take the steps necessary within the framework of the rule of law to protect our populations and eliminate these violent groups, we need to also address why their message appeals to some of our youth and why they find a sense of belonging among them.
It is imperative that we deal with the social and other conditions that contribute to radicalization and the emergence of terrorism, in order to provide our people and youth with the alternatives that would de-legitimize the terrorists’ narrative. We must address the social, ethnic and religious tensions that the terrorist groups exploit to turn communities against each other. We need to renew their confidence in government’s ability to address their needs, through good governance, democracy, inclusion, social justice, and socio-economic development, all which are enshrined in the Constitutive Act of our Union.

Our efforts at fighting terrorism cannot be disassociated from the task of resolving existing conflict and crisis situations and consolidating peace where it has been achieved. Nowhere is this task more urgent than in Libya, Somalia, Northern Mali and other affected areas.

It is the Commission’s expectation that this Summit will commit to the actions and mechanisms that we have agreed on and to put their weight behind their timely and effective implementation.

Yours Excellencies, I thank you for your kind attention.

Statement of H.E. Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture

Delivered at the
Second Africa Dry Land Week

25 – 29 August, 2014, N’Djamena, Chad

SEM Adoum Younousmi, Ministre des Infrastructures et Transport, Représentant de SEM, le Premier Ministre ;
SE Mme Djibergui Amane Rosine, Minister of Agriculture and Environment
Hon. Mukhtar Abdulkarim Adam, State Minister for Environment, Forestry and Physical Planning, Republic of Sudan
Hon. Kebede Yima Dawid, State Minister of Environment and Forestry, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Mr Mohamed Addallahy Salim Ahmedona, Secrétaire Générale, Ministre de l’Environnement et Développement Durable, République Islamique de Mauritanie
Dr. Djime Adoum, Secrétaire Exécutive, CILSS
Mr Marc Abdala, Représentant intérimaire de la FAO au Tchad
Excellences, Distingues invites,
Chers participants,
Mesdames et Messieurs à vos rangs et titres,
On behalf of Her Excellency, Dr. Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, we are pleased to extend our profound and sincere appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of Chad (Pays de Toumai: Espoir de vie) for hosting the Second Africa Dry Land Week in this magnificent edifice. To you, our dear participants; Bienvenue au Pays de Toumai.

SEM le Représentant du Premier Ministre ;
Distingués invités ;
Mesdames, Messieurs

Forty three percent of land area in Africa falls within the dry lands. It is estimated that 45 percent of the population (325 million people in Africa) live in these areas, which despite their high potential for agriculture with plants & animals adapted to climatic variables (heat resistance, lack of water), abundant resources (mines/oil/water), diverse ecosystems (tourism, wildlife, etc.), vast landscapes ready to be developed and many unsustainable development programmes, are prone to land degradation, desertification, frequent recurrent drought, hunger and emergency assistance as well as now insecurity.
Between 1985 and 2000, Africa lost 25 million hectares to desertification, 60 million hectares to salinization and 50 million hectares to soil erosion, which impacted the continent’s ability to guarantee food security for its growing population, to consolidate its development gains and to maintain peace and security.
Land degradation is an underlying cause of acute poverty and social deprivation in many rural areas of Africa as well as a major cause of environmental deterioration, poverty and food insecurity.
Dry land zones; where 70 percent of the population derives their livelihoods from natural resources are characterized by a predominantly hostile and marginal environment due to; low farm productivity (below 2.1%), high temperatures and radiation; water scarcity, unreliable rainfall patterns; barren soils; land degradation, desertification, neglect from central governments, among others. As land forms the basis of wealth and prosperity of any given society, it should be protected and developed for the benefits of the rural communities and our continent, must continue to maintain a strong stand on land degradation and desertification.
SEM le Représentant du Premier Ministre ;
Distingués invites ;
Mesdames, Messieurs

Due to misconception, Dry lands are assumed to be wastelands with little or no potential, they are neglected and considered to play marginal role of the economy of national government. Regardless of their capacity to sustain agriculture (majority of crops), agroforestry, animal production (90%), livelihoods of its inhabitants, great potential for tourism development and mining, Dry Lands remain distant geographically from administrative centers. Hence, they lack basic services (health, education, agricultural and veterinary) and infrastructures (schools, markets, rural road), among others, and attract attention only when the communities living those areas require supplies of food aid, or some mineral are found.
Dry lands are under constant threat from multiple challenges and stresses such as weather variability, recurrent and unpredictable droughts, floods caused by short and heavy intervening rains) and human-induced processes including; land degradation and desertification caused by inadequate and unsustainable land use practices, which are fuelled by demographic pressure, high dependence on subsistence rain-fed agriculture, lack of employment, terrorism and civil conflicts. These challenges and stresses are often compounded by external forces to the areas; such as inadequate governance mechanisms, ineffective land tenure systems and poorly conceived national policies.
Distingués invites ;
Mesdames, Messieurs

Land is under increasing demand and pressure from competing uses such as agriculture, forestry and pasture as well as energy production, urbanization and extraction of raw materials. As other regions of the world turn to Africa, looking for the energy, water and food resources needed to regenerate and power their economies, Dry land areas may be primary target of land acquisitions by powerful interest. We therefore must ensure that the continent’s God given and abundant natural resources are by priority, harnessed to catalyze the continent’s sustainable economic development. African countries must reverse the general perception that natural resources are a curse rather a blessing, when well managed for the benefits of our populations (some developing countries have shown the way)
Unless we undertake practical measures to ensure that our productive lands are preserved, degraded lands restored and essential services are provided to the communities, the specter of social deprivation in dry lands will continue unabated and we will continue to witness the breakdown of social fabrics of many rural communities in Africa. This phenomenon is leading to increased rural–urban migration, intensifies the immigration of the youthful African population to seek economic opportunities abroad with many serious social and economic ramifications and leaving Dry land areas to terrorism/lawlessness. This had serious implications for the future (hopelessness, lawlessness, many young people are dying while migrating), overall stability and security (ethnic conflicts and terrorism) of the Africa continent.
SEM le Représentant du Premier Ministre ;
Distingués invités ;
Mesdames, Messieurs

There is a strong correlation between increased agricultural productivity, food security, general security and sustainable land management in Africa. It is an undeniable fact that agriculture cannot thrive in Africa if we don’t pay due attentions to dry land issues. Sustainable land management in dry lands is fundamental to the pursuit of food security, peace, security and stability in Africa
The Africa Dry land Week provides a regional forum for stakeholders in the domain of sustainable land and natural resources management to share experiences and good practices as well as challenges and opportunities. It also provides an important space for advocacy to address the challenges of sustainable land management including biodiversity conservation and improvement of livelihoods in rural areas.
The convening of the Second Africa Dry land Week in the Year 2014 is of a particular importance as we commemorate the African Union’s Year of Agriculture and Food Security, the Tenth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) as well as the Year of family Agriculture of the United Nations. It is therefore a fitting occasion, where we can showcase the indispensable contribution of sustainable land management especially in the dry lands to enhanced agricultural productivity and food security in Africa.
To date, forty African countries have signed CAADP compacts, many of which have credible National Investment Plans (NAIPs) under implementation. One of the main weaknesses of these national and regional investment plans, is the low importance given to CAADP -Pillar 1, even though it is well known and recognized in most of the countries and regions that Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) are at the core of serious challenges as well as threats facing sustainable agricultural production, productivity and development.
SEM le Représentant du Premier Ministre ;
Distingués invités

On behalf of Her Excellency, Dr. Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission I would like to express our sincere gratitude and thank to the Government and People of the Republic of Chad for responding to the call of the Commission to host the Second Africa Dry Land Week. This is a clear manifestation of the country’s unflinching commitment to improve livelihoods in the dry lands and rural development.
I want to extend special thanks to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization for the generous support offered to the African Union Commission to fund this Week. We are equally grateful to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Global Mechanism, SOS Sahel France, Permanent Inter-State Committee for the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS), the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall and the African Forest Forum for their support and collaboration in organizing this event and to you participants, thank you for coming.
I wish all of us a fruitful meeting and I thank you all for your kind attention.
Je vous remercie

Opening Statement delivered by Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe, Advisor to the AU Chairperson, to Lesotho Civil Society Organizations at the ECOSOCC Sensitization and Motivation Campaign held in Lehakoe Club
Maseru, Lesotho
25 August 2014

Your Excellency, the Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho
Members of the African Diplomatic Corps
The Director, Lesotho Council of NGOs
Colleagues from the AU

Distinguished Delegates of Lesotho Civil Society Organizations
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to be in a position to address you all here in Maseru, Lesotho today. This is the fourth leg of our Southern African Countries to invite and encourage African civil society organizations to register and participate in the ECOSOCC elections process. It is the crowning stage of the first step of the African Union efforts to ensure that all Member States across the regions are fully represented in Economic, Social and Cultural Council, which serves as the civil society parliament of the African Union.

We are privileged to be here in Lesotho on this mission and I can assure you there is no other place we would wish to be on assignment from our leaders other than here today. Since we arrived on your shores on Friday, 22 August 214, we have partaken of your hospitality. The success and fulfillment of the purpose of our mission has been engendered by fruitful cooperation on the part of the Lesotho Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the civil society community through the Lesotho Council of NGOs. The enthusiasm and vigorous support on both sides presages the purpose and intent of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. It offers a model of the partnership between governments and civil society that the African Union is pledged to achieve.

Our mission here, as succinctly slated, in the Opening Address of the Honourable Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho, is to faithfully implement the Decisions of the Leaders of the African continent. The presentation of the Principal Secretary traced the history and development of ECOSOCC and the context in which the Decision was taken. The objective was so eloquently stated that there is no need and no profit in my repetition of the same.

I can only add that in the course of this sensitization exercise, my colleagues from the AU and ECOSOCC will explain the procedures and processes of the ECOSOCC election, the eligibility criteria and the timelines set for the exercise to enable Lesotho NGOs rise up to the mandate and challenge that has been so eloquently captured by the Honourable Principal Secretary. In the same vein, Mr. Chilengi, a member of the 1st ECOSOCC Permanent General Assembly will underline the importance of the role and functions of ECOSOCC and the achievement and challenges it encountered in its phases of existence. The purpose is to make the Lesotho CSO community appreciative of their duties and responsibilities in ECOSOCC so that it can organize itself for co-responsibility of the leadership of the continent as required in the ECOSOCC Statutes.

I urge all CSO representatives present here to heed the wise counsel of the Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs and respond positively and constructively to the entreaties of our leaders as expressed through the AU Summit Decision. In order for our continent to take its rightful place in the world, Government and all segments of civil society must organize themselves appropriately to share responsibility for the development of our beloved continent. Too often in the past, African civil society were not fully taken into account in mapping the way forward. In this ECOSOCC process, they have been charged with co-responsibility. It is a challenge that the African Union and its Commission would urge us all to embrace in the interest of the future of Africa, our children and posterity.

Thank you.

Welcome Address by Honourable E. Kabanshi MP, Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, Republic of Zambia, at the ECOSOCC Sensitization and Motivation Campaign for Zambia NGOs
COMESA Conference Hall
Lusaka, Zambia, 12 August 2014

Welcome Address by Honourable E. Kabanshi MP, Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, Republic of Zambia, at the ECOSOCC Sensitization and Motivation Campaign for Zambia NGOs
COMESA Conference Hall
Lusaka, Zambia, 12 August 2014

Your Excellency, the Assistant Secretary-General (Programs) COMESA,
Colleagues from the AU and COMESA,
Distinguished Delegates of Civil Society,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with utmost pleasure that I address this august Assembly of civil society groups gathered here in Lusaka today. The government and people of Zambia feel honored that the African Union has chosen Zambia as the trailblazer in the ECOSOCC Sensitization and Motivation Campaign. Zambia was one of the Member States of the Union that adopted Decision EX.CL/Dec.849(XXV) on ECOSOCC Elections in Malabo. Zambia has always taken interest in the people-driven character of the AU. We also have a vibrant and lively civil society culture that has impacted critically on the development of programs and policies at national, regional and continental level. Zambia is proud of its people to people culture that is evident in our development spirit. It is therefore, only appropriate that the foundation of the African people’s parliament should be nourished here in Zambia.

On this note, I welcome the AU delegation as well as the African civil society community that are gathered here today to set in motion the process of establishing the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly. It is important that Zambian civil society should take up the challenge of effective representation in ECOSOCC as a mark of patriotism, duty and continental obligation. The challenge that faces our continent today is that of auto-centred development which requires a stakeholder society embracing all segments of the population.

The AU has created the institution of ECOSOCC as a people-oriented, people-centred and people-driven community in the African Union in which all stakeholders are effectively represented. It is therefore the entry point of a people-centred development. It is thus of concern that so far Zambia the cradle of civil society in our region and the continent at large, has not got sufficient eligible candidates for the elections. Our status is not well reflected in our conduct and embrace of obligations. This is a challenge that we must overcome and overcome effectively. I rely on your sense of duty and national and continental obligation to ensure that this is changed and changed immediately.

The Zambian civil society community has an obligation to do its duty and to put things right and thus to set the pace of our brother and sisters on the continent to follow. I urge you therefore, to listen to need the appeal of the African Union and then proceed to participate in the ECOSOCC election process with enthusiasm in a manner that will surpass all expectations. You also have the obligation to put our best organizations forward and seek effective and responsible leadership of the ECOSOCC Assembly.

Subsequently, ECOSOCC under such guidance must embrace the challenge of working with other stakeholders to promote security, development and co-operation on the continent. Our commitment to people-centred development must be interconnected at national, regional and continental levels. Civil Society must also watch itself and ensure that it takes on the mantle of leadership not just by criticism and adversarial altitudes but by embracing responsibility and showing dedication.

I urge all members of the African civil society community of Zambia to embrace this orientation here and now and work through ECOSOCC to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of our people and be able to represent them adequately.

On this note, I welcome AU colleagues once again to Zambia and wish you the very fruitful deliberations and stay in Zambia.

I thank you.

Statement of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to the Opening session of the “Believe in Africa Day”
Washington D.C., 3rd August 2014

 
Excellencies, Heads of State and Government;
My brother, Dr. Donald Kaberuka
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honored to speak on behalf of the AU Commission on the occasion of the “Believe in Africa Day”, and to exchange views about the future of Africa.

Our appreciation to Africa 24 TV and Believe In Africa (BIA) Group for their wonderful commitment to Africa’s agenda.
Ladies and Gentlemen
I hope we all believe in Africa. Let me tell a part of Africa’s story.
Africa is a large continent, and the map doesn’t always tell the full story. We can fit on its landmass Western Europe, China, the USA, India and there will still be space for Japan and a few other islands. Our oceanic space is even larger: three times the size of our landmass.
The African rainforests along its equator are the second lung of earth, second to the Amazon. We are well-endowed with both variety and abundance of living things; and is home to a quarter of the worlds 4,700 mammal species.
We have 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, its forest resources cover 23% of our land area and we have beneath our soil we have plenty of mineral resources (75% of global platinum deposits, 50% of diamonds, 50% of chromium and 20% of gold and uranium). Nearly one third of African countries are oil and gas producers .
Africa also represents the cradle of humankind. Today, population numbers over a billion, over 50% women, and just under 50% men. Over 60% of the African population is classified as young, and over the coming decades we will be the only region where the working age population is still growing. In 2012, sixteen African cities had a population of over three million, and this is likely to more than double to 34 cities by 2020.
We are a diverse people, with many languages, different religions and cultures but united in its diversity by history and heritage. We believe in Africa, because we freed ourselves from colonialism and apartheid, and have taken our place as full and independent members of the global community. It therefore can create a prosperous and peaceful continent.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Africa has taken its destiny in its own hands, and by the beginning of the 1990s as apartheid finally ended in Namibia and South Africa, the post-Cold War generations of African leaders and activists vowed to bring peace and democracy to the continent, when they transformed the OAU into the African Union.
Thus with a few exceptions most Africans live in countries that are at peace, democratic and are better governed than twenty years ago.
Human development indicators are moving in the right direction: between 1990 and 2012 Africa reduced under 5 child mortality by 55.4%; infant mortality rate by 37%; maternal deaths by 41% and HIV prevalence is down to 4.7%.
We are also making progress on gender equality, slow as it may be, and raising awareness on sexual violence and harmful cultural practices. There are more children, including girls, in school than at anytime during our history, and over the last fifteen years, enrolment in African universities have tripled, growing at an average of 16% a year.
On the economic front, there are also encouraging signs: sustained growth at 5% for over a decade; investments both public and private, as well as foreign direct investments are growing; intra-African trade, including in industrial goods, are growing especially in west, southern and eastern Africa. African investors nearly tripled their share of FDI projects over the last decade and FDI from other parts of the world has grown, and has been diversifying beyond the traditional OECD countries.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is all of the above factors, and more, which despite our many challenges, makes us believe in Africa. It forms the basis of our fifty-year vision Agenda 2063. The Africa we Want.
As we look at what we do today and the next fifty years, we are determined to silence the guns in the continent; to eradicate poverty in one generation; to eradicate hunger, fragility and disease; to transform our economies, create jobs, build shared prosperity; to preserve our environment and deal with the challenges of climate change, and to foster tolerant, inclusive, just, non-sexist and democratic societies.
This is the basis of our fifty-year vision and plan, Agenda 2063. The Africa we want, and our Common African Position on the post-2015 development agenda.
It is on the basis of these common positions, that Africa seeks partnerships with the world, based on its priorities. We are happy to be here at the invitation of President Obama, to take forward this partnership with the USA. We want our partners to work with us on our priorities, which include:
• Investments in people, our precious resource and a skills revolution to train hundreds of thousands of young Africans in science, technology, research and innovation, and other disciplines and professions;
• Grow agricultural production and agro-processing to eradicate hunger and malnutrition and to become a net exporter of food, by modernizing or agriculture, use of indigenous knowledge, to empower especially women and small holderfarmers, improve access to land, technology, extension services, markets and capital.
• Developing infrastructure, especially energy, transport and ICT, and using modern technology to leapfrog development and extend universal access;
• Develop manufacturing, beneficiation of its natural resources and the services sector, grow intra-Africa and global trade so as to create jobs and build shared prosperity. We want foreign direct investments to contribute towards this objective of industrialization and job creation in Africa.
• Empower Africa’s youth and women as key drivers for innovation and development.
• Improve developmental and accountable governance, and universal access to basic services such as health, sanitation and water, education, ICT and shelter.
• Integrate the continent through infrastructure, including transport and regional energy pools, as well as the Continental Free Trade Area, harmonization of policies, strong regional and continental institutions and free movement of people, goods and services
Central to African development, peace and prosperity is of course the participation of its women, especially in their economic empowerment. We know that investments in women have much broader impacts, leading to healthier and better educated children and more prosperous families and communities. The focus on women, is in addition to our traditional reliance on men, it is using not halve, but our full potential.
Within all of the above, the African people are most important. Our common norms of democracy, human rights, respect for the rule of law are therefore important, in order to foster the participation of our people at all levels.
We know Africa is rich, but we want African people to be rich as well.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
These priorities are critical to the social and economic transformation of Africa, to the building of a continent that is integrated, people-centred, prosperous, that is at peace with itself and takes it rightful place in the world.
Such an Africa is not only in the interests of current and future generations of Africans, but it is in the interest of the whole of humanity. A prosperous and peaceful Africa will mean greater prosperity and peace for all regions of the world. A prosperous Africa means an increase in global prosperity, markets, innovation and trade.
As we therefore gather this week, at the invitation of President Obama, to strengthen the relationship between Africa and the United States of America, it will be based on our understanding of our shared goals of peace, inclusion and common prosperity, we can indeed strengthen bonds and greater cooperation.
We look forward to the engagements and wish the Conference successful deliberations.