ARCHBISHOP MIGLIORE: PROGRESS AND SETBACKS OF AFRICA

VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 2004 (VIS) - Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in the plenary session of the 59th General Assembly dedicated to the analysis of the progress and the international support for NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) and for the initiative to stop malaria in the next decade in developing countries.

    In his speech the nuncio referred to "the duty of the international community, especially the more powerful countries, of redressing the economic imbalances that penalize Africa" and he recognized that the continent "is doing more and more, notwithstanding the many adversities it faces and the lack of means to overcome them."

    Afterward he spoke about the positive results obtained due to the cooperation of the United Nations and different African organizations, among them, the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS). "Management of conflicts in Western Africa also deserves special mention. The current trend in harmonizing international, regional and sub-regional levels is not only a measure of the success achieved by the members of the African Union; it is a success that contains valuable lessons for the solving of crises in other parts of the world and for the reform of the U.N. itself. … This management in solidarity of Africa's affairs by Africans will allow important advances in the provision of basic necessities - clean water, food, housing, access to health care and reduction in the spread of malaria and HIV.

    Without disregarding the progress made, such as the adoption of certain accords of the WTO (World Trade Organization) which reopened negotiations in Doha which keep in mind "the various difficulties expressed by African nations," the nuncio expressed regret that  "the recent Councils of Governors of the IMF and of the World Bank, as well as the meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the G-7 which preceded them, failed to agree on the total cancellation of debt of the 27 poorest countries. At least it can be said that consensus was reached for the first time in history on the necessity of eliminating such a debt."
DELSS/NEPAD/MIGLIORE:UN                    VIS 20041020 (370)