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Dear colleagues,
I had the pleasure to participate and represent the Secretary General at
the first African Parliamentarian Forum for NEPAD, held in Cotonou,
Benin, 8 and 9 October 2002.
Initiated by the President of the Benin National Assembly and opened by
President Mathieu Kerekou, more than 400 African parliamentarians and
representatives of the international community met and discussed NEPAD
and the contribution of Parliaments to the achievement of its
objectives.
In addition to providing substantive and logistical support to the
Forum, UNDP used this event as an opportunity to share our vision and
approach to NEPAD, as well as promote our programmes in the area of
parliamentary support and democratic governance.
Discussion panels of the Forum addressed the following issues: African
Parliaments and strategic options of NEPAD; Parliamentarian function and
good governance; Conditions conducive to private investment, access to
international markets; Gender, development and NEPAD; Follow-up
mechanisms of NEPAD by Parliamentarians.
The report of these panels will be posted on the website of the Dakar
SURF at: http://www.undp.org/surf-wa/
African Parliamentarians confirmed their commitment to the NEPAD
objectives and decided to establish a permanent Forum of African
Parliamentarians for NEPAD, while waiting for the establishment of a pan
African Parliament in the context of the African Union. This permanent
Forum will be used as a forum for discussion and debate for the
achievement of the objectives of the African Union and NEPAD, with a
strong reference to the Millennium Development Goals. An action plan has
been adopted including the establishment of a Follow up committee and
the creation of an e-network of Parliamentarians.
Kindly find here attached for your information the Final declaration of
the Forum, two documents prepared by UNDP as a substantive contribution
to the debates of the Forum on « Parliamentary Reform in Africa and the
World, latest trends » and « E-Parliament as a tool for fostering
Parliamentarians’ networks » and a fact sheet on UNDP support to
Parliaments in Africa. Also attached are copies of my statement (English
translation will be posted on the OA intranet as soon as available) as
well as a message of the Secretary General to the Forum, which I
delivered during the opening ceremony.
In addition to our substantive contribution to the Forum, UNDP also
organized with the Benin National Assembly a side event on 8 October on
the presentation of the 2002 Human Development Report including a debate
on « Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World ». The active
participation of many Parliamentarians led to a lively discussion.
Attached for your information is my statement at the side event (English
translation will be posted on the OA intranet as soon as available).
I wish to thank and congratulate our country office team and our
Resident Representative in Benin, as well as the BDP, SURF and COA team,
which all provided excellent support to the Forum.
I invite you to continue providing support to Parliaments and ensuring a
follow up to this important Forum within the framework of your
governance programmes and with the support of the BDP and SURF policy
specialists.
Regards,
Zephirin Diabre