FORUM OF AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR NEPAD

8 - 9 October 2002

Cotonou - BENIN

DRAFT OF THE ACTION PLANS

We African Parliamentarians for NEPAD, in the spirit and letter of the Protocol of the Treaty instituting the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament.

Having decided to recommend to our Parliaments the following plans of action, in order to attain the objectives stated in our final declaration which constitutes a substantial contribution to the ownership of the New Partnership for African Development - NEPAD, through the African Parliamentarians and by means of our continental network dubbed “FORUM OF AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR NEPAD”.

The FORUM creates a follow-up Committee made up of the following:

It is with understanding that, when the Pan-African Parliament envisaged in the constitutive Act of the African Union is convened, the PAF, will consider its own structures, including how best to process mattes relating to NEPAD. For this purpose, we recommend that African Parliament consider this Forum as a tool for African parliament to follow-up on NEPAD.

• Presidents
• Vice-Presidents
• Southern Africa - 2 members
• Central Africa - 2 members
• East Africa and Indian Ocean - 2 members
• North Africa - 2 members
• West Africa - 2 members
• Pan-African Parliament - 1 member
• General Rapporteurs
• The Speakers of the Regional Parliaments
• General Secretariat

The creation of a structure by the President, under his supervision, which will be in charge of the General Co-ordination, the management and follow-up of action Plans as well as any other activity decided by the President, the Executive and the Forum. This General Co-ordination Secretariat shall be operational before the 31^st December 2002.

Phase I

Creation of networks of National Parliaments.

Phase II

Creation of networks within the Regional Parliaments. To achieve these, we mandate the President of the FORUM to establish in conjunction with National and Regional Parliaments, the design of a time frame extending between November 2002 and November 2003:

the creation of each national or regional network must reflect a national or regional programming in order to promote the emergence of a vast movement for the mobilisation and sensitisation of public opinion;

this programming requires the active participation of the “Sherpas” or “Special Counsellors” of the five (05) Heads of State, Co-ordinators of the NEPAD programmes as well as the NEPAD Secretariat;

• ALGERIA - Human Development
• EGYPT - Market access and Diversification of products
• NIGERIA - Good Economic Governance and capital inflows
• SENEGAL - Infrastructure, Environment, ICT, Energy
• SOUTH AFRICA - Political Good Governance, peace, security, democracy
• Secretariat NEPAD

Each Sherpa shall be invited to make a presentation on NEPAD during conferences, seminars or colloquiums organised on the occasion of the solemn launching of these networks;

• the creation of an INTERNET network of African Parliaments for NEPAD.
• dissemination of information on the Internet and news concerning the members of the network.
• dissemination of international information on NEPAD through the internet.
• the participation and the monitoring of information by the Parliamentarians.

ACP-EU negotiations aimed at new economic partnership agreements that must centre on the two-pronged strategy of NEPAD: regions considered as basic operating environments and having recourse to massive investments, in line with the declaration of Heads of State and Government adopted by the African Union Conference held in Durban, South Africa on 9- 10 July, 2002.

the work of the Joint ACP-EU Assembly

the work of the European Parliament geared towards the development of Africa, and even NEPAD;

the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

The work of the International Association of Francophone Parliamentarians (AIPF);

the work and sessions of Parliaments and international institutions working on NEPAD and cross-disciplinary subjects;

the work of the United Nations System, in particular the UNDP relating to good governance and the strengthening of parliamentary institutions.

The President of the Forum will undertake missions to the Heads of State and Government, members of the Steering Committee and the President of the African Union:

•          ALGERIA
•          NIGERIA
•          SENEGAL
•          SOUTH AFRICA

And to the members of the Implementation Committee of NEPAD (5 + 15). If necessary, the President of the FORUM could call one or two Vice-Presidents or general rapporteur to accompany him. If the circumstances so require, he shall also delegate a certain mission to one of the Vice-Presidents or the general rapporteur.

The President shall organise seminars, colloquiums, thematic days (the child, women, …) or other activities in co-operation with the specialised institutions of the United Nations, particularly the UNDP, the European Union, the USAID and other institutions and in concert with Civil Society, NGOs, Labour Organisations, jointly facilitated by both the “Sherpas” of the member states of the Steering Committee or by members of the Implementation Committee as well as by the “Partner Sherpas”.

We mandate President of the FORUM to look for assistance, support, intellectual, technical and financial support from the African, European states, from the Near and Middle Eastern, America (North and South), Asian, Pacific states, Regional and International Institutions in particular the United Nations - the UNDP and the European Union to ensure an efficient institution, management and monitoring:

• of the FORUM
• of the regional and national networks
• of the General Secretariat of national, regional networks (human resources and management of the action plan) in close co-operation with the NEPAD Secretariat
• of the Internet information dissemination and inter-parliamentary exchange mechanism
• of sensitisation actions carried out by Civil Society with four priorities: gender, child, health and education;
• of brainstorming, discussions and parliamentary observatory on political and economic good governance
• attendance to international conferences, various missions so as to establish partnership frameworks with other Parliaments and institutions on NEPAD;
• organisation of meetings, seminars and/or public events with the aim of sensitising public opinion;
• missions of the 5 Sherpas of the Steering Committee + the NEPAD Secretariat in the framework of the programme of the FORUM of African Parliamentarians for NEPAD;
• consultations of one or other members of the international scientific committee;
• organisation of the meeting of members of the monitoring committee of the Permanent Commission, in June 2003, in order to examine:
• the first implementation reports of the Action Plan presented by the President
• any proposal capable of injecting dynamism and performance to the function of the FORUM.
• organisation of the 2^nd FORUM:

subject:

• evaluation of the implementation of the mandate of interim president;
• debate on the theme:
• interaction between good political governance and good economic governance in the framework of a regional space;
• the contribution of Europe in the regional integration of Africa;
• any proposal or action deemed indispensable by the President, or by one of the members of the FORUM, aimed at increasing the value of the political dimension and the positive image of the FORUM.

In the light of the meeting of the Bureau in June 2003, the President will keep the members of the Bureau periodically informed of the state of the progress of the implementation of the current action plan in order to preserve the democratic spirit of transparency and collegial structure which mainly characterise a parliament worthy of the name.

Let us remember with satisfaction that the 1^st FORUM of African Parliamentarians for NEPAD was able to organise its first session through extraordinary contributions from:

•          Benin
•          Nigeria
•          Denmark
•          Italy
•          France
•          European Union
•          The International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF)
•          UNDP
•          USAID
•          The African Development Bank
•          The West African Bank

The African Parliamentarians wish to express their most profound gratitude to all the above.

Let us launchan appeal to friendly Parliaments, States, regional and international institutions especially those mentioned above as well as to the member states of the European Union, the Middle East for them to continue to support this new parliamentary instrument: the FORUM  of Africa Parliamentarians for NEPAD, open to debates, committed to values and actions contained in the (NEPAD) programme for African renaissance.

Our determination to intensify, consolidate and continue this new concept of “GOOD PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNANCE OF NEPAD” is inscribed in the logic of peace, democracy, respect for Human Rights, or better still, in good political and economic governance and this in the spirit and letter of the COTONOU DECLARATION stemming from:

-the protocol to the treaty instituting the African Economic Community relative to the Pan-African Parliament and particularly;

-the DURBAN Declaration of Heads of State and government on the implementation of NEPAD;

We also urge African Parliaments which have not yet done so to ratify the protocol on the Pan-African Parliament to facilitate the convening of the PAP as soon as possible.

Prepared in Cotonou,

On …………………..