ENB @ WSSD African Regional Preparatory Meeting, 15-18 October 2001, Nairobi, Kenya

The World Summit on Sustainable Development
African Preparatory Meeting
15 - 18 October 2001 Nairobi, Kenya

Web Archive:

| Mon 15 | Tue 16 | Wed 17 | Thu 18 |

Update for Wednesday, 17 October 2001

MINISTERIAL SEGMENT:

An Opening Ceremony marked the start of the Ministers' work during which they considered: organizational matters, heard presentations on Africa's preparations for the WSSD and from other stakeholders, reviewed the newly drafted Ministerial Statement and considered the way forward and plan of Action.

ENB
Final Summary

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	OPENING CEREMONY:
	S.K. Walubita, Zambia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, current Chair of the OAU called the meeting to order at 11:30 am., welcoming ministers and expressing hope for a fruitful meeting. to follow

	Charles Arap Kirui (left), Assistant Minister of Finance (Kenya), extended a warm welcome to the high level session attendees. He reviewed the history leading to and goals of this meeting, urging delegates to negotiate for increased attention for Africa in implementation of Agenda 21, and noted accomplishments such as the preparation of National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs) and other visionary documents and the need to concentrate on their implementation. to follow

	UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer (left) expressed gratitude at the participation of Ministers from the environment, economic development and planning, and foreign affairs sectors, noting that it enhances integration and broad-based participation. He said the Summit agenda should address: poverty; improving targets both quantitatively and qualitatively; the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the New African Initiative; and development of the Convention on Desertification so that it is on par with that of Climate. to follow

	UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Africa Bureau, Abdoulie Janneh (left), said that the international community has reached a consensus on sustainable development as the agenda for the future, and said the human being should be made central to sustainable development, noting the New Africa Initiative and the Johannesburg Summit's as offering this potential. to follow

	Josue Dione (right), Director for Security and Sustainable Development Commission, on behalf of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, noted that the global community has failed to hear the warnings of Rio, having reacted with an adequacy of words, but inadequacy of actions. to follow

	Mr. Andrey Vasilyev, Representative of UNDESA, on behalf of Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai, expressed hope that the Johannesburg Summit would result in stronger world solidarity to make the life of African people more prosperous, sustainable and secure and would be successful in operationalizing sustainable development, dealing with the challenges of globalization, and increasing financial resources to implement sustainable development. to follow

	The Director of the East Region of the African Development Bank, Allan Mtegha (left) noted the prevalence of poverty and highlighted some of its causes; recognized achievements in regard to human rights, development of legislation and institutional frameworks, and integration of environment in national and development strategies; highlighted the Bank's efforts toward the realization of sustainable development; and outlined new threats, particularly HIV/AIDS and key constraints to sustainable development.

	ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS:
	Chair Walubita said in keeping with the decision taken during the technical segments, the Bureau would comprise of the same countries appointed on Monday, 15 October, namely, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, as well as Cote d'Ivoire, Tunisia and Rwanda, as Rapporteur. He also presented the two-day provisional agenda, which was adopted without objection.

		Laurraine Lotter (left), on behalf of Industry, presented the outcomes of their parallel meeting held on 15 October, noting industry's commitment to work with government. She said the actions needed to reduce marginalization include: ensuring peace and security; building partnerships between government and other stakeholders; and managing the opportunity and threats of globalization to follow
		Mark Moody-Stuart (left) of the Business Action For Sustainable Development highlighted outputs of a meeting held in Paris at which African partners attended to review progress made by business since Rio.




	OVERVIEW OF AFRICA'S WSSD PREPARATORY PROCESS:
	Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa (South Africa) made a presentation on South Africa's view on a strategy of sustainable development. He recalled and assessed the legacy of Rio and noting that the New Africa Initiative is the delivery model for Africa, summed up the three key WSSD issues: poverty as the greatest 21^st Century threat; the need to change the terms of trade, investment and provide debt relief; and the need for partnerships.
	to follow He also highlighted the targets for the Summit; relevant forthcoming meetings; and some of the key issues to be addressed on the economic, environment and social spheres, terming prosperity, Planet and People as the complementary terms that best capture sustainable development.



	PLENARY:
	The committee drafting the Ministerial Statement concluded its work on Wednesday, 17 October at 6:30 pm after three days of marathon work. The group completed the discussion of governance and Johannesburg outcomes, and submitted its report to an evening Plenary, which adopted it with minor amendments. Right photo: The dias during the evening plenary session.



	PHOTOS from the RECEPTION:

		Above photos: Delegates were treated to a cocktail reception hosted by Klaus Töpfer, UNEP Executive Director (left)


		Above photos: Delegates were entertained by African traditional music and dance. Barbecue chefs from the Tamarind (left) catered the food for the event.


	Background on the meeting: African Regional Preparatory Process Africa Regional Round Table UNECE Region's website for the WSSD Introduction to Johannesburg Summit 2002 Linkage's Portal to the Johannesburg Summit 2002 ENB's coverage of the First Preparatory Session of the World Summit on Sustainable Development ENB's coverage of the UNECE Regional Ministerial Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development
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