17 Oct 2012

UN / AFRICA

Speaking at a General Assembly (GA) meeting on the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, GA President Vuk Jeremić said that "encouraging trends’ are being seen in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, and elsewhere in the continent, but "the grave security and humanitarian situation" in the Sahel is "alarming" and requires "urgent attention." UNTV

Posted at: October 17, 2012 4:35 pm

Duration: 02:18

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / AFRICA
    TRT: 2.18
    SOURCE: UNTV
    RESTRICTIONS: NONE
    LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

17 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Zoom in, General Assembly
    3. Med shot, Tanzania delegation
    4. SOUNDBITE (English) Vuk Jeremić, President of the United Nations General Assembly:
    "Africa is a place of enormous potential and endurance. It has shown great determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including centuries of exploitation unique in the annals of human history."
    5. Med shot, delegate
    6. SOUNDBITE (English) Vuk Jeremić, President of the United Nations General Assembly:
    "Somalia's eight year transition came to an end with the election of Professor Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud as President, opening a new phase of peacebuilding in the country. Sudan and South Sudan are negotiating a series of agreements to fully normalize their relations. These are two encouraging trends and thankfully there are many more. Yet the grave security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel remains truly alarming. I believe it requires our urgent attention."
    7. Med shot, Niger delegation
    8. SOUNDBITE (English) Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs of India:
    "India is today on the path of rapid economic growth. Africa is also witnessing a phase of robust resurgence. Some of the world's fastest growing economies are in Africa. Africa is also blessed with a young and dynamic population. We have therefore together with our African friends transformed our age old and traditional bond into an enduring and multi-dimensional relationship."
    9. Med shot, Congo delegation
    10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tommo Monthe, Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations:
    "The progress made by the African countries in agriculture, infrastructure, information and communication technology, and governance, show that Africa is rising to the challenge and meeting its share of the bargain. However owing to resource gap and capacity constraints, international support should be intensified to complement Africa's own efforts."
    11. Med shot, Luxemburg delegation
    12. Wide shot, Monthe walks away from the podium

STORYLINE:

The United Nations system and African countries must strengthen their partnership to advance the continent's economic growth, development and participation in the global economy, the President of the General Assembly said today (17 October).

President Vuk Jeremić, in his opening remarks to the Assembly's discussion of the world body's engagement with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), said that "Africa is a place of enormous potential and endurance" which has "shown great determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including centuries of exploitation unique in the annals of human history."

Jeremić pointed out that "encouraging trends" are being seen in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, as well as in other parts of the continent.

However, he expressed concern at "the grave security and humanitarian situation" in the Sahel. The GA president said the conditions in the region were "truly alarming" and will require "urgent attention" from the international community.

The Sahel region, which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and includes Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and parts of Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria, is currently facing a swathe of problems, which are not only political but also involve security, humanitarian resilience and human rights.

In addition to political instability in Mali, the region suffers from extreme poverty, with human development levels among the lowest in the world, porous borders that present significant security challenges, as well as human rights problems.

Also addressing the meeting, Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs of India highlighted the historic bonds between her country and Africa.

Kaur said that, much like India, "Africa is also witnessing a phase of robust resurgence." She noted that "some of the world's fastest growing economies are in Africa."

Ambassador Tommo Monthe of Cameroon said "the progress made by the African countries in agriculture, infrastructure, information and communication technology, and governance, show that Africa is rising to the challenge and meeting its share of the bargain."

However, he added, "owing to resource gap and capacity constraints, international support should be intensified to complement Africa's own efforts."

In a report on NEPAD, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that African countries have made good progress in the implementation of NEPAD sectoral priorities, in particular in the areas of governance, infrastructure, information and communications technology and agriculture, while progress has been made by the international community in providing debt relief, official development assistance and aid for trade.

As the second decade of NEPAD begins, African countries and the international community, including the United Nations, should strengthen their partnership for development on the basis of mutual responsibility and accountability, the Secretary-General said.

The NEPAD initiative of the African Union (AU) was adopted in 2001, with the continent's leaders pledging to pursue new priorities and approaches for the political and socio-economic transformation of Africa. The programme is intended to accelerate Africans' efforts to extricate the continent from underdevelopment and exclusion from the global economy.