Summary: May 29, 2001: Open-Ended Ad Hoc Working Group on the causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa. Statement by Ambassador Per Norström, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden on behalf of the European Union (New York)
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European Countries associated with the European Union Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, and the associated countries Cyprus and Malta as well as the EFTA country member of the EEA Lichtenstein align themselves with this statement.
Mr. Chairman,
At the outset, the European Union would like to thank the Panel for its important contribution to the debate on education in Africa. We also appreciate the important initiative to hold an informal NGO session on this issue.
As noted by the Secretary General, the investment in human capital is of major importance to the promotion of peace and sustainable development in Africa. The European Union therefore welcomes the particular emphasis put on education in this session. Later this week, we would like to comment on the broader issues of conflict prevention and peace-building in Africa. Today, we will focus our remarks on how the European Union views the role of education in that context.
Mr. Chairman,
Basic education is a human right. The European Union believes that education and training are key to a society´s development and its fight against poverty. It is a precondition to the success of democracy and good governance, and it is crucial to progress in other related fields, such as health, gender equality and social welfare. Hence, education plays a fundamental role not only in poverty reduction but also in the promotion of human rights and the prevention of conflicts.
The European Union is firmly committed to the goals agreed at the UN Education for All Conference in Dakar last year to, inter alia, ensure access to primary education for all by 2015; to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005; and to achieve gender equality in education by 2015. These goals were reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration and also at the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC) in Brussels last week. The EU looks to all partners,
including the different UN bodies and agencies, to take the necessary steps to contribute to the implementation of these goals. The Girls Education Initiative, launched by the Secretary General at Dakar, is a major contribution in this respect.
However, in many African countries economic and demographic trends have seriously undermined education systems. The education sector, especially in the least developed countries, continues to be severely underfunded in the national budgets and the trend towards providing universal primary education has in many cases been reversed. Basic education is clearly the most pressing need, since Africa is the continent the furthest away from meeting the Education for All Targets.
HIV/AIDS casts a particularly dark shadow over much of Africa, and poses one of the main threats to ensuring access to education. Given that 70 percent of the infected people live in Sub-Saharan Africa, this question is of crucial importance. In some countries, the number of newly graduated teachers is lower than the number of teachers dying from HIV/AIDS. As a result, education systems are harmed at all levels, children are being used as labour and caretakers, and overall economies are set
back. Conversely, education is a cornerstone in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and in improving health and life expectancy. The EU is focussing on these issues in the UNGASS negotiations on HIV/AIDS.
Against this background, the European Union has in recent years also increased its financial support to education and training in Africa considerably. The total amount of bilateral development co-operation funds committed to education by EU member states to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa currently amounts to more than 500 million Euro. In addition, under the implementation of the Lomé Conventions, the European Community currently commits approximately 600 million Euro to educational projects
in Africa.
Mr. Chairman,
The EU views support for the social sectors as an integral part of its overall development policy. The Cotonou Agreement, signed between the EU and the ACP countries in June 2000, contains provisions to ensure the success of such a comprehensive approach.
A key principle in EU policy is that development strategies should be fully owned by the governments and civil society of the countries concerned. There must be a commitment to good governance and an enabling domestic environment. The EU is committed to play its part, but external assistance cannot be a substitute for good national policies. We encourage donors and recipient countries to fully implement the 20/20 initiative to ensure universal access to basic social services, including
education. In this context, the EU welcomes the recommendation of the Secretary General that African countries should also seek to increase their own investment in human resources.
The European Union will focus efforts on the following key areas: Access to primary and secondary education; job-related vocational training; and higher education. As agreed at the LDC conference last week, a core element in this process will be to strengthen national plans of action for education and providing support for institutional-capacity building in the countries concerned. The EU programmes will be co-ordinated with other major actors involved in education, such as the UN and the World
Bank.
Improving education for girls and women has proved to be an essential element in enhancing a country´s human potential, and achieving gender equality. The EU is concerned that women tend to be underrepresented in the education systems of many African countries. In its efforts to promote universal primary education, the EU gives particular priority to education for women.
Furthermore, education can offer a sense of normalcy for children, and is one of the best ways of ensuring the well-being of children in armed conflict and unrest. Education should therefore be a key component of humanitarian assistance and a priority throughout the rehabilitation process. The lack of educational opportunities can also increase the vulnerability of children to military recruitment and sexual exploitation. At the UNGASS on Children in September we should seek to take concrete
and practical steps to fulfil the right to education for all children.
While recognising the urgency of meeting immediate needs through short-term training and the key role of primary education in poverty reduction and development, there is also a need to explore ways of ensuring the availability in Africa of higher education. Data by the World Bank and UNESCO suggest that returns on investment in higher education are increasing, also in developing countries.
In this context, the European Union would like to underline the importance of ensuring an enhanced African access to new information and communication technology (ICT) as a leveraging factor, especially in education, to complement programs for poverty reduction and sustainable development. We look forward to the substantial contribution that the new UN ICT Task Force will provide to spearhead these efforts. For its part, the EU has pledged its willingness to participate in a World Bank
initiative to use information technology for delivering university courses to African students. The African Virtual University has currently established 25 learning centres in 15 African countries, enrolling some 15 000 students. The ECOSOC High Level Segment on Africa in July will, among other things, address the links between ICT and higher education in Africa. The EU looks forward to that discussion.
Mr. Chairman,
As stated above, the EU emphasises the need to view education as an integral part of the overall issue of development and peace in Africa. The working group´s discussions on this topic is not only an important part of monitoring of the implemention of the specific recommendations of the Secretary General. It is also as a very timely part of our preparations for the ECOSOC High Level Segment in July.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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