Mr. President,
National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies are people's organisations. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) represents fifty-three of its African Societies out of 178 worldwide. In Africa alone two million of our active volunteers support the people affected by severe poverty, which we usually refer to as the most vulnerable. So we speak to you today with a voice and experience from the grassroots. As the economic "road map" of NEPAD is elaborate and detailed we will speak only to a limited number of the desired outcome of the plan.
The IFRC strongly supports NEPAD because the vulnerable in Africa need sustainable development. They need food on their tables, clean drinking water, and basic health care. African mothers desire to embrace a healthy child like any other mother in the world. Families want to work hard and earn a sustainable income to live on. There has been a tremendous lot of suffering in Africa from known causes such as disasters, conflict displacements, epidemics and pandemics as HIV/AIDS. Millions of people die every year from malnutrition in slow agonising deaths due to poverty. In a world searching for security it has become apparent that "human security" - in this context the right of each one of us to have basic necessities - is the only secure foundation on which to build. NEPAD commits to eradicate poverty and has outlined a reliable plan for action. It therefore deserves to be supported.
The IFRC warmly commends the efforts of the Japanese Government in organising the Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development. Our delegation has participated in the Conference itself, and at many of the preparatory stages. We have done so in the spirit of NEPAD, working through our African National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Africans have dreamt for democracy and good governance for a long time. They want their governments to be transparent and accountable to them, responding to their needs promptly. They want their governments to listen to them, to respond quickly to disasters affecting them, to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to provide them with basic health care including clean water and sanitation and take appropriate initiatives and guide them out of abject poverty. They want, just like any other people in the world, to be ruled by the will of the people and judge their governments on performance. NEPAD promotes democracy and good governance and commits to the implementation of the Millennium Goals. This has long been a focus of African Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, open and transparent governance enabling strong implementation of their development efforts
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Mr. President,
NEPAD and National Red Cross Red Crescent supported by IFRC have worked on similar challenges independently with little communication between them so far. This is not at all surprising. Both are guided by the needs of the people. Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers are part of the people. They volunteer within their respective communities. In addition, as auxiliary to public authorities National Red Cross Red Crescent closely associates themselves with Government policies that match the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
To illustrate what we mean we will take few quotations from "the immediate desired outcomes of NEPAD" (NEPAD in Brief) and relate them with the efforts of the Red Cross.
1) "Africa becomes more effective in conflict prevention and the establishment of enduring peace on the Continent". In pursuance of the promotion of our Fundamental Principles some National RC/RC Societies in Africa train youth leaders in peer education about resolution of differences through discussions. Mother clubs are encouraged to discuss the importance of peace and peaceful settlement of differences at home to influence children from childhood. In some countries artists are sponsored to promote peace through the work of art. Dissemination sessions of the Fundamental Principles of Red Cross/Red Crescent often speak to the subject of peace. During difficult times when all other organisations have departed, National Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers have protected children by the use of the emblem at the risk of their own lives.
2) "Africa adopts and implements principles of democracy and good political, economic and corporate governance". In addition to the global requirements of donor accountability the IFRC quite successfully promotes the principles of integrity, transparency and internal accountability in National Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies - governance being accountable to members and volunteers, and management to governance through a set of rules. Regular General Assemblies are held with elections of officers having limited terms of office. Annual plans and budgets are adhered to and annual external audits have been done etc. Already, seventy five to eighty percent of National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in Africa exercise democracy in every practical sense. The concepts work, perhaps especially because they are not new, and not at all alien to the volunteers at the base of the National Societies. This gives NEPAD experienced allies in the civil society, working consistently to promote democracy and good governance.
3) "Africa develops and implements effective poverty eradication programs" and "Genuine partnerships are established between Africa and the developed countries based on mutual respect and accountability". National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies from all African countries met in Ouagadougou in September 2000 and committed to two important priorities that would contribute to eradicating poverty. The first, responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic as an unprecedented humanitarian and development disaster in Africa, involved massively scaling up their response in terms of advocacy, prevention, care and mitigation. They called for a comprehensive and co-ordinated strategy from communities, governments, national and international organisations and the private sector for continent-wide support for awareness and prevention campaigns and access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The second, making food security a strategic priority for this decade, recognises that food insecurity is directly linked to a number of root causes, including poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the worsening debt crisis and armed conflict. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from the developed world, attending the same meeting as observers, made their own parallel commitment to respect and support the priorities established by the Africans themselves and work in partnership to fight the pandemic and food insecurity. This, in some senses, is a precursor for NEPAD.
The IFRC promotes such partnerships and co-ordinates their implementation. It represents National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies internationally and mobilises resources on their behalf. We are happy to report to you today that good progress has been recorded in implementing these priorities. Our Red Cross Red Crescent network reached one million Africans in its HIV/AIDS programs in 2002. The forecasts suggest that it will reach three million by the end of this year - without estimating the possible multiplier effect in families and communities. In related programs, Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers distributed insecticide-treated nets for malaria and carried out social mobilisation campaigns to help vaccinate over 12 million children in measles and polio in partnership with WHO and African Governments
Mr. President,
The ideas contained in NEPAD are noble - sustainable development, self-reliance and working in partnership. The road to development has never been easy in history. Capital formation or the accumulation of wealth requires restructuring the economy, which involves a lot of sacrifice from the people. The sacrifice could last indefinitely if the wealth so accumulated does not quickly regenerate the economy and create employment to mitigate the suffering. With HIV/AIDS, the spread of killer diseases such as malaria, the known cyclical disasters and the alarming level of poverty Africans can sacrifice no more without serious consequences. People have become so vulnerable that they cannot survive without the provision of basic services - daily food, clean drinking water, basic shelter and household energy. A strong Government partnership with civil society such as the Red Cross Red Crescent is essential if we are to stave off the sacrifices of development.
The IFRC and its member National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies exist in partnership with Governments. It is a partnership based on the Geneva Conventions, respect for the emblems and the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. It is also based on mutual co-operation and trust, consistent with the position of the National Societies as auxiliaries to public authorities at all levels in their respective countries. This aspect of the relationship, which includes a mutual commitment to dialogue and consultations on humanitarian affairs, will again be at centre stage in December this year when governments and their National Societies meet together in the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. At that meeting, which will also be attended by key African regional organisations along with the United Nations, the participants will agree upon overarching policies and directions to guide the work of the wider international community and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement on the modern humanitarian agenda. No other humanitarian forum exists with this breadth of membership and relationships.
In this spirit, the IFRC calls on African Governments and other partners to renew and consolidate their partnerships with their National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
• To ensure that health care and social welfare systems are enabled to meet the needs of the vulnerable;
• To stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and enable PLWHA access to the use of the drugs they need;
• To minimise the effects of disasters by adopting and implementing appropriate policies to invest in long-term food security strategies that reduce vulnerability.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, the Secretary General's report on the implementation of Millennium Declaration and the report of the Commission on Human Security in 2003 underscored the fact that Africa still faces serious problems such as hunger, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases and more. All the indicators continue to show that Africa is a continent where human security remains at an unacceptably low level. The third Tokyo International Conference placed great emphasis on the concept of human security and pledged to support the implementation of NEPAD by working together to address the challenges before us. As we said in Tokyo, the IFRC supports that emphasis, and the prioritisation it involves. We trust that governments, inspired by this message, will take the opportunity of the forthcoming International Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference in Geneva to make their own commitments to the same goals.