Africa, Asia-Pacific, Development & Aid, Europe, Headlines, Poverty & SDGs

DEVELOPMENT: Poor Nations Group Assesses Life at 30

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Jun 7 2005 (IPS) - As the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, it is also urging the developed world not to forget the challenges its members face.

The 79 members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states celebrated the 30th anniversary of the group’s creation Monday (Jun. 6) under the banner of cultural diversity and interaction between ACP countries, Europe and the rest of the world.

Sir John Kaputin who took over as secretary-general last month says the 30th anniversary marks an opportunity for the group to assess its years of cooperation with the European Union (EU) and for the organisation to raise its profile globally.

"In celebration of its 30 years of existence, the ACP group will organise a number of events throughout the month of June 2005 and beyond, designed to sensitise the public to the realities experienced by the populations of the member countries, their creativity and socio-economic potential, in collaboration with several institutional and cultural partners," he told IPS.

Kaputin says one of the greatest achievements of ACP-EU cooperation is that it has invented a new type of relations between rich and poor countries.

"Some 20 years of EU-ACP cooperation and consolidation of the solidarity among the ACP states have forged a solidarity which is impervious to any fragmentation of the ACP block or dissolution of the ACP entity," he said.

"This cooperation reposes on solidarity, partnership and commitment devoid of all political considerations that are likely to hamper bilateral relations," he added.

Kaputin adds that at the beginning of the 21st century, the ACP group is the largest regional grouping on the international scene, and is a force to be reckoned with in institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"In fact, over time, the group has expended its range of activities and fields of action beyond the framework of development cooperation with the EU, in partnership with international agencies and organisations such as the Commonwealth, the G-90 alliance (of developing countries) and United Nations agencies," he said.

However, Kaputin acknowledges that the achievements of the group have not been realised without a number of challenges.

"During the 30 years of our group, our states continue to face numerous development challenges, which are compounded with high poverty levels, epidemics such HIV/AIDS, conflict and natural disasters. These, as we are all aware, require the participation of all relevant stakeholders and development partners to chart out solutions, with the ultimate objective of improving the social and economic well being of our people in ACP states," he said.

While Kaputin insists that ACP states continue to work together to emerge as strong actors in the global economy, he adds that this can only be facilitated if there is a major investment in financial commitment and political will.

"The dynamic forces at play in the international arena, and the inevitable socio-economic challenges which will result from the current trend of globalisation require a dynamic and unified response. The group therefore needs to continue to reinforce its visibility at national, regional and international scenes, particularly at WTO and United Nations, among important global fora," he said.

"The intent therefore is to ensure that the design and implementation of development plans and programmes in our countries embraces a people-centred approach," he said.

The ACP was created Jun. 6, 1975 when 46 countries signed the Georgetown Agreement in Guyana, confirming their common identity founded on solidarity and the desire for economic and social development, in cooperation with the EU.

They later awarded the group a legal status by creating a permanent structure – the ACP Secretariat based in Brussels. Since then the group grown and now comprises 79 member states spread across three continents.

Since its foundation, the ACP group has been involved in special cooperation relations with the EU through unique partnership agreements – from the four successive Lomé Conventions which accorded non-reciprocal trade preferences to the ACP countries, to the most recent Cotonou Agreement which links the EU and 77 ACP countries.

The latest agreement signed in June 2000 in Cotonou in the West African country Benin is designed to fight poverty through political dialogue, development aid and closer economic and trade cooperation, and requires ACP countries enjoying special trading status with the EU to respect human rights and democratic principles. The agreement has to be reviewed every five years.

Kaputin says the Cotonou Agreement is an important success as far as the ACP group is concerned, but says it fails to meet all of the group’s demands.

A revision of the Cotonou Agreement will be signed by the ACP group and the EU member states in Luxembourg later this month.

Armando Guebuza, President of Mozambique and chairman-in-office of the fourth ACP summit of heads of state and government held in June last year says the ACP group should congratulate itself on the accomplishments made since 1975.

"The positive attributes of the group is evident in the increase in the membership over the past three decades, which now stands at 79. Membership of the ACP group continues to be a shining example of solidarity among developing countries," he said in a statement Monday.

But he warned of the challenges facing developing countries and insisted that the conference on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York in September must provide "more focus and urgency to the attainment of development priorities." He also urged world leaders to honour their commitments to provide official development aid (ODA) up to the promised level of 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI).

"The old debate about democracy and development, and in particular the issue as to which should precede the other, has given rise to a general trend towards the reinforcement of the former at the expense of the latter," he said.

Guebuza also warned that while there was "just cause" for the ACP to be in a celebratory mood on its anniversary, countries must gear themselves up to face the ever increasing development challenges such as global warming and AIDS that the ACP group face.

"We are steadfast in the knowledge that the ACP group remains a cohesive force and that the enduring partnership with the European Community and our other development partners provides us with the modalities to search for collective solutions to the challenges ahead," he said.