DECISION ON AFRICA CONSENSUS STATEMENT TO THE UNITED NATIONS
CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (RIO +20)
Doc. Assembly/AU/10(XVIII)
The Assembly,
RECALLS its “Decision on Africa’s Preparations for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20): Common Positions and Strategies in the Face of the Challenge of Green Economy and International Governance of the “Environment” - Doc. Assembly/AU/381 (XVII);
TAKES NOTE of the Report presented by Africa’s Spokesperson and Political Coordinator for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio
+20), H.E. Denis Sassou N’guesso, President of the Republic of Congo;
RECOGNIZES that the theme of its Eighteenth Ordinary Session - “Boosting IntraAfrican Trade” - is closely linked to the two (2) themes of Rio+20, namely, the “Green Economy in the context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication” and “Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development”; and further RECOGNIZES the importance of working to make Rio+20 a success for Africa;
REAFFIRMS that the transition to the green and blue economies offer new prospects of speeding up Africa’s progress to sustainable development through economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction;
RECOGNIZES the need to strengthen the institutional framework for sustainable development and to promote a balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development, and REITERATES its Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.381 (XVII) which acknowledges that current institutional structures do not fully address Africa’s environmental, sustainable development and climate change needs, in the context of consideration of the institutional frameworks of sustainable development;
CALLS ON the international community, at Rio+20, to take into account the need to strengthen and consolidate the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and transform it into a specialized international environmental institution to be based in Nairobi, Kenya;
APPROVES Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20 adopted at the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference of the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 20 to 25 October 2011; COMMENDS the African Ministers and negotiators, the African Union Commission and the Conference of African Ministers of Environment (AMCEN) for the efforts invested in preparing and supporting the African Common Position on Rio+20, and URGES the African Group, including the Permanent Representatives of African countries in New York, to continue to speak with one
voice in the negotiations leading to the Rio+20 Conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012;
URGES the Rio+20 Conference to adopt concrete measures, together with appropriate implementation tools to speed up the achievement of the commitments made towards sustainable development, and ALSO URGES the international community to renew its efforts to beef up Official Development Assistance (ODA), grant debt relief, transfer green technology and promote equitable trade systems to help Africa to make sustainable development a reality;
REQUESTS the African Union Commission in collaboratin with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), , the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to engage in regular consultations in order to support African countries by providing them with necessary technical and financial assistance to enable them participate effectively in the Rio+20 negotiation process;
ALSO REQUESTS the African Union Commission, in collaboration with UNECA, AfDB, UNEP, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and other concerned partner organizations, to organise a training programme for the purpose of building the capacity of African negotiators in the Rio+20 process;
FURTHER REQUESTS Member States to be represented at Rio+20 at the highest level, and URGES the main groups and stakeholders, particularly the youth, women and the civil society to actively participate in the Rio+20 process working closely with African Governments, and to advance Africa’s sustainable development interests and priorities;
COMMENDS H.E. Denis Sassou N’Guesso, President of the Republic of Congo, in his capacity as Africa’s Spokesperson and Political Coordinator for Rio+20, and MANDATES him to consult with other States and regional groups such as the Group of 77 and China, the European Union, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), MERCOSUR, member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), South American countries, members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), the G8 and G20 in order to enlist their support for the Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20 and achieve the expected outcomes:
REQUESTS the Republic of Congo to work with the African Union Commission, UNECA and other partner organizations to prepare a report on implementation of this Decision and the outcomes of Rio+20 for presentation to the next Ordinary Session of the Assembly in June 2012.