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DRAFTSUMMARY RECORD OF THE 62nd SESSIONOF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS HELD ON 1st, 2nd AND 5thNOVEMBER 1995IN PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUSACP/25/006/96 Port-Louis, 2 November 1995 AMS/sac |
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The opening ceremony was marked by interventions by the Honorable Dr. P. NABABSING, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Planning and Development and the Rt. Honorable Sir ANEROOD JUGNAUTH, Prime Minister of Mauritius. The text of the Prime Minister's intervention is attached as an annex.
Making his opening speech, the President of Council thanked, on behalf of Council, the authorities of Mauritius not only for their appreciable contribution to the Lomé Convention but also for the especially warm welcome extended to all delegates.
With respect to the mid-term review, the President commended the ACP delegates who participated in June 1995 in the special session of the ACP-EU Council which concluded the negotiations. He expressed the hope that all those who contributed to the collective ACP endeavours that culminated in the conclusion of the review but who, for various reasons, could not be able to be at the signing ceremony, would be remembered. In that regard, he made mention of the late Deputy Minister of Finance of Uganda, Mr. KAFUMBE-MUKASA, who passed away in 1994 whilst he was still an ACP ministerial spokesman.
Pursuing his intervention, the President observed that, with the conclusion of the mid-term review and with many new provisions in prospect in the revised Convention, the ACP Group should turn its attention to the areas identified hereunder with a view to implementing the Convention in closer conformity with the Group's objectives:
- the consultation mechanism required by the suspension clause associated with Article 5 and human rights abuses;
- adoption of measures to mitigate the adverse impact of the Uruguay Round on ACP trade;
- examination of the utility of the regional development of trade and services programme;
- the identification of means of exploiting the opportunities offered by the establishment of the single market in bananas in an enlarged EU;
- securing the inclusion of squash pumpkins on the list of products covered by STABEX;
- addressing resolutely the question of enhanced PMDT and regional cooperation.
At the political level, the President recalled that some ACP States continued to be plagued by destabilizing influences with consequential negative impact on the quality of life of some of the citizens. He urged Ministers to exercise their minds in relation to that problem in a search for fashioning a special window or instrument to meet the challenges posed by the effects of economic, political and social dislocation.
Finally, the President urged delegations
to do their utmost to ensure that the issue of the election of a Secretary
General was resolved in a spirit of cooperation and understanding.
Council considered and adopted the draft agenda as set out in document ACP/25/010/95 Rev.2.
2. Communication from the President
The President communicated the following items:
(i) Demise of Dr. Kenneth DADZIE, former Secretary General of UNCTAD;
The President regretfully announced the passing away of the former Secretary General of UNCTAD, Dr. Kenneth DADZIE, while serving as Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Dr. Dadzie contributed a great deal to the welfare of the ACP Group during his term of office as Secretary General of UNCTAD
(ii) The demise of Mr. T. KONATE, First Secretary General of the ACP Group:
The President also announced, with profound regret, the untimely and tragic death of Mr. Tieoulé KONATE, the first Secretary General of the ACP Group. The sad event occurred on Friday 27 October 1995 in a road accident in his country, Mali.
Mr. Konaté who was, inter-alia, Minister of Finance before joining the ACP Secretariat, served as Secretary General of the ACP Group from 1976 to 1980, a period during which he helped consolidate the ACP Group. He retired 18 months ago from his post of Director of Technical Cooperation Division in the GATT to devote his life to national politics at the head of one of Mali's political parties.
Council paid tribute to the late Mr Konaté and observed a minute silence in his memory.
(iii) Request by the Republic of Marshall Islands to accede to the Fourth ACP-EC Lomé Convention:
On 18th April 1995, H.E. Mr. Laurence N. Edwards, Ambassador of the Republic of Marshall Islands to the UN submitted to the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers his country's request for observer status and accession to the Fourth ACP-EC Convention.
At the 42nd meeting of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors held in Brussels on 16th October 1995, the EU representative indicated that the EU would not be willing to consider the accession of the Marshall Islands before the year 2000. Consequently the EU was not in a position to grant that country's representatives observer status at the joint Council Sessions in Mauritius.
The Pacific region therefore proposed the withdrawal of the item from the agenda of the joint Council.
In view of the above, the ACP Council of Ministers granted Marshall Islands observer status to only its sessions in Mauritius as recommended by its Bureau. It accepted the proposal to withdraw the request by the Marshall Islands from the agenda of the ACP-EU Council session.
(iv) Lunch for the outgoing and incoming Ministerial Bureaux:
The President informed members of the outgoing and incoming Bureaux that they were cordially invited to a working lunch on Thursday 2nd November 1995 at 1 p.m. in the INDRA restaurant at Domaine les Pailles. Members were urged to attend in order to take advantage of the occasion to exchange views on issues to be handed over to the incoming Bureau.
(v) Difficulties encountered during the transport of documents from Brussels to Mauritius:
The Secretariat, as well as some delegations had difficulty with regard to the transport of their luggage between Brussels, London and Mauritius, so some documents had not been circulated to delegations. The luggage in question had arrived and it was hoped that the problems had been resolved.
3. Appointment of a Rapporteur and Friends of the Rapporteur
In accordance with the rules governing the choice of a Rapporteur when a Council session is held in an ACP State, the host country - in this case Mauritius - was appointed Rapporteur.
The countries listed below were designated by their regions to serve as friends of the Rapporteur:
Central Africa : GABON
Southern Africa : BOTSWANA
West Africa : SENEGAL
Caribbean : SURINAME
Pacific : WESTERN SAMOA
4. Approval of the draft summary record of the 61st session held in Brussels from 29th to 31st May 1995 (ACP/25/020/95)
Presenting the draft summary record captioned above on behalf of the Minister, H.E. Dr. Peter G. ROBLEH, Ambassador of Ethiopia, thanked the Friends of the Rapporteur for their assistance in finalizing the records of the 61st Council session. He also complimented the Secretariat for providing the first draft of the text. The Rapporteur commended the draft summary record for approval by Council.
Council considered and adopted
the draft summary record of its 61st session and commended the Rapporteur
and his Friends for accomplishing a good job.
5. Consideration of the Committee of Ambassadors' activity report [ACP/26/091/95 Rev. 2 Vol. I & II]
Following the presentation of the
activity report by the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors, H.E. Mr.
J.P. TSIAMALILI, Ambassador of Papua New Guinea, Council discussed the
following matters:
In view of the need to prevent a reduction in the activities of the Center between the signing of the Financial Protocol and the year 2000, Council agreed to support the 1996 budget estimates of the CDI and measures aimed at seeking additional resources.
SYSMIN AND MINING DEVELOPMENT:
The Head of the Nigerian delegation
indicated that his country was pleased to host the seminar on Sysmin and
he requested the Secretariat to advise the Government of Nigeria on its
role and that of the Secretariat in the organization of the Seminar.
Article 33 and Annex VIII of Protocol 1
Council noted that the EC Regulation No3576/92 of 7/12/92 - JOL 364 of 12/12/92 relating to the rules of origin for petroleum products had created a problematic situation. Therefore it mandated the Committee of Ambassadors to take the necessary decisions regarding the updating of Article 33 and Annex VIII of Protocol 1 in the light of the new situation. It further requested the Ambassadors to seek to correct, among others, the nomenclature [boxes 9 and 12 of the information form].
Finally, Council instructed the Customs Cooperation Committee to implement the new provisions pertaining to the composition and operating procedures of the Committee.
STABEX
Council expressed continued support
for the request by the Kingdom of Tonga for the inclusion of squash pumpkins
in the Stabex list.
(i) External Auditor's report on the 1994 accounts:
Council considered and approved the 1994 audit report [ACP/45/031/95] and the Secretariat's observations [ACP/45/030/95] and it gave discharge to the authorizing officer.
(ii) Choice of External Auditor:
Council endorsed the recommendation by the Committee of Ambassadors to appoint DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU to audit the Secretariat's accounts for the 1995 financial year.
(iii) Financial Controller's report:
After it had examined the annual report submitted by the Financial Controller and the Secretariat's observation thereon [respectively ACP/45/026/95 and ACP/41/157/95], Council adopted the following conclusions and recommendations:
- Sanctions should be strictly applied, in accordance with the Financial Regulations, against defaulting states;
- the Secretary General should submit half-yearly reports on the organisation and functioning of the Secretariat as provided by Article 74 of the Staff Regulations;
- there should be moderation in the number of participants in external meetings having financial implications and written mission reports should be submitted by staff on their return;
- there should be a staff development programme;
- the Secretariat should review the rule regarding salary advance so as to make it exceptional and grant it not more than once in a year for an individual staff member, and finally;
- when contracts of employment are offered, they should indicate the gross salary and payment of the internal tax as approved by Council.
(iv) Financial Position of the Secretariat:
Council expressed concern regarding the huge arrears of contributions which represent 141% of the total annual contribution for 1995. Consequently, it:
- appealed to the countries in arrears to acquit themselves of their obligations to the ACP Secretariat's budget; and
- instructed the Committee of Ambassadors to continue applying sanctions (see iii above) against defaulting States.
(v) Use of the Reserve Fund:
During the year, four activities had necessitated the use of the Reserve Fund beyond the 1% of the total current budget (that is BF2.5 million), authorized by Article 7(4) of the Financial Regulations. Those activities included:
a) Implementation of Council's decision:
- No. 11/LIX/94 re. Home Leave entitlements : BF2,100,000
- No. 12/LIX/94 re. Tuition fees: BF600,000
- No. 1/LIX/95 re. Lobbyist : BF375,000
b) Participation of Secretariat Staff in Council's meetings in Mauritius, November 1995 (not provided for in 1995 budget) BF2,819,000.
The above expenses being exceptional and unavoidable, Council gave its endorsement.
(vi) Situation of Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia:
LIBERIA and RWANDA : After hearing an oral report on the situation in each of these two countries by the respective Heads of delegation, Council agreed to exempt both countries from the payment of contribution to the 1996 budget of the Secretariat and from the application of sanctions.
Somalia: The situation of Somalia being precarious and there being no government, Council exempted that country from the payment of contributions to the 1996 budget and from the application of sanctions.
(vii) Ethiopia's contribution to the 1995 budget:
Taking the floor on the level of his country's contribution to the budget of the Secretariat, the Head of delegation of Ethiopia indicated that with the independence of Eritrea which used to be part of Ethiopia, the level of contribution of the latter should be correspondingly reduced. His country was not calling for a review of the scale of contributions. The object of his country's request was to raise a point of principle. However, if the review of the scale of contribution would address that issue, Ethiopia could go with the Ambassadors' recommendation.
For his part, the Secretary General a.i. indicated that it was the intention that the review address all issues raised by Council in relation to contributions.
Council noted that arrangements for the review had been set in motion. In view of that, Council decided that for the 1995 budget, Ethiopia should remain in category E and pay BF3,100,444.
(viii) Reclassification of Linguistic Staff:
Council took note that measures to seek outside expertise to examine the claims made by the language staff had come to naught. The problem being closely linked to the more general issue of the review of the Staff Regulations particularly the classification of posts and requisite qualifications, Council expanded the mandate on the latter issue to include the consideration of the claim by the language staff.
Council took note of the activity report submitted by the Committee of Ambassadors and commended the latter.
6. Consideration of Ministerial Committee's report on:
a) Commodities [ACP/67/056/95]
The report on Commodities, presented by Hon. Mr. Guy Alain GAUZE, Minister in Charge of Commodities of Côte d'Ivoire and Chairman of the ACP Article 75 Committee, covered the following subjects:
(i) Issues arising from the use of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in the manufacture of chocolate:
Having taken note of recent developments regarding the above subject and mindful of the need to preserve the interests of both cocoa, shea-nut and shea-butter producing countries, the Ministerial Committee decided as follows:
- The EU and the European Commission should clarify their respective positions and reaffirm that EC Directive 73/241 would not be modified without the necessary guarantees, that is:
- preserving the quality label of chocolate which guarantees the purity of the cocoa-butter-based finished product through appropriate methods of detection and quantification with a view to determining whether the finished product - CHOCOLATE - is made exclusively from cocoa butter or vegetable fats other than cocoa butter so as to make it possible to differentiate between the registered designations, namely between "Pure Chocolate" and "Chocolate with CBE";
- adopting a more legible labeling system to enable the consumer in particular to know the brand name and the composition of the ingredients contained in the finished product.
- In order to preserve the commercial interests of shea-producing countries shea-nut and shea-butter should be promoted in national, regional and international markets through appropriate studies and there should be the utilization of relevant ACP-EU instruments for Industrial Development, technical and financial assistance, trade development and through the systematic exchange of scientific and technological information between shea-producing countries.
Council endorsed the recommendation and expressed gratitude to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire for having organised an international conference from 28 to 30 March 1995 in Abidjan on "The use of vegetable fats (VF) other than cocoa butter in the manufacture of chocolate : impact, quality, market prospects and world consumption", and a regional workshop from 17 to 20 July 1995 on: "Production, processing and industrial development of the shea-nut network in the West African subregion".
(ii) International Cocoa Agreement:
Council noted that Papua New Guinea had ratified the Agreement on 1st September 1995 and it encouraged the major ACP cocoa producing countries to respect the production targets to be adopted in November at Santo Domingo so as to raise cocoa prices which still remained low.
(iii) Participation in UNCTAD IX (Johannesburg Cauteng, South Africa)
Council endorsed the Ministerial Committee's recommendation that a seminar be held in Brussels by the ACP Group in preparation for UNCTAD IX on the themes of importance to the ACP States, namely, Commodities, Debt and Trade Development (including Trade in Services). The ACP General Secretariat was mandated to seek funding from the European Commission.
(iv) Candidature of Mr. KANYOMOZI Yonasani Bankobeza to the post of Director of the Common Fund for Commodities: Council was informed that Mr. KANYOMOZI Yonasani Bankobeza, a Uganda national, was for the time being, the only ACP candidate for the post of Director of the Common Fund for Commodities.
Council took note that the curriculum vitae of Mr. Kanyomozi was circulated after an intervention by the Head of Delegation of Uganda.
B. SUGAR:
The statement on Sugar was presented by the Ministerial Spokesman on that subject, Hon. K. RUHEE, Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Mauritius. The items indicated below were covered by the report:
(i) The Special Preferential Agreement:
The Special Preferential Sugar (SPS) Agreement concluded between the ACP and EU for a 6 years' duration, establishing the tariff/tonne of sugar at 69 ecus, and the deduction of 12 ecus/tonne in respect of the adjustment aid was not modified.
(ii) Commercial negotiations:
The SPS Agreement was followed by commercial negotiations between the representatives of the sugar industries of the ACP states and the 6 refiners of the EU. Commercial contracts were formally signed in Paris on 23rd October 1995, by the commercial representatives of all 16 ACP States and the 6 EU refiners.
iii) The decision of Tate and Lyle to close down Greenock:
The Sugar Ministers recorded their disappointment at the decision taken by Tate and Lyle Sugars to close down its refinery at Greenock as from the second semester of 1997. The closure raised the question of the practical effects in terms of shipping schedules and the worsening of the discharge conditions at the Thames refinery.
(iv) Transport Costs and Conditions of Discharge at Ports of delivery:
The 1992 study on ACP freight and transport costs, which needed updating, demonstrated:
- the burden of freight costs to the ACP, in particular to landlocked countries;
- the limitations of the draft and unloading facilities at Thames; and
- the inadequacy of storage capacity at Thames.
In view of the above problems and given that the average insurance premium compounds the high freight costs, the Sugar Ministers agreed that action should be taken at the highest political level to impress upon Tate and Lyle the need to invest in order to improve both the discharge and storage conditions in London prior to the effective closure of Greenock.
(v) Guaranteed prices for 1994/95 and 1995/96:
The Fourth Ministerial Conference on Sugar would be held in Kingston, Jamaica, in April/May 1996 (probably from 29th April to 2nd May) and it would address the challenges and opportunities facing the ACP beyond the year 2000 and would consider other issues of relevance to the ACP for the decade to come. The Sub-Committee was mandated to prepare the agenda for the conference.
(vi) Special funds and special measures:
Having taken note of the need to maintain the tempo of lobbying action at all levels and in all fora and the need to review the level of contributions, Ministers agreed to take up the issue of the special fund at the fourth Ministerial Conference on Sugar.
The Minister also agreed to address the issue of special measures at the said Conference.
Finally, the Sugar Ministers expressed their appreciation for the work done by all concerned and in particular Ambassador, K. TAVOLA of Fiji, Chairman of the Sub-Committee.
C. Development Finance: [ACP/81/043/95 Rev.1]
The Chairman of the ACP Development Finance Committee (Ministers), Hon. Dr M. SENAONA, Minister of Finance of Lesotho, highlighted the following items in his report:-
i) Implementation of Financial and Technical Cooperation during 1994:
Progress had been achieved in the processing of national and regional projects and programmes for approval.
However, conscious of the Community's intention to link programme performance with resource allocation, the Committee decided to urge both the ACP and EU to do everything possible to expedite the implementation of EDF programmes. The Committee would also like a review of existing suspended programmes in line with the consultation procedures agreed in the mid-term review of the Convention.
(ii) Joint evaluation during 1994 and work programme for 1995:
The report on joint evaluation included urban development, mining and sysmin operations, CTA operations and regional projects in West Africa. Cooperation between the Commission and the ACP Secretariat improved during the period.
(iii) Draft Resolution:
The ACP expressed concern regarding implementation delays relating to the application of the framework of mutual obligations. The resolution calls for an examination of the causes of the delay with a view to speeding up the process.
With respect to the low level of ACP participation in tenders and contracts, the situation had not changed for many years despite Council resolutions calling for higher ACP participation, and assurances given at Ministerial sessions. The draft resolution also requested the Development Finance Cooperation Committee to examine the matter.
(iv) The reclassification of the least developed ACP states:
The report by the Chairman of the Committee on this subject being queried by a number of delegations, Council requested that an appropriate formula be developed that would take account of the positions of both the countries joining the list and those graduating from it.
Following the suspension of Council deliberations and consultations, the text reflected below had been adopted to be used as a joint declaration on the subject :
"In the event that a country which has been subject to graduation from the list referred to in paragraph 10 of the present decision faces serious injury which could be considered as an adverse effect of such graduation, the Community undertakes to examine the ways and means of taking account of the specific problems identified by the ACP States concerned. In this context, the EU will pay special attention, in the spirit of the provisions of the Convention, to the problems of countries having to face severe structural weaknesses.
Furthermore, particular regard will be paid to the specific case of Belize to which the benefits deriving from Article 332 et seq. (Landlocked ACP States) and Article 335 et seq. (Island ACP States) do not apply.
Obviously, the other ACP States concerned will continue to benefit from these articles.
The implementation of this declaration will be reviewed by the relevant joint bodies of the Convention with a view to reporting to Council at the next session".
D. BANANAS:
The statement by the Chairman of the ACP Ministerial Spokesman on Bananas, the Hon. N.M. CHARLES, Minister of Trade and Marketing of Dominica covered the following subjects:
(i) Amendments to Regulation No404/93:
The ACP proposed amendments to the regulations included:
- Transferability of short-delivered quantities: The ACP requested that arrangements, similar to those in the GATT Framework Agreement permitting Latin American banana supplying states to reallocate on a temporary basis quantities delivered short in any one year by one or more supplying states, be extended to ACP suppliers within a global arrangement without any geographical limitations and to include non-traditional suppliers;
- "Force Majeure" provisionsfollowing hurricanes, drought, major civil disturbances or other occurrences, should be implemented;
- The 90,000 tones non-traditional supplies should be exempted from requirements for "dollar" licences;
- The Windward Islands should be treated as having a global allocation given their special situation; and
- Ghana should be allocated the 5,000 tonnes from the non-traditional quota.
(ii) Section 301 Petition:
In September 1994 Chiquita Brands International and Hawaii Banana Industry Association filed a petition under Section 301 of the US Trade Act against the EU Banana Regime. In view of the fact that the petition continued to be a major concern to the ACP, the Ministers endorsed the Ambassadors' request for the enlistment of the services of a legal consultant to advise on a strategy on the matter and assist with the preparation of documentation.
With regard to discussions between the USA and EU, Ministers agreed that the ACP should closely monitor developments and provide any support that might be required for the defense of the Banana Regime.
7. Preparation of the ACP-EU Ministerial Sessions:
(a) Draft agenda for the 20th ACP-EU Session [ACP-CE/2166/95]
(b) [For noting] Final agreed text and overview of the Mid-Term Review [ACP/00/040/95 Neg. and ACP/00/039/95 Neg.].
(c) Programme for the Ministerial Sessions and the signing ceremony. [ACP/43/035/95 and ACP/25/016/95 Rev.1].
Council considered and took note of the documents captioned above after being presented by the Acting Secretary General, Mr. Carl GREENIDGE.
With regard to the 'C' items of the draft agenda for the 20th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, Council designated the Ministers of the following countries to make an intervention on behalf of the ACP Group:
- Debt - CÔTE D'IVOIRE and GUYANA
- South and Southern Africa - NAMIBIA and LESOTHO
- Rehabilitation - WESTERN SAMOA and DOMINICA
- Somalia - ETHIOPIA
8. Consideration of the Committee of Ambassadors' progress report on:
(a) the organizational structure of the ACP Secretariat
(b) temporary staff
Having taken note that the Committee of Ambassadors had not yet completed the consideration of the question of the structure and staff position of the ACP General Secretariat, Council renewed its mandate to the Ambassadors to enable them to:
(a) finalize the work, including the settlement of the problem of temporaries by 31st December 1995, and
(b) implement the eventual decisions by 1st January 1996 and report to the next Council Session thereon.
9. Consideration and adoption of the Secretariat draft budget for 1996 [ACP/45/027/95 Rev. 1 and accompanying documents]
Following the presentation of the draft budget, Council considered and adopted the budget proposals for 1996 as follows:
a) Contributions from ACP States BF 123,365,000
b) EDF Contributions BF 111,320,000
c) Tax Revenue BF 21,627,000
d) Reserve Fund BF 600,000
e) Hiring out ACP hall BF 88,000
Total BF 257,000,000
10. Progress report on the negotiations between the EU and the Republic of South Africa on the latter's request for alignment with the Lomé Convention
Council heard and took note of the progress report on the negotiations between the EU and the Republic of South Africa on the latter's request for alignment with the Fourth Lomé Convention, presented by the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors. The elements of the progress report are contained in document ACP/27/016/95 attached as an annex.
11. Consideration of resolutions adopted by the 21st Session of the Joint Assembly [ACP/1615/95, AP/1618 - for noting]
Introducing the item, the Secretary General a.i. drew attention to the fact that the resolutions primarily addressed the situation in specific countries, social development, the situation of women, the problem of small ACP Island states and nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Council took note of the resolutions captioned above.
12. Appointment of members of the new Ministerial Bureau [Ref.doc.ACP/549/79 Rev. 27]
The countries listed below were designated to serve on the new Ministerial Bureau which assumed function after the 62nd Council session:
West Africa: Burkina Faso (President)
Central Africa: Rwanda (member)
East Africa : Kenya (member)
Southern Africa : Zambia (member)
Caribbean : Dominican Republic (member)
Pacific : Solomon Islands (member)
13. Outcome of the 62nd session of the ACP Council of Ministers : adoption of draft decisions and resolutions
Council considered and adopted the decisions and resolutions listed below:
a) Decisions
Decision No.1/LXII/95: The ACP General Secretariat's 1996 budget
Decision No.2/LXII/95 : External Auditor's report for 1994
Decision No.3/LXII/95: Situation in Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia
Decision No.4/LXII/95 : Appointment of External Auditor
Decision No.5/LXII/95 : Assessment of the staff position of the ACP General Secretariat
Decision No.6/LXII/95 : Organisation of an ACP seminar in Brussels in view of UNCTAD IX
Decision No. 7/LXII/95 : Choice of candidate for the post of Secretary General of the ACP Group
b) Resolutions
Resolution No.2/XLII/95 : Sugar
Resolution No.3/XLII/95 : Enhancing the implementation of the Trade Development Provisions of Lomé IV Convention
Resolution No.4/XLII/95 : Situation in Somalia
Resolution No.5/XLII/95 : Stabex transfers in favour of Sudan and other ACP States.
Resolutions referred to the Committee of Ambassadors for finalization and adoption on behalf of Council:
Resolution No.1/XLII/95 : Bananas
Resolution No.6/XLII/95 : Debt
Resolution No.7/XLII/95 : Use of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in the manufacture of chocolate.
The Mauritius Declaration
Following the proposal by the Rt. Hon. Sir A. JUGNAUTH, Prime Minister of Mauritius, in his address to the ACP Council during the opening ceremony, Council unanimously adopted the MAURITIUS DECLARATION calling for the convening of a summit of ACP Heads of State and/or Government in an ACP State, at the latest by the end of 1997. The summit would address, inter alia, development issues in an appropriate political framework and formulate the strategy necessary to underpin ACP-EU future relations.
14. Dates and Venue of the Session:
a) the 63rd ACP Council
b) the 21st ACP-EU Council
Council accepted the offer by Western Samoa to host the above Council sessions in June 1996 and agreed to support that offer at Joint Council Session.
The Head of Delegation, Hon. T.S. MALIELEGAOI, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Western Samoa thanked the Ministers for the acceptance of and support for his country's offer and looked forward to receiving his colleagues in Apia.
15. Election of the ACP Secretary General
Upon invitation by the President of Council, the Legal Counsel explained the legal situation regarding the election of the Secretary General, and the procedure to follow, as a consequence of Council's failure to elect a Secretary General at its 61st session.
Having noted the explanation by the Legal Counsel, Council sought to hear from the African constituency the latest situation regarding their attempt at the choice of an African candidate.
In response thereto, the Minister from Côte d'Ivoire indicated that in spite of efforts at the highest level, the African constituency could not arrive at a consensus on a single candidate.
In view of the above information, Council proceeded to have a vote in accordance with the established procedure, namely that the vote would be a continuation of that of the 61st session. To win, a candidate would need a 2/3rd majority.
Council had two candidates, namely :
H.E. Mr M. Ibinga MAGWANGU, Gabon
Dr M.T. MAPURANGA, Zimbabwe
Outcome of the vote :
| H.E. Mr M. Ibinga MAGWANGU | 22 |
| Dr.M.T. MAPURANGA | 39 |
| Abstentions | 05 |
None of the candidates having obtained the requisite 2/3 majority, Council decided as follows:
(i) Southern Africa and Central Africa are to consult on the matter with a view to identifying a single candidate only;
(ii) In the event that there is a failure to come to such an agreement by 31st March 1996, political assistance from other African sub-regions should be resorted to;
(iii) The Committee of Ambassadors was to receive a status report from the representatives of the two sub-regions by 30th April 1996 and the former would prepare recommendations to Council in time for consideration and decision by the Council of Ministers at its session in June. These recommendations would comprise all measures considered necessary to resolve the deadlock;
(iv) The Committee of Ambassadors is further instructed to reflect on these difficulties with a view to preparing specific procedures for the election of a Secretary-General.
16. Any other business
No matter was raised under this item.
CLOSING REMARKS
Making his closing remarks, Dr. the Hon. P. NABABSINGH, Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius, indicated that the deliberations of Council took place in an atmosphere of friendship and understanding and the interventions were marked by a spirit of ACP brotherhood and conviviality.
He expressed pride at the unanimous support for the proposal to organize an ACP Summit of Heads of State or Government on the future of ACP-EU relations. He stressed once again the suggestion by the Prime Minister of Mauritius to seek the assistance of a group of eminent persons to guide the ACP Group on the task.
The Deputy Prime Minister regretted Council's failure to elect a Secretary General, but he observed that Council was moving in a direction which gave hope that a solution would be found in the near future. In that regard, he urged that the question of the election of the Secretary General meets a threshold of support at various stages of consultations.
Finally, he congratulated and thanked the President of Council for the remarkable manner in which he conducted Council's deliberations. He also congratulated the incoming President and wished him well in his new function. He commended the Secretary General a.i. and his staff for their excellent work and the services they provided for the Ministers. He wished delegates a safe trip back home.
The President of Council, in turn, expressed satisfaction at the success of the session, which he attributed to the contribution from each of the delegations that participated. He thanked the Committee of Ambassadors for having prepared the Council. He commended the Secretary General a.i. and his staff for the enormous support they provided Council.
On behalf of Council, the President thanked the Government and people of Mauritius for providing adequate facilities for the Ministerial session and, once again, for the warm welcome, all of which contributed to making the 62nd ACP Council session a big success.
He wished delegates a safe return
to their respective destinations.