The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Mr. President
The Outgoing President
Excellencies Heads of State and Government
Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and International Organizations
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed a privilege and an honor for me to deliver some opening remarks to this august assembly, in what is my last speech to the ACP Summit as your Secretary-General.  At the outset, I would like, on behalf of the ACP Group and my own behalf, to express gratitude and appreciation to our gracious host, His Excellency President Kufuor, the Government and people of the Republic of Ghana for hosting this important event.  We are grateful for the warm reception and generous hospitality accorded to us since our arrival in this beautiful city of Accra.  The excellent facilities placed at our disposal will, I believe, ensure the smooth conduct of your deliberations.  

Mr. President

The theme of your Summit, “promoting human security and development" is extremely relevant.  There is no greater challenge to the ACP Family today, than the quest for guaranteed human security coupled with tangible development for the benefit of the entire ACP population of 700 million people.  The recent events such as the global financial crises, oil price increase, escalation in food prices, hurricanes and droughts orchestrated by climate change, all point to the need for high-level dialogue and concerted joint actions.  That is why your collective wisdom is being sought over the next two days, on further directions that the ACP Group needs to take, as we embark further in our endeavours to serve our people. 

Mr. President

Since your last meeting in Khartoum, the ACP Group has been involved in many activities in the political and socio-economic fields.  Ministerial and technical meetings have taken place.  Parliamentarians have met at the regional and ACP levels, and also with their European counterparts.  Missions have been carried out in a number of ACP States which have experienced political challenges of one nature or another.  Numerous capacity building programs and projects have been implemented in many ACP States and regions.  With your permission Mr. President, allow me to highlight some of these important activities. 

At the Ministerial level, the ACP Ministers Responsible for Asylum, Migration and Mobility held their second meeting in May this year which discussed the best options to address the nexus between migration and development.  The Ministers inter alia also called for the establishment and enforcement of legislations to combat racism and xenophobia, and recommended ways to tackle human trafficking and smuggling.  In addition, the Ministers considered steps to curb illegal migration and brain-drain in ACP States while recognizing the positive aspects of migrants in diaspora particularly through remittances. 

Mr. President

Other issues that have been discussed at the ministerial level over the last two years include the dumping of toxic waste in ACP waters and territories, the negative impacts of climate change, such as land degradation, droughts, rising sea-levels, floods, hurricanes, cyclones and coastal erosion in ACP States and regions, particularly the Small Islands Developing States.  Mr. President, most of these issues are featured in the draft Declaration that you will be called upon to consider. 

Mr. President

The framework for cooperation between the ACP and the European Union allows for political dialogue through sessions of ACP and joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly.  This has been a very useful and effective fora for meaningful debates and resolutions on matters and topical subjects affecting our people.  Since your last meeting, the parliamentarians have addressed many significant issues, among them, aid effectiveness, food security, and human rights and democratic governance.  They have also discussed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), an issue that I will revert to shortly.  Touching on aid effectiveness, the ACP States and the European tax payers are confounded by the fact that despite many years of donor-aid, the beneficiary ACP States continues to languish in poverty.  It is necessary to address the cause for the ineffectiveness of aid. Therefore, it is fitting that just last month, you Mr. President, hosted an international High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.  We look forward to the effective implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action.  

Mr. President

With regard to missions carried out by the ACP Committee of Ambassadors and the Secretariat to ACP States that have experienced politically related turmoil, I wish to report that positive outcomes have been realized in some States while in others more efforts are still required.  Recent missions to Fiji, Chad, Sudan and Djibouti have brought out the need to implement the provisions of intra-ACP political dialogue, an issue which the ACP Committee of Ambassadors is following. 

Concerning a decision that has been made to send a fact-finding mission to Mauritania, it is expected that the mission report will inform the ACP Group about the position that it should take on the recent developments in that country.  On a positive note, I am pleased to note that Togo and Sudan have resumed normal relations with the European Union.  However, with regard to the latter, the recent pronouncement by the International Criminal Court in the Hague with regard to ACP’s outgoing President of Summit, His Excellency Dr Omer Hassan El Bashir, seems to have caused serious concern with regard to the peace process in the Darfur region. The joint Ministerial meeting that took place yesterday examined this issue and made a specific recommendation which is contained in the draft Declaration that is before you.   

Mr. President

The negotiations of the EPAs have occupied our Group for a considerable period of time.  Progress in the regions has been achieved to varying degrees.  However, I do regret that the process has let to a split of the Group into states that have embraced the full EPAs and others which have doubts, and have persistently expressed concerns about the scope and content of these agreements.  Addressing all contentious issues will smooth the way for the successful conclusion of the EPA process and produce an agreement that will be embraced by both sides.  This important and topical issue is on your agenda and you will be called upon to provide the political guidance and leadership, in charting the best way forward, taking into account the need to retain the European Union as a key development partner. 

Mr. President

I have alluded to the capacity building programmes and projects that the ACP Secretariat has designed, implemented, and monitored on behalf of and for benefit of the ACP Group.  For example, the meeting of ACP Ministers Responsible for Asylum, Migration and Mobility that I referred to earlier set the ground for the implementation of the ACP Migration Facility, which would see the establishment of the ACP Migration Observatory.  This facility is for collection and analysis of data used for the design of strategies and policies for effective management of migration flows in ACP States.  May I also inform you that the Secretariat, working in tandem with the Committee of Ambassadors, have initiated other intra-ACP projects covering areas such as energy, water, education, culture, trade policy, private sector development, natural disaster, and science and technology. 

In terms of easy access to and fast disbursement of EU funds, a matter of great concern for ACP States and regions, it is worth noting that innovative mechanisms have been proposed, including budget support to ACP States, contribution agreements, in particular to regional organizations, and MDG contracts, which should provide funding on a predictable basis of 5 to 6 years.  These positive developments should ameliorate the slow disbursement problems. The Secretariat will continue to play a central role as an interlocutor between the ACP Group and the European Commission on such matters.

Mr. President

In terms of immediate future activities, the ACP Group is in the process of finalizing the intra-ACP programming exercise, which will see the continuation of some of the existing programmes and the initiation of new ones.

The ACP Group is also currently preparing for the second five-year review of the Cotonou Agreement; - - in other words, the mid-term review since, as you may recall, the Cotonou Agreement comes to an end in 2020.  Your views of the future of the Group will provide the vision that will guide us in determining aspects that could be reviewed and shape how the Cotonou Agreement should be revised.  I am glad to note that the messages coming through from various ACP circles are that the relevance of the Group is needed now more than ever before, in light of the national and global challenges that the ACP States are facing.  

In these circumstances, Mr. President, let me position the role that the Secretariat should play in ensuring the effective functioning of the Group.  The Summit may be aware that the Secretariat currently is undergoing reforms to respond to the unfolding developments in the ACP-EU Partnership, and to the changes taking place in the international scene. 

The reform programme has to respond to the new approach to development cooperation by the European Commission.  In other words, the changes taking place at the Secretariat level have to be in consonance with the future interest of the ACP Group and respond to the modified policies and approaches to development cooperation of the European Union.  The Troika approach that our development partner has adopted in its relations with the ACP regions should not preclude the indispensable role of the Secretariat within the ACP Group.  In this regard, the Secretariat – if called upon - could play a useful and supportive role in the Troika process.  Having managed the affairs of the Secretariat since 2005, I can proudly say that you have a professional and committed team which has worked relentlessly to serve the interests and address the concerns of the entire ACP Group. 

However, the Secretariat’s activities have been curtailed by inadequate financial resources, which have lowered the level of its performance.  The budget of the Secretariat has been stagnant for the last four years. This means that we could not respond swiftly and appropriately to additional demands to support the Group.  The adverse financial situation has resulted in delays to recruit requisite additional staff to deal with the increasing demands from the ACP States.  Furthermore, the conditions of service for the staff will have to be improved to attract and retain high caliber staff that is required to run the organization and respond to the challenges that I enumerated at the opening of my statement.   Therefore, I would appeal for prompt payment of contributions by Member States to ensure that the organization runs in a smooth and efficient manner.

Mr. President and Honorable ACP Leaders

I have tried to highlight a few of the salient issues confronting this Group since your meeting in Khartoum.  This is only a sample, and indeed the organization and its Secretariat have been dealing with other numerous challenges.  In conclusion, I wish to thank all those who have contributed to the successful organization of this Summit in whatever means – including the EDF.  

Mr. President, I thank you once again for hosting and Chairing this Summit. Thank you for your kind attention.

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