AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS THE 21st CENTURY: THE TOKYO AGENDA FOR ACTION

(as adopted on October 21, 1998)

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Africa is undergoing a profound transformation. Since the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-I) in 1993, a number of countries have emerged as open and democratic nations, which are beginning to achieve significant economic growth. Sound political and economic reforms that promote democratic principles and facilitate market-driven economic activity have encouraged this resurgence.
2. Nevertheless, widespread poverty and inadequate policies stunt individual potential in a sizeable numberof countries. In most cases, the poorest segment of the population has yet to benefit from overall economicgrowth. Poverty and inequality contribute to political instability. Violent conflicts ravage the lives of many, and the foundations for durable peace and security remain fragile. Conflicts have to be settled by peaceful means using existing mechanisms of conflict management provided by the United Nations system, the OAU,and African sub-regional organizations.
3. We are therefore determined to build on the progress made since TICAD-I and renew the resolve to meet the remaining challenges in African development. To this end, we, the participants of TICAD-II, have gatheredhere in Tokyo to adopt this Agenda for Action. We reaffirm our strong commitment to the actions identified here, which will be followed up by African countries with support and assistance from their development partners in the spirit of true partnership, building on the ownership and priorities of African countries themselves.

II. PRIMARY THEME AND UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES

(1.) Primary Theme: Poverty Reduction and Integration into the Global Economy

4. The primary theme of this Agenda for Action for African development is poverty reduction through accelerated economic growth and sustainable development, and effective integration of African economies into the global economy. The challenges of poverty reduction, with a goal of reducing the proportion of the populationliving in extreme poverty by at least one-half by the year 2015, underscore the importance of economic growth that is equitable, with all segments of the population participating in economic activities and sharing inthe benefits. Political and social stability, as well as good governance, is essential for sustainable development. Equally without development, peace and stability are not durable.
5. Poverty reduction requires a multi-sectoral perspective and should be integrated as an objective into all development efforts. It is estimated that the real GDP of African countries would need to grow significantly more than 5 percent annually for meaningful poverty reduction. Poverty-reducing economic growth requiressound macroeconomic policies for financial stability, increased national savings and resource mobilization for productive investment and employment generation to rationalise public expenditures, particularly reducingnon-productive activities and concentrating on priority areas. Improving income distribution also requires pro-poor strategies and policies, comprising measures that encourage the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises, revitalise the rural economy, increase the level and quality of government spending on social services, and provide safety net programmes to protect those in extreme poverty. Lessons can also be drawn from the relevant experience of Asian development, especially its focus on human development and institutional capacity building.
6. In 1996, Africa's share of total world trade was less than 2 percent and its share of total foreign direct investment to developing countries only 2 percent. Both need to be increased substantially to sustain high rates of growth and facilitate the integration of African economies into the global economy. Promoting trade reform and increasing the inflow of private capital will require African countries to create enabling conditions, including critical infrastructure, legal instruments, and enhanced human capital.
7. Africa's development partners are encouraged to support the development efforts of African countries inter alia by providing adequate levels of ODA, promoting foreign direct investment to Africa, opening markets to African exports, seeking lasting solutions to Africa's external debt burden, and facilitating the transfer of technology.

(2.) Underlying Principles

8. Ownership and partnership are the underlying principles of the Agenda for Action. These principles are embodied in the Cairo Agenda for Action for the economic and social development of Africa. They have also been endorsed in the 1996 strategy of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD for "Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of Development Cooperation." TICAD-II provides, therefore, an opportunity to reflect on the implementation in Africa of this strategy, concentrating efforts on achieving specific and measurable goals based on African priorities, as endorsed in various international fora.

(i) Ownership

9. The 1995 Cairo Agenda for Action defines the economic and social development priorities for Africa as determined by Africa itself, and the TICAD-II initiative supports these priorities. Ownership is derived whendevelopment priorities, as set by Africa, are pursued. This ownership should be based on continuous dialogue between government, the private sector and civil society.

(ii) Global partnership

10. African development should be pursued on the principle of global partnership that creates a common framework for cooperation among all development actors, which include African governments, private sector, civil society, and Africa's development partners comprising donor countries, and regional and international organizations. In the spirit of true partnership and mutual commitment, African leadership should guide these concerted development efforts.

III. APPROACHES AND CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

(1.) Approaches

(i) Strengthening coordination

11. Strengthening coordination among external partners is essential to improve the effectiveness of development cooperation and to optimize the use of ODA resources that are available. Enhanced coordination between external and national partners and among all actors of society is also vital for reinforcing ownership and partnership. First, improved coordination supports coherent national development strategies that establish clear objectives and targets. Second, strong coordination among external and national partners throughout the process of programme and project planning and implementation would help eliminate duplications among donors and reduce the strain on the scarce human resources of African countries. Third, existing approaches and mechanisms for coordination at the field-level, including the sector investment programmes, Consultative Group meetings, and Round Tables, need to be refined. For African countries to exercise leadership in coordinating external assistance, it is essential to strengthen African capacity to lead the coordination process.

(ii) Regional cooperation and integration

12. Since the adoption in 1980 of the Lagos Plan of Action, African countries have emphasized regional cooperation and integration as important tools for pursuing their development. In an increasingly integrated world, sub-regional and regional groupings provide higher visibility to global investors, promote cross-border trade and investment, and reduce production and marketing costs. African countries and their development partners recognise the importance of regional cooperation for liberalising trade arrangements, developing regional physical infrastructure and institutions, including regional capital markets and research institutes, tackling common environmental issues, controlling infectious diseases, and preventing, managing, and resolving conflict. External support is essential to build and strengthen regional institutions' capacity and further implementation of programmes of African sub-regional economic groupings.

(iii) South-South cooperation

13. In recent years, South-South cooperation, especially since the Asia-Africa fora in Bandung in 1994 and Bangkok in 1997, has demonstrated great potential through the sharing of Asian experiences by African countries. Since 1993, trade and investment between the two regions rose, and institutional networking among research and training institutions and chambers of commerce has been growing. The potential benefits to Africa of Asian-African and intra-African cooperation could be captured further by strengthening African capacity to learn and apply lessons from other regions' development experiences and by establishing effective mechanisms that promote South-South cooperation in various forms. In addition, triangular cooperation involving developed countries and international organizations can facilitate the expansion of South-South cooperation.

(2.) Cross-cutting Themes

(i) Capacity building

14. To reinforce African countries' ownership of their development strategies, they must strengthen their capacity for the analysis, planning, implementation, management, and monitoring of development policies and programmes. This capacity must be widespread, residing in individuals, organizations, and institutions. To give this critical link new impetus, African countries have recently completed a proposal for a global Partnership for African Capacity Building (PACT). Another approach to enhancing capacity is to establish an effective cooperation mechanism among research and training institutions in Africa, Asia, and donor countries, as well as international organizations.

(ii) Gender mainstreaming

15. Women play significant roles in all spheres of economic and social life, and make vital contributions tohousehold welfare. Yet, they suffer lack of access to productive assets and essential social services. Therefore, mainstreaming gender perspectives in all development policies and programmes is critical for empowering women to fully and equally participate in economic and social activities and to better combat poverty. Promoting gender equality, which is an important element of democracy, and advancing women's economic and social status would also increase economic efficiency.

(iii) Environmental management

16. Environmental management is essential for sustainable development, as high population growth continues to place a heavy burden on Africa's natural resource base. Poverty reduction strategies should take into account that as the poor struggle for survival, they tend to rely increasingly on fragile natural resources. Therefore, policies, plans and decision-making processes for African development should reflect pressing environmental issues, including desertification, land degradation, water management, deforestation, biodiversity,and natural disaster prevention and mitigation.

IV. ACTION PLAN

(1.) Social Development and Poverty Reduction: Promoting Human Development

17. Sustainable human development is the ultimate objective of development. Social development, in turn, helps enhance the capacity of the poor to participate productively in economic and social activities and improve income distribution. Poverty is widespread in Africa, with the majority of the poor living in rural areas. It is estimated that women account for about two-thirds of the African poor, and the feminization of poverty is an issue that requires special attention. The experience of poverty reduction in East Asia demonstrates that rapid economic growth with equitable income distribution over a sustained period of time can help lift the poor above the poverty line. With regard to social development, sub-sector targets should be set and resources allocated for the priority areas of education, health and population, and special measures for the poor.

(1.1) Education

18. Education is central to human capacity building, which was the key to accelerated growth and sustained poverty reduction in East Asian economies. Enhanced human capital is critical for African countries that aimto effectively participate in an increasingly integrated and knowledge-based world economy. The educational challenge is immense. Some African countries enroll fewer than one half of their children in school; and more than one half of African women are illiterate. Constraints on public resources, inefficient utilization of existing resources, and persistent high population growth make drastic improvements in education difficult to achieve. Breaking the vicious development cycle triggered by a weak human capital base requires a significant acceleration in education development that implies a radical shift in the way education is financedand managed and in the priorities, scale and speed of implementation of education programmes.
19. Since educational attainment varies greatly in African countries, they should be considered in the following three categories, with different priority actions for each. In post-conflict countries, actions shouldfocus on rapid resumption of education and rehabilitation of educational facilities. Countries facing low enrollments and low literacy should accelerate participation. Thirdly, countries that have achieved a more developed education system need to sustain education reforms and promote qualitative and quantitative expansion and institutional development.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) by 2005, ensure that at least 80 percent of children complete primary education, with universal primary education by 2015;
(ii) by 2005, reduce adult illiteracy to half of the 1990 level, emphasizing improvements in female literacy;
(iii) eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005;
(iv) improve the quality of education, and strengthen linkages between education and employment;
(v) enhance national and regional capacities in the area of science and technology.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) increase the share of total resources allocated to education, allocate a higher percentage of education expenditures to basic education programmes, broaden the resource base by mobilizing resources from communities and non-governmental sources including the private sector, and ensure efficient and effective utilization of the resources;
(ii) enhance adult education and skill development programmes targeting women and the poorest segment of the population, including literacy programmes in local languages;
(iii) improve the quality and relevance of education by strengthening teachers' training, providing improved school curricula and teaching materials, and building necessary facilities;
(iv) promote technical and vocational training aimed at improving labor productivity and increasing the opportunity for employment;
(v) develop non-conventional methods, such as distance education and community management of schools, and establish better partnership with NGOs, to improve educational access in under-reached areas.

Development Partners will:

(i) provide financial and technical assistance to support African countries' education priorities in the context of African governments' sector-wide education programmes, particularly for basic education;
(ii) support national, regional, and sub-regional activities to introduce information technologies that expand access to education;
(iii) assist in developing national and local capacities for education policy analysis and programme implementation;
(iv) support multi-country collaborative programmes that facilitate sharing of experiences.

(1.2) Health and Population

20. In the African context of high population growth rates and pervasive poverty, health services and facilities in most countries are not only inadequate and in a state of decline, but they also tend to be biased towards urban centers and curative, rather than preventive, care. Africa's maternal and infant mortality, fertility, unmet family planning needs are the highest in the world, and its contraceptive prevalence rates the lowest. Improvements in human development and poverty reduction will require improved access by the poor tobasic health and reproductive services, improved local health services that can reduce the burden of diseases, advances in the status of women, and involving men in reproductive health and population programmes.
21. The burden of disease is enormous, especially infectious and parasitic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio, and HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS in particular has exacted a tremendous toll in human suffering, death,and lost productivity. Currently, of the 31 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, 21 million of them live in Africa. Eighty percent of all women with HIV/AIDS are in Africa. As a result ofHIV/AIDS, life expectancy is declining, infant and child mortality are on the rise, and individuals' productivity and economic development are threatened. The insidious effects of HIV/AIDS affect the entire spectrum of economic and social activities.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) by 2005, reduce maternal mortality to half of the 1990 level, and half again by 2015;
(ii) by 2015, reduce the mortality rates for infants and children under the age of five years to one-third of the 1990 level;
(iii) provide access to reproductive health services for all individuals of appropriate ages by the year 2015;
(iv) strengthen preventive measures to reduce the incidence of infectious and parasitic diseases, including HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), malaria, tuberculosis, and polio;
(v) by 2005, provide access to safe water supply and sanitation for at least 80 percent of the population;
(vi) by 2015, reduce by half the number of people who are malnourished.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) improve pre- and post-natal care facilities, nutrition education, and immunization coverage against the major childhood diseases;
(ii) invest in district health infrastructure by expanding training programmes for primary care providers, building district level management capacity, and increasing the participation of women and grassroots organizations in community-level health services;
(iii) create a legal and cultural environment that allows free and voluntary family planning methods, including child-spacing and contraceptives, and create behavioral change through improved information, education and communication activities for HIV/AIDS prevention in local languages;
(iv) promote the rights of adolescents to access medical and scientific information concerning reproductive health, and target youth with education, information, and services aimed at preventing and stopping harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation;
(v) increase the number of safe water supply points and strengthen the capacity of communities to maintain water facilities, and improve environmental health, particularly in densely populated urban areas, by improving waste disposal and sanitation facilities;
(vi) reduce health care costs through the increased use of generic medicines and the gradual introduction ofhealth insurance.

Development Partners will:

(i) provide financial and technical assistance to support African countries' efforts to improve primary health care facilities, particularly in the rural areas;
(ii) assure donor cooperation for a coordinated approach to population polices and programmes, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, including the integration of cross-sectoral HIV/AIDS strategies;
(iii) enhance assistance for the prevention and treatment of infectious and parasitic diseases, including malaria.

(1.3) Other Measures to Assist the Poor

22. While poverty reduction is an overarching goal of all the sectors addressed in TICAD-II, this section focuses on measures that directly assist the poor.

(a) Goals/Objectives

(i) by 2015, reduce by at least two-thirds the number of women currently living in poverty;
(ii) create employment opportunities and diversify the sources of income for the poor by increasing their access to productive assets such as land and credit, as well as markets for goods and services;
(iii) enhance the survival capacity of the most vulnerable, and provide assistance to those affected by social and natural calamities.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) establish poverty reduction strategies with time-bound goals and targets and annual benchmarks and social indicators, and strengthen the institutional capacity to operate appropriately targeted poverty reduction programmes particularly at the local level;
(ii) increase the access of the poor, especially women, to micro credit and employment opportunities through innovative income generation programmes;
(iii) provide safety-net measures for the most vulnerable by providing supplementary income, including labor-intensive public-work schemes;
(iv) encourage and promote the participation of NGOs, private sectors and local community organizations in the design and implementation of poverty reduction programmes.

Development Partners will:

(i) jointly with African governments, actively monitor progress under poverty-reduction programmes and encourage appropriate policy adjustments;
(ii) encourage International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to give greater consideration to the impact of structural adjustment programmes on the poor;
(iii) assist the strengthening of training programmes that enhance the capacity of communities to plan and manage their development activities.

(2.) Economic Development: Promoting the Private Sector

23. A major challenge for African countries is to raise and sustain growth rates at much higher levels and to create employment and increased income for effective poverty reduction. At the same time, globalization presents additional challenges and new opportunities for African countries. Consequently, they have to devisenational development strategies aimed at enhancing their international competitiveness in tradeable goods and services through the expanded application of appropriate technologies, including labor-intensive technology, to improve skills and productivity and provide essential services more efficiently. Development partners are encouraged to assist African countries in this endeavor.

(2.1) Private Sector Development

24. African countries intend to support private enterprise, which covers a wide range of activities from the micro enterprises of the informal sector to the small and medium enterprises of the manufacturing sector, as a key stakeholder in economic and social development, as well as the principal engine of growth and generator of wealth and employment. The public sector should concentrate on those activities for which it is best suited, especially the efficient delivery of core public services, and should disengage from those activities which the private sector is better able to perform. For the private sector to realize its full potential to stimulate growth, the government should remove actual and perceived constraints to business activity, so as to encourage the creative talents of African entrepreneurs. At the same time, the capacity of public institutions that are critical to the functioning of a modern market economy needs to be strengthened. Support for the modernization of the informal sector, where the majority of the growing urban poor is employed, is an essential component for poverty reduction.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) ensure a sound and conducive environment for the development and expanded activity of the private sector, with a particular emphasis on the development of domestic entrepreneurs;
(ii) promote and substantially increase foreign direct investment and trade, with a particular emphasis on exports;
(iii) develop micro, small and medium enterprises, including the informal sector.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) establish and maintain a sound macroeconomic policy framework and an open economy based on continued and enhanced economic reforms, liberalized exchange and trade systems and investment regimes, strengthened institutional, legal and regulatory systems, reformed state institutions that operate with transparency, accountability, competence and professionalism, and rule of law;
(ii) ensure efficient physical infrastructure through regulatory reforms, privatization, and additional investments in key infrastructure (including road/rail transport, telecommunications, power, ports, shipping and transit facilities), harness modern information and communication technology, and encourage private sector participation in infrastructure financing and operation;
(iii) encourage and promote the growth, diversification, and deepening of the financial sector so as to facilitate savings mobilization to meet the investment and working capital requirements of business, within the context of a deregulated but prudentially supervised system of financial intermediation; (i)
(iv) promote regional integration by removing obstacles to, and otherwise facilitating, cross-border trade and investment, including harmonizing tax and investment codes;
(v) undertake measures to enhance the entrepreneurial, managerial and technical capacities of the private sector;
(vi) strengthen national and sub-regional mechanisms for investment and trade promotion by disseminating information about business opportunities, identifying and targeting prospective investors and export markets, servicing investors, and providing export credit and insurance schemes;
(vii) strengthen chambers of commerce, trade and professional associations, and regional networks to provide market information and training for their members, in order to promote exports and investment;
(viii) organize dialogue between government and private sector to develop a shared vision of economic development strategy and remove constraints to private sector development;
(ix) strengthen and encourage the growth of micro, small, and medium-scale industries through appropriate technical support from service institutions and civil society, and improve industries' access to capital by strengthening micro-financing schemes, with particular attention to women entrepreneurs;
(x) provide assistance to improve technical and managerial capabilities of business enterprises by supporting technology acquisition, production improvements, and training and skills development.

Development Partners will:

(i) facilitate market access for African products in the world market;
(ii) encourage foreign direct investment in Africa by publicizing investment opportunities, extending guarantees and additional measures to mitigate investors' risk based on country risk analysis, where appropriate, and providing matching equity contributions and accompanying long-term finance, as well as using concessional finance as a catalyst;
(iii) assist in capacity building in the private sector, as well as strengthening country and sub-regional capacity in trade negotiations, implementing the rules and regulations of the WTO, and identifying and exploiting new trading opportunities that emerge from the evolving multilateral trading system;
(iv) promote enhanced South-South and Asia-Africa cooperation, which can be a major contribution of TICAD-II, through the exchange of experiences, including in business management, and collaborative relationships to stimulate joint ventures, investment and trade;
(v) provide support for the establishment or strengthening of micro-financing schemes.

(2.2) Industrial Development

25. Industrial development is central to the structural transformation necessary for African economies to increase incomes and employment and diversify exports. In Africa, there is a growing consensus that accelerated economic transformation will depend on the synergies between industrial and agricultural development, as reflected in the programme of the Alliance for Africa's Industrialization (AAI).

(a) Goals and Objectives

Increase the production, competitiveness, and diversification of the domestic private sector, especially in the agro-industrial, mining and manufacturing sub-sectors, with potential for exports and employment creation.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) reinforce the links between industrial and agricultural development policies and harmonize the activities of relevant government agencies;
(ii) develop new industries, or upgrade existing ones, where African countries have comparative advantages, including agro-based industries and energy and mineral resource-based industries;
(iii) encourage an African-Asian dialogue on industrial development, based on the experiences of newly industrializing countries.

Development Partners will:

(i) facilitate partnership through the development of mechanisms, such as joint business councils, for information sharing between Asian and African firms, and for working towards the establishment of joint ventures and sub-contracting arrangements;
(ii) assist the strengthening of African training institutions for industrial development, particularly through the promotion of networking with Asian partners;
(iii) promote the transfer of technologies to African countries.

(2.3) Agricultural Development

26. Africa's economic performance and poverty reduction are strongly linked to agricultural development, including fisheries, livestock, and forestry development. The agriculture sector accounts for some 35 per cent of the continent's GDP, 40 per cent of exports, and 70 per cent of employment. In the short- and medium-run, Africa's ability to achieve sustainable broad-based growth and development requires a revitalization of the rural economy. To this end, increased attention should be given to the smallholder sector and the role of women farmers. Strengthening the linkage between rural producers and urban markets also constitutes an important part of the strategy.
27. In recent years, African agricultural production has grown and exports increased, due to better policies, new technologies, improved terms of trade in some commodities, and increased yields in some crops. Despite these gains, Africa's agricultural production and productivity for both food and cash crops remain low. In particular, food production has not kept pace with population growth in a number of countries in Africa. Weak exports and the fluctuations in prices of raw materials threaten its ability to pay for needed imports of equipment and inputs for agriculture and industry. Moreover, the increasing demand for farmland due to rapid population growth has often resulted in considerable environmental damage, including soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, water degradation and deforestation. Given the rapid migration of rural populations to urban centers, the rural economy also needs to provide attractive income-earning opportunities.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) improve the productivity of agriculture with particular attention to small-scale and women farmers;
(ii) ensure food security for all people and increase the poor's access to adequate food and nutrition;
(iii) promote measures against natural resource degradation and encourage production methods that are environmentally sustainable;
(iv) integrate the rural poor in the market economy and provide them better access to input and output markets.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) deepen agricultural sector reform with respect to producer and consumer prices, input and output markets, agricultural trade, and the restructuring of agricultural parastatals, in order to improve farm efficiency and profitability;
(ii) increase public investment and the participation of rural populations in building and rehabilitating rural infrastructure, and support the development of private sector in rural transport, marketing, processing and storage;
(iii) increase public investment in agricultural research and ensure it addresses the needs of small-scale and women farmers, establish better linkages between Asian and African research institutions for capacity building, and promote access to modern technologies and production methods through improved extension services;
(iv) increase the security of water supply for agriculture by establishing small-scale irrigation facilities, improving local water management, and increasing the exchange of information and technical staff between Asia and Africa;
(v) improve land tenure security under traditional and modern forms of tenure, and promote necessary land reform;
(vi) foster regional, sub-regional, national, and household food security via the increased production, transport, storage and marketing of food crops, livestock and fisheries, with particular attention to the needs of the poor, as well as the establishment of early warning systems to monitor drought and crop production;
(vii) strengthen intra-regional and Asia-Africa cooperation for the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and improve soil fertility with appropriate soil and crop husbandry techniques;
(viii) enhance agricultural credit and finance schemes and improve access to credit by small-scale and women farmers, taking advantage of the cooperation with Asian agricultural financial officials, cooperatives, and farmers' groups;
(ix) strengthen the capacity of farmers' organizations and cooperatives.

Development Partners will:

(i) encourage access of African food and agricultural products, particularly processed products, to international markets;
(ii) support African networking with external partners, especially Asian partners, in the areas of agricultural technology and know-how, extension services, and rural infrastructure;
(iii) support investment in research in the areas of high yield crops and durable preservation and storage;
(iv) provide support for building national and regional capacity for multilateral trade negotiations, including food sanitation and other agricultural trade regulations.

(2.4) External debt

28. The international community has implemented a series of measures to address the external debt burden of low-income countries, including concessional financial assistance from multilateral institutions, concessional rescheduling, debt forgiveness, and concessional new finance from bilateral creditors. Furthermore, the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, developed by the IMF and the World Bank, was adopted in September 1996. The HIPC Initiative aims at reducing to sustainable levels the debt burden of HIPCs that are pursuing strong programmes of adjustment and reform. The African Development Bank approved its contribution to the Initiative in 1997. Nine countries, including seven African countries, have reached the decision points and seven (of which five African) have been found eligible for HIPC assistance. Several additional African countries are expected to reach decision points soon. In their recent review of the Initiative, IMF and the World Bank agreed to extend until end-2000 the original deadline for countries to enter the HIPC Initiative through adopting adjustment programmes supported by the two institutions. This extends the opportunity for a group of African countries - many just emerging from conflicts - to begin building a track record of good policy performance required under the HIPC Initiative. Furthermore, the IMF and the World Bank have agreed that programmes supported by IMF post-conflict emergency assistance could count - on a case by case basis - toward the HIPC track record, thus potentially bringing forward the delivery of assistance for some African countries.

(a) Goals and Objectives

The main objectives should be to achieve durable solutions to the external debt problems of African countries, including debt cancellation and debt service relief where appropriate.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) agree on and implement economic and structural reform programmes supported by the Bretton Woods institutions and the African Development Bank in order to establish the necessary track record needed to be considered for concessional stock-of-debt rescheduling from bilateral countries and / or for HIPC assistance;
(ii) reinforce social programmes and their execution, and direct the savings obtained from debt relief to the social sectors, with a view to reducing poverty;
(iii) strengthen national accounting systems and build human capacity in debt management;
(iv) improve coordination with donors in the search for durable solutions;
(v) explore all available debt relief mechanisms.

Development Partners will:

(i) ensure the full financing of the HIPC initiative and provide financial support for those multilateral institutions, especially the African Development Bank, that may not be able to cover their full share of the cost under the HIPC initiative;
(ii) expedite, in a determined manner, the extension of debt relief to more countries within the terms of the HIPC initiative, taking note of the proposal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in his report on Africa to the Security Council (S/1998/318) of 13 April 1998;
(iii) search for approaches, including within the HIPC framework where appropriate, to solving the debt problem of post-conflict countries, especially those which have arrears with multilateral institutions;
(iv) continue providing debt relief with existing mechanisms and promote enhanced measures that go beyond debt rescheduling, including cancellation or measures comparable to cancellation of remaining ODA debts by bilateral creditors, taking note of the proposal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the recommendation by G8 leaders at the Birmingham Summit in May 1998;
(v) continue providing appropriate concessional finance, including grant funding, to help improve the debt profile of African countries;
(vi) search for creative new solutions, including debt swap options for the reconstruction of economic and social infrastructure;
(vii) support the capacity building efforts of African countries in implementing sound macroeconomic policies and debt management.

(3) Basic Foundations for Development

29. Democracy and good governance, as well as peace and security, are essential to socio-economic development in Africa. The fundamental principles of democracy and good governance are widely accepted, but their application to the African context should take into account the specifics of individual countries, their historical circumstances and cultural realities. Violent conflicts in a number of countries constitute a major obstacle to sustainable development in Africa, potentially reversing economic progress and impeding future development.

(3.1) Good Governance

30. In recent years, many African countries have made significant progress in democratization. To consolidate this positive trend and achieve further progress in social and economic development on a sustained basis, African countries need to intensify their efforts to further strengthen good governance, taking into account their respective cultural and political circumstances.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) strengthen constitutional legitimacy and democratic systems based on the principle of separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers;
(ii) strengthen institutions that are essential components of good governance and democracy;
(iii) promote respect for human rights and the rule of law;
(iv) enhance accountability, transparency and efficiency in public administration;
(v) promote a culture of tolerance, and promote broader participation in the decision-making process, particularly participation by women and civil society;
(vi) promote social justice by encouraging equitable development across different ethnic groups and geographic areas.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) ensure that multiparty democratic elections are truly free and fair, and strengthen appropriate institutions;
(ii) establish an independent, impartial and adequately funded judiciary to ensure fair and effective enforcement of the law;
(iii) strengthen human and institutional capacities of the legislature and enhance its oversight functions in relation to policy-making and budget formulation;
(iv) establish a lean, competent, transparent, accountable, and merit-based civil service, with institutional support for anti-corruption measures;
(v) strengthen administrative capacity also at the local level and facilitate the process of decentralization;
(vi) facilitate the development of a strong civil society, including community-based organizations and women's groups, and forge a genuine partnership between civil society organizations and government institutions involved in socio-economic development;
(vii) consider the establishment of independent human rights and Ombudsman institutions, and promote civic education, with particular focus on human rights education.

Development Partners will:

(i) support efforts of African countries in strengthening human and institutional capacities of the legislature, judiciary, and executive branch of the government;
(ii) support sub-regional/regional exchanges of experiences on best practices relating to governance, including devising indicators for the effective delivery of public services.

(3.2) Conflict Prevention and Post-conflict Development

31. Over the years, a number of wars have been fought in Africa, undermining Africa's efforts to pursue stability and sustainable development. In recent years, Africa has made progress in conflict prevention, management and resolution. In this respect, the establishment of the OAU mechanism is a significant step. Efforts by the OAU and sub-regional organizations need to be supported and consolidated to prevent a recurrence of conflicts and to initiate and strengthen post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected countries. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has issued a report on The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (S/1998/318), which specifies actions to mitigate the potential for conflict.

(a) Goals and Objectives

(i) strengthen African structures and capacities for conflict prevention, management and resolution;
(ii) develop and implement effective confidence-building measures at national, regional and sub-regional levels as part of preventive strategies;
(iii) provide a smooth and early transition from emergency relief in conflict situations, through rehabilitation and reconstruction, to post-conflict development;
(iv) ensure the security of refugees and internally displaced persons.

(b) Guidelines for Action

To achieve the above goals,

African Countries will:

(i) intensify regional and sub-regional cooperation by exchanging information, monitoring and controlling illicit trafficking and stockpiling of small arms and light weapons. Towards those ends, African countries may consider the possibility of conducting a study on appropriate measures for registering transactions of small arms and light weapons within the framework of the United Nations and regional mechanisms, including the intensification of cooperation within OAU for the possibility of formulating a convention on the illicit possession and transfer of small arms;
(ii) provide vocational training to former and demobilized combatants and refugees; and develop programmes for effective management and eventual destruction of accumulated weapons, especially small arms;
(iii) make efforts, where appropriate, to invite accession to and early entry into force of the 1997 Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines, and assist in the rehabilitation of victims and strengthen programmes for skill development for de-mining;
(iv) ensure the protection and voluntary repatriation of refugees under international and humanitarian principles, such as those provided for in the United Nations and OAU refugee conventions, and work towards the establishment of international mechanisms to assist host governments in maintaining the security and neutrality of refugee camps and settlements;
(v) promote the active participation and involvement of civil society including women's NGOs and women's groups in peace building and conflict prevention.

Development Partners will:

(i) support integrated approaches to security and development, including capacity-building for police and internal security forces, and strengthening of border controls;
(ii) continue financial and technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of the OAU and sub-regional organizations for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, as well as African centers for training in conflict prevention and peace-keeping;
(iii) support the United Nations and OAU's efforts to develop an early warning and response system by enhancing their capacities to gather, analyze and disseminate necessary information through their communication and data bank systems;
(iv) provide the necessary assistance in land mine clearance for affected countries and demobilization of soldiers and their reintegration into civilian life, and increase the exchange of information between Asia and Africa on de-mining experience and technology;
(v) take necessary action to monitor and prevent the export of small arms to potential conflict areas;
(vi) support emergency and post-conflict relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, and development, through mobilizing resources and coordinated efforts within a framework of a long-term strategy, so as to facilitate the transition from emergency relief to development assistance;
(vii) provide assistance to ensure prevention of recruitment of children into armed forces and provide for productive social re-integration of demobilized child soldiers through support to their families and through provision of sound education, recreation, and employment opportunities;
(viii) assist countries hosting refugees in restoring the social and economic infrastructure which have been destroyed in the process of refugees' movements and settlements.

V. FOLLOW-UP

32. The true measure of success of the Agenda for Action will depend upon how effectively the participants can translate their commitments into specific actions by integrating the Agenda for Action developed in the TICAD-II process into their development programmes at national, regional and inter-regional levels. This national, regional and inter-regional integration of the Agenda for Action should be the main thrust of follow-up to TICAD-II. For this purpose, concrete steps should be taken, bearing in mind the value-added aspect of TICAD-II, namely South-South cooperation as a modality of development cooperation, particularly between Asia and African countries, with special emphasis on private sector cooperation. Appropriate indicators should be used, taking into account the ongoing work in the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and OECD, in order to measure progress in achieving goals and targets contained in the Agenda for Action. A series of review meetings will be organized to assess the achievement of goals and targets.
33. Information sharing on the progress in the follow-up process will further be facilitated through the establishment of TICAD-II contact points among the participants and an internet Web site to disseminate information widely across all sectors of society. Coordination of this effort will be the joint responsibility of the co-organizers.

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