REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE EXECUTION OF THE PROGRAMME ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 Original: French Executive Board Hundred and seventy-sixth session 176 EX/INF.10 PARIS, 28 March 2007 Original: French Item 4 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE EXECUTION OF THE PROGRAMME ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE UNESCO s participation in the eighth ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, Addis Ababa, January 2007 SUMMARY The purpose of this document is to draw the attention of the Members of the Executive Board to UNESCO s participation in the 8th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (Addis Ababa, January 2007), the central themes of which were Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development and Climate Change in Africa. No decision is required.

2 176 EX/INF.10 I. BACKGROUND 1. In document 175 EX/39, the Director-General informed the Members of the Executive Board of the state of cooperation with the African Union and African subregional and regional organizations. That document, of which note was taken in 175 EX/Decision 41, touched in particular on UNESCO s cooperation with the African Union and NEPAD in drawing up and implementing various plans of action in UNESCO s fields of competence. 2. The Summit of Maputo in 2003 was devoted to the environment, that of Khartoum in 2006 to education and culture and that of Addis Ababa in 2007 to the themes "Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development" and "Climate Change in Africa". II. THE ORGANIZATION S CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROCESS OF DRAWING UP THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CONSOLIDATED PLAN OF ACTION 3. Since 2002 UNESCO has participated in the process of drawing up a science and technology programme. To that end, the Organization made a technical and financial contribution at each stage and participated in the African ministerial conferences on science and technology, which approved the various phases: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) The first conference on science and technology for African experts and scientists, held in Nairobi in October 2003, drew up the framework of the plan of action; The first African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology, held within the framework of NEPAD in Johannesburg on 6 and 7 November 2003, resulted in the adoption of a draft plan of action and a Declaration; The third African Union Summit, held in Addis Ababa in July 2004, and in which the Director-General participated, endorsed the Declaration of the first African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology and asked the Commission of the African Union to include NEPAD s programme on science and technology in the African Union s strategic plan and programme of work for science and technology; The second African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology, held in Dakar in September 2005, approved the draft consolidated plan of action; The sixth African Union Summit held in Khartoum in January 2006 formally adopted the Consolidated Plan of Action and, in its decision EX.CL/Dec.254, requested that an AU- NEPAD-UNESCO high-level working group be created for the purpose of preparing a comprehensive programme for the establishment and funding of centres of excellence in Africa, with a view to the implementation of Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action. To give African countries control over their own socioeconomic development and to secure the necessary levels of investment, above all in research and development, the Khartoum Conference urged the Member States to bring their science and technology budgets up to 1% of their GDP by 2010 to ensure that programmes and projects in that field were implemented; The first African Congress of Scientists and Policy-Makers held in Alexandria in October 2006 endorsed the strategy for human resources development, which depends mainly on the establishment of networks of centres of excellence; Lastly, the extraordinary meeting of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST), held in Cairo, from 20 to 24 November 2006, endorsed the documents that had been submitted to the Addis Ababa Summit. The Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences and the Directors of the regional offices for

3 176 EX/INF.10 page 2 science in Africa (Nairobi and Cairo) participated in the meeting. The ministers recommended that a pan-african fund be set up to speed up the implementation of the Plan of Action. The ministers also approved a 20-year biotechnology strategy which recommends promoting not only biotechnologies but also biological safety in order to ensure that Africa benefits from advances in biotechnologies in the economic, health, environmental and industrial spheres and takes full account of the challenges, risks and by-products associated with the development, marketing and application of biotechnologies, as stipulated in the Plan of Action. 4. The United Nations Framework: As part of the mechanism for regional consultations of agencies working in Africa under the supervision of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UNESCO coordinates the response of the United Nations agencies working with NEPAD in the field of science and technology. The other agencies belonging to the science and technology group are: the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Bank. In this context, UNESCO held a meeting of the thematic group in Paris on 9 June 2006, which was attended by Professor Eng. Nagia Essyed, Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology for the African Union, and Professor John Mugabe, Science and Technology Adviser to NEPAD, and which submitted its report to the seventh regional consultation, held in Addis Ababa on 14 and 15 November Although preparations for the Plan of Action began in 2002, social and human science issues and the ethics of science and technology did not receive sufficient attention. In addition, social affairs is handled by a different department of the African Union Commission. Biotechnology is nevertheless an important priority. The Director-General therefore wanted UNESCO to ensure that greater account would be taken of those questions when arrangements were made for the implementation of the Plan of Action, and to that end, the Organization drew attention, at the various meetings held in preparation for the Summit at Addis Ababa, to the importance of promoting the ethics of science and technology, and bioethics in particular. 6. Furthermore, the Dakar Declaration on the Ethics of Science and Technology in Africa, adopted at the most recent meeting of the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), held in December 2006, recommends that Member States recognize the growing importance of the social and ethical implications of scientific and technological research and take them into account in economic and social development policies. Senegal was requested to transmit the Dakar Declaration to the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and to the competent authorities of the African Union. III. THE 8TH SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE AFRICAN UNION (ADDIS ABABA, JANUARY 2007) 7. At the invitation of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Professor Alpha Oumar Konaré, the Director-General attended the meeting held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 28 to 30 January 2007, accompanied by a large delegation which included the Assistant Director- General for Natural Sciences, the Assistant Director-General for Human and Social Sciences and the Assistant Director-General of the Africa Department. The Director-General was the special guest at the session devoted to the theme: Science, technology and scientific research for development presided over by Mr John Kufuor, President of Ghana and of the African Union for In his speech, the Director-General confirmed before the Heads of State and Government of the Union, that UNESCO would support the implementation of Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action. He declared that there is now a true political will, at the highest level, to invest in these fields and to make Africa a place of excellence, innovation and influence. (Speech by the Director-General (

4 176 EX/INF.10 page 3 8. A session on Climate Change in Africa was also held and was the subject of a debate and of a declaration adopted by the Heads of State and Government. It should be noted in that connection that UNESCO helped to draw up the Action Plan of the Environment Initiative of NEPAD, which was endorsed by the Heads of State and Government at the Maputo Summit in July Visibility of the Organization: In addition to the Director-General s speech, which attracted substantial attention, the Organization raised its profile considerably, in particular through its participation in the exhibition on science and technology in Africa, inaugurated on 9 July 2007 by President Kufuor, President Kagamé of Rwanda and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. 10. On 28 January 2007, the eve of the Summit, the Director-General participated in the 16th meeting of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC), chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. IV. SUMMIT OUTCOMES 11. The Addis Ababa Declaration on Science, Technology, and Scientific Research for Development (Assembly AU/Decl.6 (VIII)), contained in Annex I, and the Decision on the Report of the Extraordinary Conference of Ministers of Science and Technology held in Cairo (Assembly AU/Dec. 161 (VIII)), contained in Annex II, are historical benchmarks for Africa. The following points are noteworthy: (a) the proclamation of 2007 as the year for launching several campaigns to build collective capacities for the defence and promotion of science, technology and innovation in Africa; (b) the appeal to Member States to adopt scientific policies and strategies for the promotion of research and development and to develop innovative strategies for wealth creation and economic development by allocating to this sector at least 1% of their gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010, in accordance with Decision EX.CL/Dec. 254 (VIII) of the Khartoum Summit; (c) the need for South-South and North-South cooperation in the area of science, technology and innovation and the need to give greater priority to this sector in international partnerships; (d) (e) (f) the call for a scrupulous application of scientific ethics in Africa in order to preserve the continent s environment and natural resources, on the one hand, and to prevent all practices harmful to African populations and Africa s biodiversity, on the other; funding for national, regional and African programmes for science and technology and support for the establishment of regional and national centres of excellence in the field of science and technology; and the revitalization of universities, other higher education establishments and scientific research structures. 12. The Organization s concerns have been taken into account. What this means in particular is the recognition of UNESCO as a key partner in the implementation of the Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action. 13. The Addis Ababa Summit adopted other decisions of relevance to the Organization s fields of competence. Noteworthy among them were the decision relating to the EU-Africa Ministerial

5 176 EX/INF.10 page 4 Conference on Migration and Development and, in the context of the Second Decade of Education for Africa, the decision concerning the creation of an African fund for education. V. RESPONSE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AFRICA S SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CONSOLIDATED PLAN OF ACTION 14. As an immediate follow-up measure, the Director-General transmitted the decisions taken by the Summit to all the Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, the National Commissions and the field offices in Africa. The Director-General welcomes the fact that the African group at UNESCO has taken the initiative to include a special item on the agenda to discuss the follow-up and implementation of the decisions taken in Addis Ababa (176 EX/56). 15. In the spirit of the special partnership called for by the African leaders themselves, UNESCO is eager to play its follow-up role and contribute to the implementation of Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action at the continental and subregional levels, together with the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. The Regional Office in Nairobi (ROSTA) and the Division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development (SC/PSD) should play a leading role in this regard. 16. The Director-General has invited the Science and Social and Human Sciences programme sectors to identify specific areas for cooperation in the context of the implementation of the current Programme and Budget (33 C/5). Furthermore, the requirements and concerns of the Consolidated Plan of Action have already been included in the regional strategies for Africa (34 C/5) and in the Draft Programme and Budget for (34 C/5). 17. In the context of implementation, emphasis should be placed on: helping to build subregional and regional capacities and developing human resources in the Regional Economic Communities and specialized regional institutions; helping Member States to establish governance systems and to develop national strategies for science, technology and innovation; implementing subregional integrated scientific and technological programmes, in particular the African Distance Training Networks, including Avicenna, as an appropriate response to the Consolidated Plan of Action; establishing and using UNESCO Chairs as centres of excellence to be developed into a network; using the partnerships established by Africa with China, Latin America and Europe.

6 176 EX/INF.10 Annex I ANNEX I Assembly/AU/Decl.5(VIII) Assembly of the African Union Eighth Ordinary Session January 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at the 8th Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 29 to 30 January 2007; Reaffirming our commitment to the principles and objectives stipulated in the Constitutive Act of the African Union and our common objective to advance the development of the Continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; Determined to take all necessary measures to strengthen our common institutions and provide them with the necessary resources to enable them to discharge their respective mandates effectively; Recalling our millennium commitment to achieve sustainable development for our Continent; Reaffirming that African people are now more than before determined to banish poverty, combat diseases, improve public health, increase agricultural production and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Realizing that the achievement of these goals depends on our countries ability to harness science and technology for development and also on an increased and sustained investment in science, technology and innovation; Recognizing the need to build and strengthen Africa s institutions to enable them to conduct more scientific research so that the outputs of research may be utilized to solve our social environmental problems and contribute to socio-economic development; Recalling the decision to declare the Second Decade of Education for Africa ( ) and the adoption of the Plan of Action for the Decade; Recognizing the support in the field of science and technology by international organizations such as UNESCO; WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO: Encourage more African youth to take up studies in science, technology and engineering, and invite Member States to pay special attention to the teaching of science and technology; Promote and support research and innovation activities and the requisite human and institutional capacities;

7 176 EX/INF.10 Annex I page 2 Ensure scrupulous application of scientific ethics in Africa with a view to preserving the continent s environment and national resources and preventing all practices harmful to African populations; Ensure the enhanced role and the revitalization of African universities and other African institutions of higher education as well as scientific research institutions so that they can play an effective role as loci of science, technology and engineering education and development and also contribute to public understanding of science and technology; Promote and enhance regional as well as South-South and North-South cooperation in science and technology; Increase funding for national, regional and continental programmes for science and technology and support the establishment of national and regional centres of excellence in science and technology; Revitalize universities, other higher education establishments and scientific research structures. We call on UNESCO and other bilateral and multilateral organizations to support the Member States, Regional Economic Communities and the African Union to implement the Summit decision on Science and Technology.

8 176 EX/INF.10 Annex II ANNEX II Assembly/AU/Decl.6(VIII) DECISION ON THE REPORT OF THE EXTRAORDINARY CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DOC. EX.CL/315 (X) The Assembly: 1. Takes note of the recommendations of the Executive Council on the report of the Extraordinary Conference of Ministers of Science and Technology; 2. Welcomes and supports the Declaration of 2007 as the launching year of building constituencies and champions for science, technology and innovation in Africa; 3. Strongly urges Member States to promote Africa s Research and Development (R&D) and develop innovation strategies for wealth creation and economic development by allocating at least 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of national economies by 2010 as agreed by Khartoum Decision (EX.CL/Dec.254 (VIII)); 4. Also supports the establishment of a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization (PAIPO); 5. Endorses the need for South-South and North-South cooperation in science, technology and innovation and to enhance its role in international partnerships. Printed on recycled paper