25 October 2013: In a joint debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), UN Member States discussed the need for continued international support and cooperation with African countries, with UN General Assembly (UNGA) President John Ashe calling NEPAD the “essential blueprint” for promoting African stability.

The meeting, which took place on 25 October 2013, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, reviewed two reports of the UN Secretary-General on Africa: ‘The New Partnership for Africa’s Development: eleventh consolidated progress report on implementation and international support’ (A/68/222) and ‘Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa’ (A/68/220).

Report A/68/222 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor to the African Union (AU), and stresses the importance of accelerating progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including through increased public and private investments, international delivery of development commitments, and agreement in the Doha Round of trade negotiations.

Report A/68/220 is an assessment of peace, security, and development in Africa from July 2012-2013. It focuses on several priority areas for the continent: conflict prevention; peacekeeping; post-conflict recovery; socio-economic development; human rights; rule of law; and security sector reform and disarmament. The report also offers policy proposals to address current challenges, through an emphasis on good governance to ensure stable democratic processes and elections.

Ashe encouraged further commitments to accelerate fulfillment of the MDGs by 2015 and to “set the stage” for a post-2015 development agenda. He called on the international community to partner with African countries for effective implementation of development projects.

India highlighted the India-Africa Partnership, which promotes capacity building and industrial growth. The EU said it is one of the most important donors for African development programs, especially through the Africa-EU Partnership, which prioritizes infrastructure development and good governance. Japan noted its commitment to provide up to US$32 billion in assistance for Africa, through public and private means, and to continue to support food security efforts through the Coalition for African Rice Development. States also discussed: effective utilization of African resources; collaboration for the post-2015 development agenda; the need to fulfill development commitments; and new mechanisms for technology transfer. [UN Press Release] [Statement of UNGA President] [Meeting Webpage and Documents]