Weekly Roundup
As the Save Darfur Day was commemorated around the world on September 17, 2007, General Agwai, commander of the AU-EU peacekeeping force for Darfur, states that political will is needed to end the crisis, noting that he has only 6,000 of the 20,000 troops he requires. Further, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Independent Advocacy Project have called on the African Union and all African governments to immediately demand that the Sudanese government, armed groups and Janjawid militia halt attacks against civilians and humanitarian agencies. These urgent demands are contained in a 5-Point Programme for Ending Violence in Darfur, which the groups released to mark Save Darfur Day.
As the 'Stop EPA campaign' prepares for the global day of action against the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) on September, 27, the African Union has issued a report cautioning member states to conclude only the agreements that do not undermine the development of the continent. The report notes that European negotiators have failed to appreciate the socio-economic and political philosophy that drives regional integration in Africa.
In another article, Pilirani Semu-Banda argues that the EPAs may undermine the benefits for the sugar industry of the ‘Everything-But-Arms’ European Union (EU) trade initiative. While David Cronin reports from a conference organised by members of the European parliament, where trade unionists and policy analysts stated that African nations have been reduced to begging in negotiations with the EU in what has turned into an exercise 'assaulting democracy'.
As the EPA negotiations continue, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the European Commission held consultations aimed at 'starting a process of reinforced cooperation with a view to identifying ways to achieve greater development impact in Africa through effective collaborative efforts'.
'Mobilizing Aid for Trade: Focus on Africa' is the theme of a conference scheduled in October in Tanzania, under the auspices of the AfDB, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in cooperation with the World Bank. Pascal Lamy of the WTO and Donald Kaberuka of the AfDB explain the rationale behind the Aid for Trade meeting asserting that there is increasing recognition that even with free trade, many countries do not have the basic infrastructure needed to take advantage of it. However, Emmanuel Opati argues that the 'trade, not aid' slogan ignores a major factor - the role of Africa’s image. Speaking to this image, a group of media practitioners deliberated in China to assess how Africa and China can exchange information and experience as well as change negative African and Chinese perceptions of one another in the era of globalisation.