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Africa Policy E-JournalSouthern Africa: Europe/SA Cooperation +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++ Region: Southern Africa +++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ European - Southern African cooperation in a globalising world The Vienna Conference October 12-14, 1998 For additional information, please contact: Southern African Documentation and Co-operation Centre (SADOCC)* Vienna Institute for Development and Cooperation (VIDC) ENIASA (http://www.niza.nl/nl/eniasa) Introduction Leading up to the Third European Union / Southern African Development Community Ministerial Conference in November, this conference will provide a platform for parliamentarians as well as NGO representatives both from Southern Africa and from the European Union to discuss relations between these two regions in context of a changing global political and economic environment. Issues arising from the forthcoming new WTO round, debt management initiatives, structural adjustment programmes as implemented by the international financial institutions and current talks on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment/MAI will be among topics addressed. In addition, the conference will look into current trade negotiations between the EU and South Africa, and into talks about a Post-Lome dispensation starting under the Austrian EU Presidency. Other topics on the agenda include security issues and the contribution of parliaments, social partners and NGOs towards the governmental political dialogue. The Vienna Conference of parliamentarians and NGOs therefore aims at reviving the spirit of the largely defunct North/South dialogue and at broadening the EU/SADC political dialogue. All the subjects covered by the conference are of crucial importance for the economic development of the SADC region, and indeed of Africa as a whole. But as there is also a crucial correlation between societal/individual well-being and democracy, the issues before the conference are also highly relevant for the advancement of human rights and social progress. The conference will take place between October 12-14, 1998 in the House of Parliament in Vienna. The conference will be opened by the president of the Austrian parliament, Dr Heinz Fischer. As keynote speakers, Mrs Graca Machel and EU Commissioner Prof. Joao de Deus Pinheiro have been invited. Southern African participants who have already confirmed their attendance include high-level representatives of national parliaments in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participation from the NGO sector includes prominent representatives of trade unions, universities and economic research institutions as well as of developmental organisations from Angola, Moçambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. European participants will include high-level representatives of the European Commission, the national parliaments of EU member states, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as of international organisations. Also a wide range of European NGOs will be participating. Opening addresses Dr. Heinz Fischer, President, Austrian Parliament; Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Univ. Prof. Paulette Pierson-Mathy, President, ENIASA Keynote addresses Southern African - European cooperation in a globalising World Democracy, human rights and social justice - the main goals for a renewed
global cooperation Agora 1: Structural adjustment - means or obstacle to poverty eradication? The eradication of poverty worldwide is among the goals agreed upon unanimously by the international community. However, experience gained in many countries shows that unemployment, social marginalisation and povertisation are on the increase. The exclusiveness of economic structural adjustment policies as recommended by international financial institutions and implemented by many governments is therefore increasingly questioned. This debate will be taken up by the first working group of the conference:
Panelists: Morgan Tsvangirai (Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Harare); Leya Chatta Chipepa (Zambian Association for Research and Development, Lusaka); Kumi Naidoo (S.A. National NGO Coalition, Johannesburg); repr. World Bank (invited); EU MP Agora 2: Social standards versus freedom of investment: A contribution to the social rights debate The adoption of a binding Code of Conduct for transnational investors is one of the longstanding demands made by the trade union movement in Southern Africa, but also in Europe. In a period of globalisation however, priority is often given to the liberalisation of trade and investment regimes whereas social, workers' or environmental rights are denounced as hampering economic progress. But ongoing negotiations about a Multilateral Agreement on Investments could also lead to the weakening of bargaining positions of national governments as well as entrepreneurs and employees vis-a-vis transnational companies. This workshop will therefore discuss the pro's and con's of
Panelists: C.R. Haikali (National Union of Namibian Workers); Congress of S.A. Trade Unions - invited; Mr Masuku (Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce); Jose Luis Cabaço (Maputo); John Evans (TUAC, Paris); SA-Initiative der dt. Wirtschaft - invited Agora 3: EU/Southern African economic relations - a model? In September 1994, the Declaration adopted by the first EU/Southern Africa Ministerial Conference in Berlin raised high hopes for the development of mutually beneficial relations between the two regions. In the meantime, however, a good deal of these expectations has been frustrated by economic realities. This Agora will investigate whether and if so to what extent trade relations between the European Union and Southern Africa contribute towards economic development and social progress. Moreover, are current EU trade policies with Southern Africa an appropriate model for EU relations with other regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America? Is there cohesion with the stated goal of EU development cooperation towards fostering sustainable development, democracy and human rights? In particular, presentations will refer to
Chair: Maj Britt Theorin MEP (Sweden) - invited Panelists: Dot Keet (University of the Western Cape, Cape Town); Manfred Rukoro (Namibia National Farmers Union); Ben Turok MP (Institute for African Alternatives, Johannesburg); Rob Rozenburg (EU Comission, Brussels) Plenary Session 2: Political dialogue and the role of parliamentarians and the civil society On the first day of the conference, important topics like social impacts of structural adjustment policies, relations between social/environmental standards and investors' strategies as well as current trade policy issues have been assessed. Based on the rapporteurs introductions, the main conclusions and demands of the agoras will now be addressed by the plenary:
Presentation of Agora Reports Panel statements, followed by general debate Chair: Mose T. Tjitendero MP (Namibia, SADC Parliamentary Forum) Panelists: Per Gransted, AWEPA (Stockholm); Jeanette Minnie (MISA, Windhoek); Mohao Pheko (Women's National Coalition of S.A., Johannesburg); Ibbo Mandaza (SAPES Trust, Harare); Lucchiano Vecchi (Rome), MEP Agora 4: Debt issues in Southern Africa: Lack of legitimacy and economic dependence? Recent initiatives have tried to ease the foreign debt burden accumulated by some of the SADC countries. The European "Jubilee 2000" campaign calls for further and more radical measures. But presently, many issues are still unresolved: In South Africa, the democratically elected government is faced with repayment contracts entered into by the former Apartheid regime. At that time, destabilisation strategies against neighbouring countries in Southern Africa were responsible for the accumulation of debt; it is here that the international legal debate on legitimacy becomes relevant. In addition, a great portion of the region's debt is due to continuing economic dependence to high interest rates. This workshop will therefore:
Panelists: Opa Kapijimpanga (Afrodad, Harare); Dr Molefe Tsele (ESSET, Johannesburg); Joe Hanlon (Maputo/London); IMF representative Agora 5: Addressing the roots of conflicts and instability The break-through of a non-racial and democratic political dispensation in South Africa has also put an end to regional destabilisation in Southern Africa. Chances to maintain peace in an important sub-region on the African continent are quite high. On the other hand, violent conflicts at local levels still exist. There is little tradition of seeking non-violent solutions for diverging interests, and deteriorating social and environmental standards are likely to bring about - at different levels of the societies - new potentials for armed confrontation. This workshop will therefore address questions such as
Panelists: Liz Clegg (Saferworld, London); John Stewart (Harare); Sergio Viera MP (Maputo); Colette Braeckman (Le Soir, Brussels) - invited; Aldo Ajello - invited Plenary Session 3: European Union - Southern Africa: Towards renewed cooperation? The conference has extensively dealt with some of the key economic and political challenges brought about by the globalisation process and affecting European/Southern African cooperation. Based upon this analysis, parliamentarians and NGOs have discussed their own role as well as the role of their governments in addressing these issues. What are their expectations for the SADC/EU partnership in the future? Particular reference will be made to what parliamentarians and NGOs expect from the forthcoming third Ministerial Conference with regard to
Presentation of Agora Reports Keynote address The relations of the European Union with the Southern African Development Community - Prospects for the Future Joao de Deus Pinheiro, Member of the European Commission - invited Panel statements, followed by contributions from the floor Panelists: Rob Davies (MP, Cape Town); Simba Makoni (former SADC Secretary General, Harare); Michel Rocard MEP Conclusions of the Chair (to be submitted to the Ministerial Conference) presented by Alfred Gusenbauer (Austrian Parliament) and Paulette Pierson-Mathy (ENIASA) The following organisations support the conference: AAB Suedliches Afrika - Austausch-Aufbau-Bildung* (Bern), Action for Southern Africa - ACTSA* (London), Afrika Sued Aktions-Buendnis - AAB* (Bonn), Afrikagrupperna* (Stockholm), Associazione per un Sudafrica Democratico* (Roma), Austria Zimbabwe Friendship Association - AZFA (Linz), Austrian Journal of Development Studies - JEP (Wien), Avances Datos Africa Sur - ADAS* (Madrid), Comite Afrique Australe - CAA* (Brussels), Cooperacion con el Africa Austral - CAA* (Madrid), Erlajahr 2000 Oesterreich - Initiative 96 Entschuldung (Wien), EU platform of Austrian non-governmental development organisations (Wien), European Parliamentarians for Africa - AWEPA (Amsterdam), Fellesradet for Afrika* (Oslo), Greek Committee for International Democratic Solidarity* (Athens), Institute for Environment, Peace and Development - IEPD (Wien), Institute for Security Studies - ISS (Johannesburg), Irleand South Africa Association* (Dublin), Koordination Suedliches Afrika - KOSA* (Bonn), Movimento Portuguese para Cooperacao e Solidaridade con Africa - MPCA* (Lisboa), Nederlands Instituut voor Zuidelijk Afrika - NiZA* (Amsterdam), Network Southern Africa (Stockholm), OED - Austrian Service for Development Cooperation (Wien), OEKO-Invest Verlagsgesmbh. (Wien), Rencontre Nationale Avec Le Peuple d'Afrique du Sud* (Arcueil), Senatsinstitut fuer internationale Entwicklung/Universitat Wien (Wien), Solidaritatskomitee Mosambik (Wien), SydAfrika Kontakt* (Kobenhavn). * ENIASA member or observer organisations
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Africa Policy E-Journal
