Chairperson, I shall begin with a short quote from Pixley ka Isaka Seme's essay, The Regeneration of Africa. He says:
Oh, for that historian who, with the open pen of truth, will bring to Africa's claim the strength of written proof. He will tell of a race whose onward tide was often swelled with tears, but in whose heart bondage has not quenched the fire of former years. He will write that in these later days when Earth's noble ones are named, she has a roll of honour too, of whom she is not ashamed.
The giant is awakening! From the four corners of the earth Africa's sons, who have been proved through fire and sword, are marching to the future's golden door bearing the records of deeds of valour done.
This was written in 1906. Africa has come a long way since then, making its way through great trauma, suffering and deprivation to a brave new world. We see the emerging, promoting and upholding of principles of human rights and democracy, encouraging of good governance, transparency and accountability, as well as facilitating integration, unity, co-operation and development on our continent, Africa.
It is interesting to note that, a mere seven years ago, in May 2000, The Economist magazine published an article that declared Africa "the hopeless continent", and therefore a place to be ignored. The very same The Economist asked a rhetorical question in 2006: "Is Africa, often dubbed the hopeless continent, finally taking off?" If The Economist is to be believed, then Africa remains one of the few continents which, in a very short space of time, would have traversed from "hopeless" to "recovery". However, the fact of the matter is that Africa has never been a hopeless continent. If this was the case, it would have not been colonised and its resources would have been squandered by the developed world. If it was ever a hopeless continent, Africa would not have been today a theatre of activities and competition between different global actors bent on exerting their influence and domination.
In 2007, Africa saw the hosting of the African Union Summit and played host to different global leaders from China to the United States of America. All these are clear indications that Africa has a lot more to offer to the rest of the world at an economic level besides other levels. It is this interest in Africa's resources that the African political leadership must understand and be able to exploit for the betterment of the lives of the people of Africa in pursuit of peace, development and social justice. Whether it is the European Union trying to immerse itself in Africa's economic potential through economic partnership agreements or China's increasing support and involvement in Africa, the message is simple and clear: The world's interest towards Africa is growing. Thus, Africa needs to be able to respond collectively and proactively, taking advantage of this situation in order to ensure that, unlike in the past, nothing happens on the continent without the expressed and collective acknowledgement from the African leadership through the various organs of the African Union which needs to be strengthened in every manner, enabling it to carry out its mandate.
Africa is confronted by various challenges in the quest for peace, security and social justice. Peace and security is closely linked with development, including human development. One of the most critical challenges is regional unity and cohesion. In pursuit of this objective, the African Union has undertaken the process of harmonising and rationalising regional economic communities, RECs. Research shows that most RECs are still nowhere near achieving their stated objectives.
Conflict resolution and peace-building form important pillars of peace and security initiatives. The two are related and are interlinked. While conflict resolution may focus on addressing the root causes of conflict as well as the various processes that lead towards restoring peace, peace- building goes several steps further to address mediation, facilitating processes of negotiation and the creation of mutual understanding and reconciliation. In this regard, women should play a bigger role in peace negotiations and other processes. The invisibility of women in these processes has therefore had the effect of undermining the value that women can contribute to conflict prevention, peace-enforcement, post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building.
When will the suffering of the people in Darfur stop? When will the suffering of people in Chad and the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc - the list goes on - stop? Africa must find solutions for its problems. But, more importantly, an early warning system must identify possible problems and ward off conflict. The fragility of the African state is an important variable in the analysis of why conflict situations arise. As one scholar noted: "Present conflicts in Africa and elsewhere underline the reality that security threats often arise not from outside aggression, but from the unconsolidated nature of the African state ...." In mature and functional political systems, the coercive monopoly of the state provides protection to all citizens as a basic right. The failure of a state to provide such protection to its citizens in weak African states gives rise to a more complex security dilemma.
In conclusion, there is general consensus that development cannot occur in situations of conflict and instability. Experience has also shown that development will not be sustained in the absence of oversight, accountability and transparency. In the absence of the above, the society will be unable to produce and distribute resources efficiently.
Lastly, the African Peer Review Mechanism, as outlined in the New Partnership for Africa's Development, is an important instrument that promotes accountability, transparency and gives definition to an African democracy. Let all governments accept and open up their countries for peer review that can only strengthen democracies and promote social justice. Let us celebrate and rejoice that Africa is on the move and will carve its own destiny. Viva Africa, Viva!