Notes following African Diaspora Ministerial Conference, Gallagher Estate, Midrand, Sunday 18 November 2007

CLOSING REMARKS

Remarks by Representative of AU Commission I am pleased to address the Conference at this Closing Session on behalf of the African Union Commission and its Chairperson Mr Alpha Omar Konare.

This meeting is a culmination of determined efforts deployed jointly by South Africa and the African Union Commission in pursuit of the African Union Diaspora Initiative as enshrined in the amended Constitutive Act of the African Union and further clarified in subsequent Summit decisions including the Summit in Khartoum.

I wish to express our appreciation to all the participants, both from the Continent and especially our brothers and sisters from the Diaspora.  I wish, in particular, to express our appreciation to the Ministers who attended in person thus indicating the commitment of the respective countries to the institutionalisation and strengthening of relations between the African Union and the African diaspora. 

We are pleased with the frank and intense discussions that took place over the past three days.  We are also pleased with the outcome of the meeting and the way forward that was agreed upon.

The draft Programme of Action that has just been reviewed will be further enriched through a series of consultations including a meeting of experts and the pre-Summit Ministerial meeting that will pave the way for the convening of a successful Summit in 2008.

I wish to pay tribute the government of South Africa for the critical role it has played in ensuring a timely and effective implementation of the Summit decision.

I wish, in particular, to express our gratitude to the President and the Deputy President of South Africa for their personal participation in the meeting and support.

I wish also to put on record, our profound appreciation to Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for her leadership, active contribution and personal and strong commitment to the initiative and its processes.

Finally, on a personal note from someone who has been associated with the launching of the civil society initiative within our continental association during the late 1990s, and to have the privilege of convening the first and second civil society conferences within the context of the OAU in 2000 and 2001 with the participation of the African Diaspora, I would like to note how pleased I am with the progress made since then.

We are looking forward to the preparation of the most (inaudible) conditions, both physical and intellectual, that will pave the way for the Summit that will open the new era for the engagement between the African Union and the African diaspora.

I thank you.

Remarks by Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM, Colin Granderson

Thank you Mr Chairman.

Chairman, AU Commission, Ministers, distinguished delegates, members of the media:

On behalf of the Caribbean community I would like to firstly express our appreciation for the arrangements made and warm hospitality graciously provided by the government of South Africa in hosting this Conference.

In this regard, the Gala Cultural Show highlighted the rich cultural diversity of South Africa’s song and dance.  I am sure I speak for us all, when I say it was unforgettable.

The cultural show also served to illustrate a point made repeatedly during this ministerial conference: the importance of the cultural industry’s dimension of our cultural forms as well as the need to protect our intellectual property rights of our art forms and our indigenous knowledge.  Both are being extensively pirated with the consequences of no returns for the generators of these forms.

Quite apart from the sheer beauty and grace of that show was another striking feature: the involvement in the performances of men and women, young and old.  I say this to underline two critical observations made by this ministerial conference: that education – academic but also cultural – and the involvement of youth and women are indispensable to the effective and efficient attainment of the objectives of this historic and momentous process that seeks to unite and mobilise African peoples on the continent and in the Diaspora for the cause of an African renaissance.

A considerable amount of work has been achieved during this meeting.  The format of the meeting of plenary sessions rather than working groups facilitated consideration and discussion of all the themes by all the participants.  The Conference recognised that this process, this renaissance cannot only be an emotional and spiritual journey.  It must be a concrete, actionable and transparent one with measurable results, one to which all involved must be held accountable.

In this regard, the Ministerial Conference has produced a pragmatic results and solutions orientated programme of action which features complementary bottom-up and top-down approaches to the development of sustainable partnerships between Africa and the Diaspora and which pays due attention to follow up.

The programme compromises concrete, relevant proposals which seek to address the issue of both the Diaspora in all its expressions and the African continent in all its diversity.

The co-operation envisaged is political, economic and social and includes a number of strategies and short term actions.  Attention is paid to the fundamental and complex from tourism, culture, remittances and communication in all its forms to the image and mentality transformation, economic development, climate change and energy.

The Conference has, I believe, responded to the call of our youth “no more resolutions without solutions.”  Even so, let us be reminded that renaissance and rebirth is not a static process but one of gestation.  This programme of action is just one stage of that process.  More must and will be done. 

Recognition must be given to the African Union for bringing us all to this critical stage through the elaboration of a creative, innovative and ambitious policy mechanism, an invitation really to the Diaspora to constitute the 6 th region of the African Union.  That much needs to be discussed and clarified regarding the practical implementation of this mechanism is evident.  But this, in no way, undermines its noble intentions.

Further consideration therefore needs to be given to the concept of the Diaspora as the 6 th region of the African Union in order to facilitate the establishment of the necessary institutional modalities to make the concept operational.

This having been said, I wish to commend the African Union Commission for the guidance and support for the work provided for this Conference and for those that preceded it. 

I also wish to commend the Chairmanship of this Ministerial Conference by Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.  We all now look forward to the third phase of this process of consultation and decision making - the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union and the African Diaspora scheduled for 2008 in South Africa.

The hosting of this Ministerial Conference of the African Union and the African Diaspora itself has not only laid a foundation on which we can build; it has also deepened the spiritual reconnection between the African Diaspora and Africa.  The process of rejuvenation of the global African family as an instrument of the wider renaissance has begun.

Thank you.

Representative of the African Union

Honourable Ministers, Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Members of the Diplomatic Corp, Delegates, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

After three days of intense discussions and deliberations aimed at reviewing the consolidated outcomes documents that emerged from the Consultative Conferences and the work of our senior officials who also produced a draft programme of action for our consideration, I am exceedingly happy to see our proceedings come to a close on a very positive note.

I say positive, in the sense that, many of us found the time to travel to South Africa, gave ourselves ample time and showed due commitment to ensuring the completion of our task.

In accomplishing this task, we all took cognisance of the chronological and systematic manner in which the African Diaspora initiative has developed into a viable project whose realisation can (inaudible) to the good of all people of African descent.  And this can be implemented in the letter and spirit which characterise its elaboration.

Ladies and gentlemen, our senior officials had carried out three thematic discussions under the rubric of political, economic and social co-operation which established the strong linkages of all the various strands of issues that underpin our common undertaking.

As Ministers we also had the time to discuss five main themes viz. global dialogue; peace and stability; economic co-operation; regional development and integration; women, youth, children and vulnerable groups; historical, socio-cultural and religious commonalities; as well as knowledge sharing.

These themes further serve to deepen our dialogue and understanding of the issue and affirm the commonalities that unite us.

These point the way to our place in history and show how and why we need to assist ourselves in the present scheme of affairs.

As a Ghanaian, I feel a sense of pride and fulfilment in the manner in which the African Diasporan agenda is evolving.

The Pan Africanist vision with its strong undercurrent of fighting alienation, marginalisation, subjugation, discrimination and racism, in order not only to free our continent from colonialism but also to free our minds of inferiority complex, in order to regain our dignity and identity as equals on the world platform. 

This was the cornerstone of Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah’s concept of the African personality which became Ghana’s article of faith.

Although the concepts served its purpose partially, I am painfully aware that we only succeeded in freeing ourselves and our countries from colonial tutelage.

However, we still face the huge and daunting challenge of making Africa and the people of the African diaspora masters of our own destiny.  I am happy that this renewed initiative is moving in the right direction. 

Let me shed some light on what Ghana is doing to encourage and support our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora to reconnect with the homeland in a meaningful way.

We have permitted the establishment of the African Diasporan Mission at the WEB du Bois Centre in Accra with full diplomatic status.  This shows the seriousness that Ghana accords the Diaspora issue because in it we find the ramifications of the reunification of the greater African family. 

We will use this platform to encourage other African countries to replicate this approach and other innovative ways that will strengthen our relations so that we can achieve our grand objectives.

It is in this light that I wish to express sincere appreciation and pay special tribute to the government and people of South Africa for showing solidarity towards this initiative.  We have seen that South Africa’s engagement is not mere rhetoric.  The country has manifested its seriousness in various ways including the commitment of its leaders President Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.  We also appreciate the considerable resources deployed to move the project forward.

On your behalf, and on my own, I wish to thank the President, the government and people of South Africa again for these tremendous efforts. 

We know and have faith that this time around we shall succeed.  I have no doubts about the renewed initiative

In conclusion, let me also take this opportunity to thank you, my brothers and sisters and friends of Africa who have travelled from far and near to Midrand to participate in this meeting which is preparatory to the forthcoming African Union – Africa Diaspora Summit scheduled to take place in this country early next year.

To each and every one of you who has contributed to the success of this Ministerial meeting, I thank you for a job well done.

Thank you

Questions and answers

Question Minister Dlamini Zuma, how will the Diaspora contribute towards and participate in the 2010 Soccer World Cup?

Answer Well there are various levels of participation.  Off course, we would love the Diaspora, particularly the Caribbean and other countries of the Diaspora be here as participants ie. as competitors in the 2010 Soccer World Cup, besides those that will come from Africa.

But besides that, there is a programme of having fan parks in all the countries in Africa and I suppose that can also be extended to the Diaspora of the countries that will be participating, competing in 2010 so that those who may not have the opportunity to come to South Africa as fans can also participate in the fan parks in their own countries.

Secondly, there is also going to be a volunteer programme and this will also involve people from the Diaspora if they so wish – volunteers to look after the clubs and fans including volunteers who have language skills because South Africa is not very well known for its foreign language skills because it was isolated for a  long time.

There are also other programmes that will include the Legacy Programmes of FIFA and South Africa in the AU.  Some of these will include coaching and all sorts of development programmes for soccer and the FIFA legacy programme in Africa also includes infrastructure development.

So, there will be participation at different levels in 2010.

Separate to this is the business side – there is a long list of things that are going to be needed and the Diaspora will be very pleased to have the first opportunity to participate in these projects.

Off course, broadcasting.

There is also going to be the technology to watch the match on your mobile phone.

There are various areas of participation – business. Volunteers, the fans.

Question Minister Dlamini Zuma, regarding political co-operation – what role do we envisage the Diaspora playing in this matter?

Answer (Minister Dlamini Zuma) I will begin answering this but the chair should have the last word on this.

Political co-operation, again, is envisaged to be implemented on many levels.  There is a decision that was taken by the Summit of the AU to invite the Diaspora to participate in the affairs and development of the African Union and indeed, the Continent.

And that is the basis on which we are basing all our activities as we move forward.

But there is also agreement that wherever we are, in the multilateral institutions, for instance, we should co-ordinate and aim to synchronise our positions.  There is a suggestion that we should celebrate the important days of both the Diaspora and the African continent.

There is a practice for instance that when an African Head of State visits he should meet the African Ambassadors of the various countries if time permits.

The discussion is that this should be extended to the Diaspora.  If you translate this, it would mean the Head of State would meet Africa and Caribbean Ambassadors and in Europe, for instance, meet with members of the diaspora.

So there are lots of areas of co-operation envisaged at a political level in areas like UNESCO and so on.  And hopefully, even the invitation to the Diaspora means they can participate in African developmental issues and vice versa.

(Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM) One of the points that came out clearly at this Conference, and that point has also come out in the RCCs that have been organised, is that the Diaspora itself is a source of skills, expertise and resources and these are the factors Africa and the Diaspora require to go forward.

So, because of the fact that so many African descendants have these resources, we have to ascertain how best to channel this towards Africa and the Diaspora.

One of the suggestions has been that huge amounts of money are contributed by the financial agencies that channel remittances back to their home countries.  And these financial agencies do not belong to Africa and the Diaspora so why not, for example, put in place Africa and Caribbean agencies able to benefit from some of the manna that is falling from these other agencies.

Another point that was made is that these monies are sent into home countries that go to families and individuals.  These are huge sums of money.  The point we are making is that we should show those who are sending money back home that there are other ways of using this money.  Yes, you would like to support your family but there are those who have greater amounts of disposable money that can be used in other ways.  For instance, to invest in bonds, stocks and so on.

The Diaspora is seen as a rich source of all sorts of resources and we can give a bit more thought as to how these can be channelled for Africa’s best benefit.

(Deputy Foreign Minister of Ghana) There is currently an informal political co-operation.  Various decisions made by various African governments have an underpinning of some influence from our African brothers and sisters in the Diaspora.

But what we seek to do is to formalise this political co-operation although there is co-operation between the AU and the Diaspora.

We are seeking to formalise this through recognising and bringing them into the AU proper and this is what we are doing.  You have heard the statements – there are thematic areas – political, socio-economic and cultural areas at which we are looking.

So, it is not just political co-operation at which we are looking.  There are other areas of co-operation at which we can look.

Question The representative of CARICOM – what is the stance of CARICOM on reparations?  And how will this be addressed at the forthcoming EU-Africa Summit?

Answer (Colin Grandersen) The issue of reparations was raised by the CARICOM Diaspora delegation at this meeting as was done in previous meetings.

The Caribbean diaspora sees this as a very important issue that must be addressed but we also see that a lot of work needs to be done.  This is an issue as well as a study because when you are approaching developed countries with ideas and proposals, you must be armed with well researched information.  Therefore, work needs to be done to back up what we are saying.  In the course of the 200 th anniversary since the end of the trans-atlantic slave trade, one of the Prime Ministers was asked to do the Wilberforce Lecture in the United Kingdom.  He raised the importance of this issue and made some suggestions. 

One aspect that is very important is education – human resource building in the South, Africa and the African Diaspora – we believe that one of the ways in which assistance can be given is to help us build our human resource capacity.  It is quite clear that the developing countries, in the last few years, with particular reference to the Caribbean are offering fewer and fewer scholarships.  I will not go so far as to say that Cuba is offering scholarships to the countries of the South.  We do not receive this support from countries of the North.

A lot of work has been done in the USA to illustrate that some of the longest existing and most profitable industries have been built on the backs of slaves.

(Minister Dlamini Zuma) Also to say that in 2009 we will have the Durban Review of the World Conference Against Racism and I think this matter will emerge very strongly in this review.

Question To the Ghanaian Deputy Foreign Minister, what is the current health status of the President following his accident?

Answer As you may have heard on the 14 th November in the morning, the President was in a convoy heading towards the (inaudible) Castle, the seat of government when en-route to the Castle, at an intersection, a vehicle drove into the President’s car.  The President’s car then somersaulted and hit other cars.  It was a terrible accident.  Both vehicles sustained serious damage.

But fortunately for Ghana and the AU the President was removed from the vehicle without any injuries.

Others involved in the incident did sustain injuries.  The driver of the vehicle that drove into the President’s car when subjected to a breather-liser was found to be four times over the legal limit of alcohol.  In fact it was a serious breach of security and an investigation is underway to determine how a car could intercept a Presidential convoy.

But I can assure you the President is safe and well and he has been declared fit.

He is in good spirits although a bit shaken.

At the appropriate time we will reveal the results to the investigation.

Question Minister Dlamini Zuma, in your opening you raised the issue of the youth and women – what is the current situation of women is Chad and how will the discussions at this meeting impact on the post conflict reconstruction and development of Sudan?

Answer On the question of children, there was a discussion around children not only in war but as regards the skilling of young people.  It was raised that Africa will have the youngest population as we move forward into this century so it is important that these young people should be skilled, educated.  Health should be taken into account.  There was also a lot of discussion about children and the impact of war and conflict.  There were also discussions about youth networking across Africa and the Diaspora so it was an area that was looked at extensively.

In terms of Sudan, off course, you would appreciate this was a general discussion.  We were not looking at specific countries.

But with regard to the Sudan, the post conflict and reconstruction particularly in the South will present lots of opportunities for participation.  Some countries are also participating.

South Africa has a long term project between the government of Southern Sudan and UNISA in terms of capacity building.  This programme was initiated even before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and will continue right up until 2011.  Other countries are contributing in other ways but we did not discuss this specifically.

We also agreed that at a political level we should work together in terms of conflict resolution in Africa and the Diaspora.

Question Are South African whites who have emigrated to Australia, the UK, etc considered to be part of the African Diaspora or is it based on original descent?

Answer (Deputy Minister of Ghana) At our last meeting in Addis Ababa it was agreed that admission to the Diaspora had not been broad enough so what you have before you is not a final matter.  I think we would have to work on that.

(Minister Dlamini Zuma) I think that South Africans living in Canada, the UK, Australia, etc – outside South Africa – if they consider themselves Africans then they can participate but if they consider themselves as part of the European Diaspora, this is a different matter.

Question (Inaudible)

Answer (CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General) On the question of Brazil, I am from the Caribbean and the majority of the Caribbean societies are multi-ethnic societies.  But there is a dominant culture and that Africa-Creole.

We see ourselves as part of the Diaspora and despite being multi-ethnic we are not prevented from participating in this programme.  I cannot speak for Brazil but I imagine this is also true of Brazil.  For example, during this Ministerial conference Brazil was represented by a senior official so it is quite clear there is official recognition of what is happening through the African Union.

(Minister Dlamini Zuma) This does not apply only to Brazil.  There are a lot of other countries where there is a significant Diaspora and part of what emerged from the consultations is that part of the Diaspora in those countries are very marginalized and almost invisible.  So we attempt to, in our work, also assist to alleviate the conditions in which the Diaspora lives without taking away the sovereignty.  It is also to work with those countries so that the Diaspora is properly integrated into the development programme of that country, participates fully and becomes a visible Diaspora.

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

18 November 2007