Fyi...the global family coming together...







The man who has no imagination has no wings. 

Muhammad Ali





Rodney D. Coates

Professor





-----Original Message-----



South America-Africa: Coming Together to Fight Poverty



By Humberto Márquez 

InterPress Service

September 27, 2009

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48615



PORLAMAR, Venezuela



A declaration that puts an accent on the positions of

the developing South and expresses a renewed commitment

to cooperation in the fight against poverty and for

development was signed by the leaders who met over the

weekend in the second South America-Africa summit, on

the Venezuelan island of Margarita.



Eight South American and 20 African presidents, along

with a number of vice presidents, prime ministers,

foreign ministers and other senior officials from a

total of 61 countries came together in the two-day

gathering, which was considered a success by the

participants, after the much less impressive attendance

at the first summit, held in Abuja, the capital of

Nigeria, three years ago.



In the 30-page final declaration, the leaders expressed

their complete support for reforms of the U.N. Security

Council that would guarantee greater participation by

the developing countries of South America and Africa

and improve its functioning, with a view to redressing

the current imbalances.



President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, which

aspires to a permanent seat on the U.N. Security

Council - whose permanent members are China, France,

Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - said

the Security Council had lost relevance, adding that

"we must work together to reform it."



The declaration states the need to solve in a peaceful

manner any problem or dispute that could endanger

regional or global security, although it also defends

appropriate and effective measures against any threat

to peace caused by the proliferation of "chemical,

biological or nuclear weapons."



In his address, Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi

proposed the creation of a South America-Africa South

Atlantic defence organisation, along the lines of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).



But the idea expressed by the Libyan leader, who

currently chairs the African Union, was not included in

the final declaration and did not receive the backing

of other speakers.



Gaddafi also reiterated criticism of the U.N. system

that he voiced a few days earlier in New York. In

addition, he lashed out at the military powers that

have sown landmines in countries of the developing

South, while defending the use of landmines by poor

countries, for defensive purposes.



The final declaration, however, condemns the production

and use of anti-personnel landmines by any country.



It also condemns racism, discrimination and trafficking

of persons, and underlines the importance of fostering

the exchange of experiences with respect to the rights

of women, children, adolescents, the elderly and the

disabled.



The document calls on Britain to urgently negotiate the

question of the sovereignty of the Malvinas/Falklands,

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands with Argentina

and the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago with

Mauritius, while urging France to negotiate the issue

of Mayotte island with Comoros.



In addition, the declaration reasserts the commitment

to intensify efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger in

the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).



Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-

General Jacques Diouf, who attended the summit,

underlined that for the first time in history more than

one billion people in the world are hungry.



"But in contrast, for the first time there are

sufficient resources in the world to solve the problem

of hunger," said Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa,

who holds the rotating presidency of the Union of South

American Nations (UNASUR).



The leaders also spoke out in favour of bi-regional

cooperation in the areas of food and agriculture, and

expressed an interest in taking part in the next FAO

food security summit, slated for November in Rome.



Argentine President Cristina Fernández said the

emerging cooperation between Africa and South America

could give rise to a new model of trade that would

include the transfer of technology and generate jobs.



"Argentina can offer technology, expertise and

machinery, so that Africa doesn't have to depend on

charity from international missions, but can produce

its food itself," said Fernández.



Another frequently mentioned issue was the question of

energy and mining. The leaders agreed to share and

exchange experiences in terms of energy sources and

savings, especially clean, renewable and alternative

sources.



The two regions also agreed to cooperate in areas

related to the production and sustainable use of oil

and gas.



After virtually ever speech that touched on the issue,

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez underscored the

potential of the two regions, which together hold one-

quarter of the planet's oil reserves.



Over the weekend, Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea,

which produces nearly 400,000 barrels per day of oil

but has no refinery, signed agreements with Mauritius

and Niger to study the construction of a refinery in

West Africa.



On the environmental front, the African and South

American leaders stressed that the nations of the

industrialised North are historically responsible for

global warming and must cut their greenhouse gas

emissions.



They also supported a special fund to help strengthen

developing countries' capacity to confront climate-

related disasters.



On the sidelines of the summit, the presidents of seven

South American countries - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,

Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela - signed the

foundational document of the Bank of the South, which

will have 20 billion dollars in startup capital, of

which Brasilia, Buenos Aires and Caracas will provide

12 billion dollars in equal parts.



Chávez suggested that the bank, which will fund anti-

poverty and development projects, hold foreign reserves

of countries of South America, because "keeping them in

banks of the North so that they make us loans using our

own money is silly."



He also said the Bank of the South should forge an

alliance with a similar institution in Africa, in order

to create a major "South-South" bank to finance

development programmes.



"I even have a name for it: it could be called Bancasa

(for ASA - Africa-South America - as the summits are

known)," said Chávez. Several African presidents

indicated that they liked the idea.



The declaration says the two regions are committed to

fomenting anti-drug initiatives, proposals, actions and

activities at both the bilateral and bioregional level.



Bolivia's request that the traditional use of coca

leaves by indigenous peoples be recognised caused

friction and delayed agreement on the question of

drugs. In the end, a clause was inserted in the chapter

on culture, stating that the leaders took note that the

chewing of coca leaves is a cultural tradition of the

Bolivian people, which should be respected by the

international community.



Chávez offered facilities to house an ASA summit

secretariat on Margarita Island, and the leaders agreed

on a follow-up mechanism, based on sectoral working

groups led by high-level officials who will meet in the

next few months to present proposals to a gathering of

foreign ministers to take place within the next year.



The third ASA summit will be held in 2011 in Libya.



_____________________________________________