7-06-05, 9:28 am
Sirte, Libya, (Prensa Latina) African Heads of State and Governments are winding up Tuesday the 5th Ordinary African Union (AU) summit in Sirte, Libya, reaffirming their demand to have two permanent seats at the UN Security Council.
They ratified a declaration, which, among other prominent demands, calls allocation of two permanent seats with privileges including veto rights and five non-permanent seats.
The document will be submitted to the UN for consideration in the reform process underway in the international organization.
African leaders also discuss trade, peacekeeping and action taken to resolve conflicts in several African countries.
On Monday, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of a UN Democracy Fund, to support efforts by poor countries towards democracy.
Following Annan´s speech, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, AU´s chairman, called on the international community to bring back 'Africa´s stolen billions lying in foreign Banks to help the continent reach its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He said debt cancellation, doubling of aid, good governance, and a fair trade system alone would not stop the inherent level of poverty and underdevelopment in the continent.
The billions of dollars looted by 'corrupt African leaders' need to be brought back into the continent, he urged.
'For Africa to achieve the MDGs, it will require not only the debt forgiveness for which we have been vigorously campaigning for but also a massive inflow of finance through repatriation of corruption tainted funds in foreign banks,' said President Obasanjo.
President Obasanjo will join South Africa´s President Thabo Mbeki and other African leaders to lobby for debt cancellation, doubling of aid and fair trade regime at the Group of 8 industrialized nations´ summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, later this week.
AU Commission chief Alpha Konare said Africa needed to be vigilant against the promises that were made to Africa by wealthy nations but were not always kept.
'Too many promises were made but the promises were not always kept. For 25 years world leaders have promised to cancel Africa's debt. Let us welcome today's promises with total vigilance,' he said.
He welcomed a recent announcement of $40-billion debt cancellation to Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), 14 of whom are African countries. However, Konare cautioned against debt cancellation tied to conditions.
'We have to ensure that this gesture is not undermined by conditions,' said Commissioner Konare.
From Prensa Latina
