The under-Secretary-General and UN special adviser on Africa called on world leaders gathered at the United Nations (UN) high-level meeting on African development to ‘streamline actions and upgrade priorities towards the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’ as Africa’s economic development still faces enormous obstacles. African leaders present at the summit, worried that the international financial turmoil menaces efforts to fight poverty in underprivileged countries, urged developed countries to honour their aid commitments in order to tackle hunger and poverty. The African Union (AU) Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete told journalists that developed nations have a moral obligation to assist the poor. Still in development news, heads of states and governments of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group will meet in Accra to review the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, the accord that defines their relationship with the European Union (EU). They will also discuss the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, rising food prices, energy and Economic Partnership Agreements. Elsewhere, the EU announced a €1 billion plan for African countries to expand their energy sector, launch a renewable energy co-operation programme between the AU and EU and support Africa’s participation in the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership of oil and gas producing countries. Meanwhile, a four-day inaugural China-ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) economic and trade forum opened in Beijing with the objective of elevating the existing bilateral relations between China and ECOWAS to a strategic partnership by exploring and concretising agreements for Chinese investment in critical sectors and to use such investments towards the realisation of the ECOWAS development vision.

In peace and security related news, representatives of the EU and the AU met in Brussels to discuss the crisis in Darfur and universal jurisdiction. While some African countries have argued that universal jurisdiction is used by the West against Africa, Human Rights Watch said that the ‘meeting was an opportunity to bring justice to women, children and men who are abused every day across the world’. The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor was to meet with UN and AU officials on the need ‘to protect the civilians in Darfur, stop the crimes and ensure the execution of the court’s judicial mandate and decisions.’ Further, the Peace and Security Council of the AU has reiterated its clear condemnation of all acts of violence in Darfur and violations of human rights and stressed the need to bring their perpetrators to justice.

In other news, the legislative elections recently held in Rwanda saw women taking 56.25 percent of the contested parliamentary seats putting the country on the world record of having 44 parliamentary seats held by women. Meanwhile, experts and officials attending the third and final conference of the Africa Green Revolution Conference affirmed that Africa’s food crisis could be alleviated by ‘modernising agriculture and reforming supply chains so that small-scale farmers get cheaper fertiliser and high-yield seeds’.