No consensus in ECOSOC on Africa declaration.

• Position: UN Economic and Social Council

Although the critical economic situation in Africa was the priority item on the agenda of its second regular session of 1984, the Economic and Social Council was unable to reach a consensus on a planned declaration. The Council unanimously approved a decision (1984/188) asking the General Assembly to inscribe the question on the agenda for its thirty-ninth session. Before the decision was approved, the Council President, Karl Fischer (Austria) said he received with great disappointment the news about the inability to reach agreement on the planned declaration. However, pessimism should not be allowed to take over. It was essential to undertake immediately the task of reaching agreement in the near future on concerted action by the international community in favour of Africa. The African continent needed urgent help, he said.

Council Vice-President Mohamed Bouyoucef (Algeria), who chaired the Council working group on the planned declaration, said inability to reach consensus could not be blamed on lack of time or preparation. The main reasons were divergence of views between the developed countries and African countries on objectives and methods regarding such issues as commodity price stabilization, compensatory financing, reaffirmation of the ODA targets for the least developed countries and the concept of incentives.

For some countries, he said, the need was above all for emergency humanitarian aid while African countries emphasized the need to reverse negative tendencies inherent in the development crisis generated by the burden of the external environment as well as natural calamities. He expressed the conviction that such a major initiative as the planned declaration could not remain a dead letter, and that the failure of the consultations in the Council was only a temporary one.

In opening the debate on this item, Mr. Fischer said that adverse economic environment, harsh climatic conditions and structural weakness had so far prevented African economies from achieving satisfactory growth rates and from establishing acceptable levels of well-being for their people. The situation in many African countries had deteriorated to a point where the main issue was no longer economic development but mere survival. The...