African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation
Encyclopedia
The African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation was adopted in February 1990 at the "International Conference on Popular Participation in the Recovery and Development Process in Africa", Arusha
, Tanzania
.
The Charter was officially adopted at the Twenty-fifth session of the Economic Commission for Africa and Sixteenth meeting of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers responsible for Economic Planning and Development.
The Charter was adopted in the context of a deterioration of social and economic conditions in Africa
n countries in the 1980s and ratifying parties thought that the lack of "full appreciation of the role popular participation (see public participation
plays in the process of recovery and development" was partly to blame.
The Charter was initiated by NGOs, grass-roots organisations and African Governments. The Charter emerged NGO suggestions the 1988 mid-term review of the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development, 1986-1990 (UN-PAAERD), which established a framework co-operation between Africa and the international community.
The then UN Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar
stated, in a message to the "International Conference on Popular Participation in the Recovery and Development Process in Africa" that "The continent needs to enter the 1990s with a clean slate, economically speaking, if it is to grasp the opportunities offered by the profound changes of the 1980s", calling for diversification of African national economies, the creation of larger markets, investment in social and economic infrastructure, "and the page needs to be turned on its external indebtedness". Cuellar underlined that in the long run, the recovery and development must be determined by Africa itself and by "the vibrant cultures of its peoples".
Arusha
Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
.
The Charter was officially adopted at the Twenty-fifth session of the Economic Commission for Africa and Sixteenth meeting of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers responsible for Economic Planning and Development.
The Charter was adopted in the context of a deterioration of social and economic conditions in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n countries in the 1980s and ratifying parties thought that the lack of "full appreciation of the role popular participation (see public participation
Public participation
Public participation is a political principle or practice, and may also be recognised as a right . The terms public participation may be used interchangeably with the concept or practice of stakeholder engagement and/or popular participation.Generally public participation seeks and facilitates the...
plays in the process of recovery and development" was partly to blame.
The Charter was initiated by NGOs, grass-roots organisations and African Governments. The Charter emerged NGO suggestions the 1988 mid-term review of the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development, 1986-1990 (UN-PAAERD), which established a framework co-operation between Africa and the international community.
The then UN Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra is a Peruvian diplomat who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully...
stated, in a message to the "International Conference on Popular Participation in the Recovery and Development Process in Africa" that "The continent needs to enter the 1990s with a clean slate, economically speaking, if it is to grasp the opportunities offered by the profound changes of the 1980s", calling for diversification of African national economies, the creation of larger markets, investment in social and economic infrastructure, "and the page needs to be turned on its external indebtedness". Cuellar underlined that in the long run, the recovery and development must be determined by Africa itself and by "the vibrant cultures of its peoples".