Midrand (South Africa), May 29, 2015 (SPS) - The Permanent Representative to the AU and Ambassador in Ethiopia, Mr. Lamine Baali, has called on the Member States of the African Union to make every effort to address the plight of victims of forced displacement in Africa, highlighting the need for governments to build their capacity to respond to natural disasters.
Speaking in his capacity as the Chairperson of the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and IDPs in Africa, diplomat Lamine Baali encouraged Member States to make every effort to showcase to the world their determination to address the phenomena by developing a common position.
In the AU Southern Region consultative meeting on the development of the African common position on humanitarian effectiveness held on 27-29 May 2015, Saharawi ambassador underlined that the Southern Africa region faces natural disasters especially floods, adding that Sub-Committee has in the recent past sent assessment missions to Mozambique and to Malawi when they were hit with floods.
The diplomat went on saying that this meeting is primarily to reflect on the humanitarian situation in the Southern Africa region and to come up with important strategic issues affecting this region that need to be highlighted in the common African position.
This meeting is one of five consultative meetings organized by the African Union.
PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and IDPs in Africa is made up of all 54 AU Member States. It oversights the African Union Commission on matters related to Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons.
Following the complete text of the speech:
“OPENING REMARKS OF H. E. AMBASSADOR LAMINE BAALI YAHIAOUI, CHAIR PRC SUB-COMMITTEE ON REFUGEES, RETURNEES AND IDPs AT AU SOUTHERN REGION CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AFRICAN COMMON POSITION ON HUMANITARIAN EFFECTIVENESS
MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA
27 – 29 MAY 2015
Director for Political Affairs, African Union Commission
Representative from SADC
Distinguished Representative from Member States in the Southern Region,
Representatives of different Partner organizations,
Distinguished Participants;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Let me begin by expressing my deep gratitude to the Government and People of the Republic of South Africa for the warm welcome and the hospitality extended to the African Union Delegation and delegation from Member States of the African Union in this southern Africa region and for hosting this meeting in this beautiful city.
Allow me also to thank all participants for coming, it’s a sign of your commitment to the AU process of developing a Common African Position on humanitarian effectiveness, which will be presented in May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. We are aware of your busy schedules and are grateful for making this meeting a priority. I know that your contributions and interventions will enrich our deliberations and help to significantly advance the development of the common African position
I am attending this meeting on behalf of the PRC Sub-Committee on refugees, returnees and IDPs. This Sub-Committee is made up of all 54 Member States of the African Union and it plays a decision making role as well as oversight of the African Union Commission on matters related to Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons.
I am very pleased to see the AU Commission holding this meeting, because it is what the Executive Council asked them to do in close collaboration with the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees. I really must congratulate the Dr. Khabele Matlosa, Director for Political Affairs for taking these decisions seriously and implementing them with earnest.
The Purpose of this meeting is primarily to reflect and dialogue on the humanitarian situation in the Southern Africa region and to come up with important strategic issues affecting this region that need to be highlighted in the common African position. We are aware that this region has remained stable since the return of Angolan refugees from Zambia in the late 1990s. This region however continues to host refugees from DRC, Somalia and Ethiopia and has been affected largely by a lot of movements for economic reasons by people from Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Some settle here while others use this place as a route to oversee. We have also witnessed intolerance over some of these people and other foreigners staying in South Africa, which speaks a lot on attitudes and their impacts on the treatment of persons needing humanitarian assistance. Allow me to take this opportunity on behalf of the PRC Sub-Committee on refugees to thank most sincerely the government of South Africa for all the efforts they have put in place to deal with this matter which has now been brought under control. The underlying problems of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa needs to be dealt with and further indicate the need for establishing a link between relief and development. The search for durable solutions must remain at the center of our common position.
This region also faces natural disasters especially floods. The Sub-Committee has in the recent past sent assessment missions to Mozambique and to Malawi when they were hit with floods and offered them token financial assistance to the affected countries. We would like to see the common position highlight the need for governments to build their capacity to respond to natural disasters.
Dear participants,
Ladies of Gentlemen,
Before I ran the risk of drafting the Common African Position before hearing from you, allow me as the Chairperson of the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees and as a Member State, to encourage us to make every effort to showcase to the world our determination to address the plight of victims of forced displacement in Africa by developing a common position that speaks to us and our resolve! I wish you all successful deliberations, and thank you for your kind attention.” (SPS)
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