Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 32
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 7
October 1994 on cooperation between the United Nations and the
Organization of African Unity, 1/
Recalling the agreement of 15 November 1965 on cooperation
between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity
as updated and signed on 9 October 1990 by the Secretaries-General
of the two organizations,
Recalling also its resolutions on the enhancement of cooperation
between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity,
in particular resolutions 43/12 of 25 October 1988, 43/27 of 18
November 1988, 44/17 of 1 November 1989, 45/13 of 7 November 1990,
46/20 of 26 November 1991, 47/148 of 18 December 1992 and 48/25
of 29 November 1993,
Recalling further that in its resolutions 46/20, 47/148
and 48/25 it, inter alia, urged the Secretary-General and the
relevant agencies of the United Nations system to extend their
support for the establishment of an African economic community,
Taking note of the resolutions, decisions and declarations
adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African
Unity at its sixtieth ordinary session, held at Tunis from 6 to
11 June 1994, 2/ and by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government
of that organization at its thirtieth ordinary session, held at
Tunis from 13 to 15 June 1994, 3/
Considering the important statement made by the representative
of the current Chairman of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity before the General
Assembly on 3 October 1994, 4/
Mindful of the need for continued and closer cooperation
between the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the
Organization of African Unity, in particular in the political,
economic, social, technical, cultural and administrative fields,
Noting the establishment by the Assembly of Heads of State
and Government of the Organization of African Unity in June 1993
of a mechanism for the prevention, management and resolution of
conflicts in Africa, 5/
Also noting the efforts of the Organization of African
Unity, and the support and assistance of the United Nations, to
promote the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflicts in Africa
and the harmonious continuation of the process of democratization,
Deeply concerned that, despite the policies of reform being
implemented by most African countries, their economic situation
remains critical and African recovery and development continue
to be severely hindered by the persistence of lower level commodity
prices, the heavy debt burden and the paucity of funding possibilities,
Aware of the efforts under way by the Organization of African
Unity and its member States in the area of economic integration
and, in particular, of the entry into force on 12 May 1994 of
the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community,
Deeply concerned also about the gravity of the situation
of refugees and displaced persons in Africa and the urgent need
for increased international assistance to help refugees and, subsequently,
African countries of asylum,
Acknowledging the assistance already rendered by the international
community, particularly to refugees, displaced persons and African
countries of asylum,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on
cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of
African Unity and of his efforts to strengthen that cooperation
and to implement the relevant resolutions;
2. Notes with appreciation the continued and increasing
participation of the Organization of African Unity in the work
of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and its constructive
contribution to that work;
3. Calls upon the United Nations organs, in particular
the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, to continue
to involve the Organization of African Unity closely in all their
activities concerning Africa;
4. Commends the establishment by the Assembly of Heads
of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity in
June 1993 of a mechanism for the prevention, management and resolution
of conflicts in Africa, and also commends its good functioning;
5. Commends the United Nations and the Organization of
African Unity for their ongoing cooperative activities in the
resolution of conflicts in Africa, and stresses the need to enhance
and strengthen the existing pattern of exchange of information
and consultations, especially in the areas of preventive diplomacy,
peacemaking and peace-keeping operations;
6. Calls upon the United Nations to coordinate its efforts
and to cooperate with the Organization of African Unity in the
context of the pacific settlement of disputes and the maintenance
of international peace and security in Africa, as provided for
under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations;
7. Urges the United Nations, within existing resources,
and encourages its Member States to help the Organization of African
Unity to strengthen its conflict resolution capacity, in particular
in the areas of:
(a) Establishment of an early warning system;
(b) Conflict prevention and management and settlement of disputes;
(c) Training of staff of the Organization of African Unity and African peace-keepers;
(d) Logistical support;
8. Encourages Member States to consider ways and means
of providing financial assistance to the conflict resolution activities
of the Organization of African Unity;
9. Notes with appreciation the assistance provided by the
United Nations and its agencies to African countries in the context
of the democratization process;
10. Urges the United Nations to continue to support the
Organization of African Unity in its efforts to manage a peaceful
democratic transition in Africa;
11. Urges all Member States and regional and international
organizations, in particular those of the United Nations system,
as well as non-governmental organizations, to provide the necessary
and appropriate economic, financial and technical assistance to
refugees and displaced persons, as well as to African countries
of asylum, taking into account recent disquieting developments
in this respect;
12. Commends the continued efforts of the Organization
of African Unity to promote multilateral cooperation and economic
integration among African States, and requests United Nations
agencies to continue to support those efforts;
13. Stresses that the economic, technical and development
assistance provided to Africa by the organizations of the United
Nations system must continue, and emphasizes the current need
for those organizations to accord priority to Africa in this field;
14. Urges the Secretary-General, Member States, regional
and international organizations, in particular those of the United
Nations system, and non-governmental organizations to extend their
support to the operation of the African Economic Community and
to assist in economic integration and cooperation in Africa;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to support the efforts
of the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity
with a view to holding sectoral meetings on the priority areas
of cooperation, and in particular to support those meetings organized
by the Economic and Social Council of the African Economic Community;
16. Requests the agencies of the United Nations system
working in Africa to include in their programmes at the national
and regional levels the activities which will enhance regional
cooperation in their respective areas and to facilitate the realization
of the objectives of the Treaty establishing the African Economic
Community;
17. Calls upon United Nations agencies to intensify the
coordination of their regional programmes in Africa in order to
create interlinkages among them and to ensure the harmonization
of their programmes with those of the African regional and subregional
economic organizations;
18. Emphasizes the urgency of the need to adopt appropriate
measures to ensure the effective implementation of the United
Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s,
6/ in particular in the areas of resource flows, debt relief and
diversification of African economies;
19. Recalls the report prepared by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations and transmitted by the Secretary-General
on the need for and feasibility of the establishment of a diversification
fund for Africa's commodities; 7/
20. Calls upon the Secretary-General to work in close coordination
and cooperation with the Secretary-General of the Organization
of African Unity, in particular on the follow-up to and effective
implementation of the New Agenda;
21. Recalls its resolution 48/214 of 23 December 1993,
in paragraph 10 of which it invited the Secretary-General to reinforce
the capabilities of the Office of the Special Coordinator for
Africa and Least Developed Countries of the Department for Policy
Coordination and Sustainable Development of the Secretariat to
follow up and promote the responses of the United Nations system
and the international community to the development concerns of
Africa, as expressed in the New Agenda;
22. Endorses the agrement reached between the organizations
of the United Nations system and the Organization of African Unity
on the convening of a meeting between the secretariats of those
organizations, to be held in 1995 at Addis Ababa, to review and
evaluate the progress made in implementing the proposals and recommendations
agreed upon in September 1993 on cooperation between them in 1994-1995
and to adopt new and effective joint action;
23. Calls upon the relevant organs of the United Nations
to ensure the effective, fair and equitable representation of
Africa at senior and policy levels at their respective headquarters
and in their regional field operations;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure
that the United Nations information network continues to disseminate
information so as to increase public awareness of the social and
economic problems, achievements and needs of African States and
of their regional and subregional institutions;
25. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation
of the present resolution and on the development of the cooperation
between the Organization of African Unity and the organizations
of the United Nations system.
89th plenary meeting
15 December 1994
____________
1/ A/49/490.
2/ A/49/313, annex I.
3/ Ibid., annex II.
4/ See Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-ninth Session,
Plenary Meetings, 15th meeting, and corrigendum.
5/ See A/48/322, annex II, AHG/Decl.3 (XXIX) Rev.1.