TCSF strongly supports the conference and sent two delegates to Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. We recognize it significant for civil society organizations of
the related fields to share their experiences in the conference. TCSF shows
solidarity with civil society actors in Africa and makes recommendations
to make our voices heard in the policy-making process of the Japanese development
assistance for Africa.
The conference hosted 400
delegates from 20 NGOs, 73 countries around the world, and 38 regional and
international organizations. The chair's summary has been released at the end of
the conference. The conference was symbolic in a political sense to demonstrate
strong intention of the Japanese government's active commitments on African development. Kiyoshi
Shiratori, one of the two TCSF's delegates to the conference made the following
personal comment after the conference:
"During the conference, the
importance of the role of civil society in peace consolidation was stressed by
many people
at many occasions. However its importance was confined mainly to
implementation levels. Roles played by civil society
at policy formulation
and planning were hardly mentioned by any. I felt that one of the TCSF's
immediate activity would
be in this area. We need to have practical
suggestions on how civil society, while maintaining its diversity, can
participate
in and contribute to decision making for peace consolidation and
African development in general. When we met the vice
minister for Foreign
Affairs of Japan who was the chairperson of the conference after the conference,
he showed positive
reaction to the issue on participation of civil society to
decision making process."
TCSF continues carefully observing the promises made in the
conference and strongly advocates for further enhancement of civil society
actors' involvement in policy-making processes of African development.
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<What is the conference all about?>
*The TICAD Conference on the Consolidation of Peace will be held on
Thursday, February 16 and Friday, February 17 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
co-organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations, the Global
Coalition for Africa (GCA), the UNDP and the World
Bank.
(* TICAD: Tokyo International
Conference on African Development)
The Conference will be attended by approximately 100 delegations of
governments, regional / international organizations and civil society /
non-governmental organizations from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The
head of Delegation from the Japanese Government will chair the Conference,
joined by Dr. Yasushi Akashi, former Under-Secretary-General of the United
Nations, and Mr. Kinichi Komano, former Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan. Most
of African governments will be represented at the ministerial
level.
As a general trend has been observed toward an end to conflicts in many
African countries, there is an urgent need to consolidate peace for achieving
sustainable development through ensuring security, restoring governance, and
promoting reconstruction and socio-economic development. This Conference,
focusing on consolidation of peace - one of the main pillars of the TICAD
process, will discuss integrated strategies for effective peace-building and
reconstruction, with strong emphasis on Africa's ownership and human
security.
*This chapter is direct;y cited
from a
press release on the website of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The announcement was released on February
2, 2006.
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