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South Africa, 5 to 8 September 2005
University of Stellenbosch
www.sun.ac.za/armun
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 19 September 2005
Dear participants to the African Regional Model United Nations,
Already nearly two weeks have passed since ARMUN, and it seems just like yesterday that the Resolution was adopted in the General Assembly. By now the 60th Plenary Session of the United Nations in New York will be drawing to a close, and it remains to be seen what the resulting outcome will be.
But in my mind our own success should not be judged on the outcome from New York. Neither should it solely be judged on the resolution we adopted either. For me personally ARMUN was already a success from the first day when you, the delegates and representatives, met and interacted with one another on a personal level. Already brining together young people from three continents and twenty-two African countries proved a success as names were changed, ideas were circulated, debate was stimulated, and personal human interaction started to take shape.
Throughout the course of ARMUN the directing staff saw increasingly solid ideas come to the fore, heated debate emerging, and interaction between the nations in the regional caucuses being solidified or eroded in the General Assembly. The night before the report-back to the General Assembly saw frantic negotiations being conducted in the Minerva residence, positions being established and opinions being aired. In the end it all came together in a resolution that each and every one of you can and should be proud of. But ARMUN was about more than the resolution adopted. It was about the interaction between different peoples from different cultural backgrounds and language groupings. People with differing views of development and of the way forward for the African continent. About peoples from the developed and the developing worlds coming together and establishing consensus. And about friendships and partnerships for the future being established. All of this was observed throughout the week all of you were our guests in Stellenbosch. And of this too we can and should all be proud.
ARMUN has shown us that Africa is equipped with qualified people who can take the lead in shaping the future of this continent. It has also hopefully established networks of contacts that can be utilised in the future as we take the next great step, whatever form that may take. I would like to thank all of you for having filled me with inspiration, for having rejuvenated my dedication, and for kindling the passion in me to keep doing what it is that we are all doing and what it is that we all believe in so firmly.
I would like to thank each and every one of you for having taken the time to come to Stellenbosch, for having shared your stories and experiences with others, for having contributed so decisively to ensuring that the voice of African civil society was heard by others, and for having brought your passion, compassion, and belief in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa by 2015 to bear at ARMUN. Without your contribution, ARMUN could never have become a reality.
I look forward to the follow-up projects which will be taking place throughout the continent, and in the United States and Australia as well. Now we go global. I remember that some of the African delegations were thinking of hosting their own national MUNs as their follow-up project. Should you need any help or advice for your own MUN, please do not hesitate to contact us, as we will gladly send you our information and give you advice on hosting an MUN, as well as share our experiences of what to do and what not to do.
I hope that Stellenbosch and ARMUN have left their mark on you, and I equally hope that we will all have the opportunity to see one another again in the near future.
One thing that ARMUN taught me, among many others of course, is that Africa is indeed alive with possibility. Let us all make sure that possibility
becomes reality.
Wishing everyone all of the best,
Walter Lotze
Chair: ARMUN General Assembly
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Deeply Concerned by the level of progress made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa ;
Mindful of the importance of co-operation between developed and developing nations in the successful achievement of these goals;
Convinced of the importance of environmental sustainability, and the necessity for all programmes to subscribe to this belief;
Emphasizing the importance of full participation of the African Union in achieving the MDGs and the desire of all nations to be a full partner with the African Union in the pursuit and realization of these goals;
Believing that the attainment of MDGs is of utmost importance;
Reaffirming that achieving these goals in Africa will require the effort of all the world's nations;
Suggesting that all developed nations deliver on their current commitments towards aid and mobilize support for raising additional financial resources for development
Emphasizing that skill and infrastructure development with regards to the improvement of service delivery, community education and widespread immunization will be necessary to reduce health care problems in Africa ;
1. a reform of current agricultural trade barriers and policies to all relevant institutional bodies according to the following tenets:
a) The gradual reduction and eventual complete removal of trade barriers and subsidies over a ten year period in all countries,
i. The initial focus on removal should be placed on agricultural subsidies, where 50% of subsidies should be removed by the year 2010 in developed nations,
ii. The reduction process should be reviewed every two years by a special commission set up for this purpose,
iii. Countries may, upon request to the commission, proclaim certain industries protected after this period, if said market is deemed endangered by total free markets, analysed in light of comparative advantage,
b) Improvement in greater flow of appropriate agricultural technology, infrastructure, and education must be sought in Africa , according to the following:
i. An African Union directed scheme whereby small schools are established in rural areas with the purpose of training locals in better farming techniques and the usage of new technology,
ii. The funding of such schools and the provision of appropriate technology should come from willing developed nations and the United Nations,
iii. The creation of an exchange program to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between countries especially through South-South cooperation,
iv. The further transfer of knowledge, technology, and skill from developed nations through unique schemes such as an Africa-unique Green Revolution
v. The encouragement of further research especially in the use of biodiversity programmes for the development of sustainable solutions to environmental challenges,
vi. Calls for the reform of regulations governing the use of genetically modified seeds with a view to reducing the cycle of dependency;
c) Encourages the development of private sectors by strengthening market functions and promoting small and medium sized enterprises;
2. that creditors who are owed debts by developing African nations begin the gradual restructuring and reduction of that debt if the debtor nations (on a case by case basis) show progress towards the following goals:
a) Transparency in government operations in line with full ratification of the UN convention against corruption,
b) Respect for human rights domestically, in line with the charter of the UN,
c) Responsibility and accountability for government actions,
d) Commitment to achievement of the MDGs,
e) Participation in peer-reviews by other African Union nations to determine progress made
towards the aforementioned goals,
f) The cancellation of an African country's debt provided that the money otherwise used for servicing debts is used to achieve the MDGs,
g) Legislation that creates a local African Union transfer fund, a constituency development fund
and community based initiatives must be created in order to ensure that the use of the money freed by the cancellation of debt is transparent,
h) Further strategies to improve the insurance of public services must be initiated and countries must comply with the African Peer Review Mechanism in order to ensure the realization of above points a to d,
3. the strengthening of existing African institutions such as the African Union, NEPAD, ECOWAS and the SADC by:
a) Identifying the problems they face through research and review mechanisms by civil society,
b) Encouraging partnerships between successful institutions around the world (such as the EU) to share their expertise and advise on request of these institutions,
c) Increasing financing from the developed nations for the African Union and NEPAD;
4. all nations to recognise that without peace, security and stability on the African continent, the Millennium Development Goals will remain elusive. Bearing this in mind, this Assembly urges all nations to implement the following:
a) The co-operative development of African peace initiatives to strengthen peaceful regional institutions,
b) Mediation training by international bodies to facilitate dialogues that can lead to prevention and resolution of conflicts between regional actors,
c) Should the African Union find itself unable to facilitate the prevention or resolution of conflicts due to lack of financial or logistical support, it may consult the UN for potential aid on an ad-hoc basis,
d) A working relationship between the International Criminal Court and African countries,
e) Engagement by the United Nations in peace-building as well as peace-keeping operations on the African continent,
f) The increased participation of African countries in peace-keeping missions through the provision of personnel; while other member states of the UN must provide the necessary technical, logistical and financial support needed directed through the African Union,
g) The establishment of the African Standby force as a rapid respond force for emerging crises in Africa,
h) The recommendation that the security council impose embargos and other sanctions on all states arming African rebel movements and states supporting cross-border conflict,
i) A more active role towards United Nations reform including a summit solely for the topic of UN Reform for peace and security;
5. the development of the following education initiatives and requests that nations that are able to provide the resources for their institutions do so:
a) Improving the living and working conditions of teachers in order to prevent the brain-drain syndrome,
b) Teacher exchange programmes, and the further continuing training and development of teachers and educators in order to guarantee effective results,
c) Radio and/or television programmes, according to the technologies available within the nation,
d) Scholarship programmes directed at all who are willing to learn but with a specific focus on women, and the implementation of government subsidies on women's education with the aim of eventually achieving free education by 2010,
e) A free, basic primary education with the following features:
i. Provision of the necessary textbooks, equipment, and national uniforms,
ii. Institution of a National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) that ensures free meals or foodstuff to every child,
iii. Legislation that enforces these provisions in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of The Child and the African Convention on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,
iv. A specific focus on poverty-stricken areas,
v. Teacher training of increased quality,
vi. A level of vocational training in primary school, i.e. information technology;
6.greater interaction between developed and developing countries and expertise of urban resource management through:
a) The development of global partnerships based on civil society initiatives within Africa to strengthen current institutions and infrastructure,
b) Requiring all civil society to include environmental impact assessments prior to project implementation and report findings to the United Nations Environmental Programme for approval,
c) Combating ineffective urbanisation techniques;
7.full gender equality within nations, in accordance with the following tenets:
a) Legislation declaring support for the furtherance of equality,
b) Increased parliamentary representation, and increased women's involvement in politics to at least 40% by 2015 and recommends the appointment of qualified women to strategic cabinet posts,
c) The creation of an African Union Commission on Women's Affairs (African Union CWA),
d) International "Take a Girl-Child to Work Day,"
e) The creation of subsidised sub-regional African Universities for Women, with reduced fees and government subsidies aimed at making the education of women as cost-effective as possible with the ultimate aim of providing free education for females at these universities by 2015,
f) Microfinance programmes exclusively for women wishing to start small businesses or enter other entrepreneurial ventures, with measures introduced to provide loan-schemes financed by government revenues with no surety required for co-operative female-run businesses,
g) Taking into account regional cultural and religious issues,
h) The provision of childcare centres, in order to relieve the burden of childcare,
i) The introduction of legislation focused on the empowerment of women and the prohibition of discrimination against women in the legislative bodies of African nations,
j) The encouragement of the United Nations for the governments of African countries to put women in charge of problem sectors in their economy,
k) The encouragement of the United Nations for the establishment of civil society campaigns that reinforce or implement institutions that can co-ordinate social action to increase gender representation in national programmes and attempt to eliminate social taboos towards women,
l) Gender budgets must be implemented in order to ensure resource allocation mechanisms for the specific needs faced by women,
m) The establishment of gender teams at the provincial level and gender units in districts is critical,
n) Emphasis on education of women is necessary by establishing gender parity at primary, secondary and tertiary levels with the use of affirmative action when and where necessary;
8.of the body to the issue of healthcare and offers the following solutions, bearing in mind that more attention needs to be paid to remedying the 10/90 gap, which refers to the fact that only 10% of global health research is focused on Africa, while 90% of the world's health issues are to be found there:
a) The implementation of a research body to produce reports analysing child mortality,
b) The re-evaluation of laws and conventions surrounding issues of child mortality,
c) The reduction of residency time for medical students from developed nations, or other concessions, in exchange for at least two years spent practicing medicine in African nations,
d) Scholarship programmes to promote knowledge transfers between developed and developing nations,
e) Developed nations need to encourage their health and academic institutions to research healthcare solutions that can then be offered royalty-free to developing nations,
f) Radio programmes and travelling maternal units (Mom-Bus) educating mothers on Maternal Health and combating medically unsound stigmas,
g) Provision of financial assistance to promote service delivery and infrastructure development to promote education surrounding prevention and treatment, as well as relieving intellectual property rights of critical pharmaceuticals to promote treatment,
h) Support and education on issues such as safe abortion, family planning, STD's and STI's with the general promotion of healthy living,
i) With regard to HIV/AIDS:
i. Require acknowledgement of the HIV/AIDS problem by governments and communication among all government levels as to the progress of the disease and reduction programmes,
ii. Adoption of the Abstinence, Be Faithful, Condomize (ABC) Programme, with specific attention given to customization of the programme for specific locations,
iii. Rollout of Anti-Retroviral drugs purchased at lower cost with participation from pharmaceutical companies,
iv. Encourage traditional healers to reach those who use their services and encourage them to participate in the programmes put forth by this body,
j) With regard to Malaria and Tuberculosis:
i. Support the limited and controlled use of DDT, especially in homes on walls, with the provision that further research of the substance reveals little to no threat to the environment,
ii. Strongly endorses the increased use of the DOTS, or similar programme to combat Tuberculosis,
iii. Support the delivery of mosquito nets and repellents to far-flung rural areas and every place where malaria is a threat,
iv. An educational initiative to show the effectiveness and proper usage of the nets must accompany the nets themselves,
v. Developed nations should fund the purchase and distribution of these nets, as the reduction in malaria will advance economic development in Africa ,
vi. Development of a monitoring programme by the WHO to contain the spread of these diseases,
vii. Provide educational programs to encourage the proper use of medicines,
viii. Encourage packaging of medicines that does not require literacy to properly use the medicine;
9. environmental protection for sustainable development, while pursuing agricultural and development agendas, recognizing that environmental sustainability is not an event, but a process, and bearing in mind the fact that Africa, especially Southern Africa, is prone to droughts and as a result, food scarcity, and remembering that food scarcity has the potential to become a source of major conflict both within and between countries, and this in turn could lead to an increase in the number of internally displaced people and refugees:
a) Calls on developed nations to become accountable for their unsustainable consumption practices, and instead adopt more environmentally sound principles,
b) Calls upon all nations to support the Water for the Poor Initiative, announced by the United States at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg African Union, 2002, in order to achieve the MDG of halving the proportion of people without safe drinking water and people without access to basic sanitation, by taking the following steps:
i. Creating credit African Union authorities within African nations, similar to that of the Development Credit Authority (DCA) in South Africa, to provide loan guarantees that enable municipalities to finance high priority infrastructure projects for the provision of water and sanitation to poor areas not being served or served inadequately,
ii. Aiding in the partnership with the West Africa Water Initiative, which helps to invest in small-scale potable water supply and sanitation, hygiene, and water management, primarily in poor rural and peri-urban communities,
iii. Increasing contributions for drilling equipment, new wells, technology for hydrologic studies, water purification and treatment plants, and delivery systems,
iv. Encouraging private sector financing to raise funds for water-related infrastructure,
v. Supporting the establishment of community projects that encompass a multi-disciplinary, multi-sector process of planning and monitoring to enhance the productivity of fisheries and farmlands, ensuring the sustainable management of water resources,
c) Calls for developing nations to conserve their natural resources and find alternative, cleaner, renewable energy resources, whilst promoting future resource use in a sustainable way,
d) The introduction of legislation to guarantee a controlled gradual exploitation of natural resources;
10. the commitment of developed nations by:
a) Committing to and adhering to the 0.7% Official Development Assistance of Gross Domestic Product,
b) The creation of measures to monitor and enforce the adherence to these committed levels of aid,
c) Pledging financial, logistical, and educational support for implementation of development.
Adopted the 8th of September 2005 in full by the
General Assembly of the African Regional Model United Nations.
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