Ref: African SIDS/001

 

 

 

African Small Islands Developing States Ministerial Meeting

 

Mahé, Seychelles

7 th - 10th July 1998

 

 

 

MAHÉ DECLARATION

 

 

 

 

 

We, the Ministers of African Small Island Developing States

 

Having met in Mahé, Seychelles, from the 7th to 10th July, 1998,

 

 

Cognisant of the peculiar problems arising from insularity, economic vulnerability, market

size of our countries and their proneness to natural disasters and of the need to tackle these

problems through joint effort in order to lay a solid foundation for our sustainable socio-

economic development;

 

 

Pursuant to the 1994 Declaration of Barbados and the Programme of Action adopted at the

Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

(SIDS) as a follow-up action to chapter 17 of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration

emanating from the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development,

 

 

Pursuant to, and in conformity with the Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic

Community, which takes into consideration the specificity of the African Small Island

Developing States (African SIDS) in the process of implementing regional integration in

Africa and mindful of the challenges posed by globalisation and the integration of the

African SIDS into the global economy,

 

 

and

 

 

Pursuant to the mandate of the African Development Bank relating to the socioeconomic

development and integration of its regional member countries and the decision of the May

1994 Nairobi Meeting of the Bank with the Governors of its Island member countries on

the need for a ministerial meeting on the sustainable development and integration of the

African SIDS,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

After thorough deliberations on priority issues related to sustainable development of the

African SIDS, we the Ministers of the Small Island Developing States of Africa, have

placed high expectations on the follow-up of the outcome of this First Meeting of the

African SIDS.

 

Accordingly we affirm our determination to

 

(i) Promote and operationalise the sustainable development of the African SIDS, in the

context of sound national macro-economic management and good governance,

permitting the effective participation of civil society and the private sector with a

view to promoting equity and the well-being of the population.

 

(ii) Implement regional programmes for effective co-operation within the African SIDS

and integration with the rest of Africa.

 

(iii) Implement the African SIDS priority projects/programmes for sustainable

development.

 

(iv) Develop coordinated programmes for donor assistance for sustainable development

of African SIDS;

 

 

 

 

Recognising that the main priority areas of concern to the African SIDS are:

 

(i) human resource development (health, education, training, gender mainstreaming

and poverty eradication);

(ii) tourism;

(iii) bio-diversity resources;

(iv) climate change;

(v) coastal and marine resources;

(vi) fresh water resources;

(vii) waste management,

(vii) natural and environmental disasters;
  1. development of sustainable and diversified agricultural production;

(x) energy resources;

(xi) globalisation, development finance and trade & investment;

(xii) transport and communication;

(xiii) science and technology;

(xiv) regional co-operation and integration;

(xv) regional institutions and technical co-operation;

(xvi) implementation, monitoring and review.

 

 

 

 

We the Ministers of the African SIDS :

 

1. Reaffirm our commitment to the principles of sustainable development in general

and specifically in the above mentioned priority areas as elaborated in the attached

"Mahé Programme of Action. "

 

2. Reaffirm our primary responsibility for the development of our countries and to

play a key role in mobilising financial resources for the implementation of the

"Mahé Programme of Action", and welcome in this connection, the meeting of

prospective donors and representatives of SIDS to be held in 1999.

 

3. Recognise the need for a co-ordinated approach to donor support for the

Programme of Action.

 

4. Emphasise our determination to pursue effective co-operation and integration

regionally and with the rest of Africa, and to incorporate the African SIDS

Programmes into our respective national strategies and programmes to foster the

co-operation and integration process.

 

5. Commit our countries to share expertise available therein, so as to facilitate the

implementation of the "Mahé Programme of Action" in the context of Technical

Co-operation amongst Developing Countries (TCDC).

 

6. Strongly resolve, in view of the non-representation and/or small missions of African

SIDS in Geneva and Brussels, to strengthen in co-operation with non-African

SIDS, the presence of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States (AOSIS) in

these two important centres of international commerce, so as to facilitate the

articulation of specific concerns to SIDS in the ongoing negotiations

within the WTO and the ACP-EU.

 

7. Commit ourselves as a group to support each other in the promotion of good

governance, rule of law, stability, peace, harmony and democracy.

 

8. Affirm our determination to participate at high level and effectively in the 1999

Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the comprehensive

review of the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.

 

9. Welcome the designation of the year 1998 as the "International Year of the

Oceans" given the inextricable linkage between the sustainable development

concerns of SIDS and the Oceans.

 

10. Will review and monitor periodically the implementation of the "Mahé Programme

of Action" in collaboration with regional and international organisations. In this

respect, we welcome the offer of the Government of Seychelles in its capacity as

Chairman of the Bureau of the meeting, to continue to provide the facility for

monitoring the implementation of the "Mahé Programme of Action."