In the run-up to the 77th United Nations General Assembly, Development Reimagined has put together a comprehensive Policy Brief “Making Multilateralism Work for Africa”. The brief intends to support African leaders and policymakers, as well as development practitioners, to deliver clear positions at the UNGA77 to meet Africa’s long-term development needs.
A range of key policy issues that the continent faces is covered, including the lack of representation of the continent in multilateral platforms, alongside several innovative action calls in the fields of Peace and Security, Climate Funding and Development Finance, a snapshot of which can be found below;
- It is crucial to increase African representation in the G20 by making the African Union (with the African Union Commission) a Permanent, full member, just as the EU is represented in the G20.
- UN bodies and non-African countries should not work independently within the Peace and Security space – they must work with, and contribute to, African initiatives including regional taskforces and the AU Peace Fund.
- The UN’s own instruments and other financing for climate action need significant adjustment to scale up to ensure more mitigation and adaptation in Africa, and to go beyond “just transition” including through more concessional finance for regional projects.
- Increasing access to essential external capital for post-COVID recovery is not just about short-term debt suspension, relief or swaps – it requires fundamental reform of the international financial system to work to meet borrowers’ needs, not just creditors.
Overall, this brief aims to strengthen Africa’s coordination and formation regarding various foreign policy settings, and therefore, Africa’s agency and voice in multilateral forums such as the UN. You can download the brief in English here.
September 2022
