G-8 Africa Action Plan

Main Points of the Africa Action Plan

1) An agreement to develop a plan for peacekeeping in Africa, since security is essential for community development. Greater security will likewise enable national development and greater foreign investment. The goal is to ensure that by 2010, African regional and subregional organizations are able to prevent or resolve violent conflicts on the continent effectively. The AAP calls for African governments to develop frameworks for regulating and making transparent the activities of international arms brokers and traffickers, to take active engagement to eliminate the flow of illicit weapons to Africa, and to broker peace countries are to develop measures to ensure greater accountability and transparency with respect to the import or export of Africa's natural resources from areas of conflict.

2) The expansion of capacity-building programs related to political governance in Africa, including support for African efforts to ensure that electoral processes are reliable and transparent and that elections are conducted in a manner that is free and fair in accordance with NEPAD's commitment to uphold and respect “global standards of democracy.” There is a call to intensify international efforts to facilitate the freezing of illicitly acquired financial assets and for the return of previously illegally expropriated resources to the affected nation. The plan calls for development of programs to assist African countries in their efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorist groups with unlawfully obtained monies.

3) A commitment to improve global market access for African exports by tackling trade barriers and farm subsidies that hinder Africa's competitiveness in the world market. The idea is to work toward the objective of duty-free and quota-free market access for all products originating from the Least Developed Countries [Page 412](LDCs), including African LDCs. The AAP calls for work toward enhancing market access—consistent with WTO requirements—for trade within African free-trade areas or customs unions and work to help African nations increase and stabilize agricultural productivity and develop water resource management systems.

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