Dr Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah
Vice President of the Republic of Namibia

As a Pan Africanist and a Patron of Amani Africa, I personally attach great importance to the work of the High-Level Panel of Experts and made a determined effort, despite heavy schedule, not to let this opportunity (for launching the Panel’s Report) just to slip away.

When this high-level process, which I have the pleasure of championing, held its inaugural meeting more than a year ago in Windhoek, I shared with the members of the High-Level Panel the importance of the Panel’s work and expressed my hope for what can be accomplished. More specifically, I said

‘While many challenges [that we face today] are not new, it is clear that they are bigger in scale, unfolding in the same timeline and tend to reinforce each other. They are also taking place at a time of major global power shifts and worrying geopolitical rivalries…for the continent of Africa, this would mean that our collective effort should go beyond presenting a good case for securing the interest of Africa. It should also include articulating proposals on how to reform the multilateral system in a way that it also meets the just expectations and needs of the whole of humanity.’

I am very pleased that the Panel did not fail in its mission. Its various activities and importantly the Report it produced is highly commendable.

This   report, presented well throughout and principled proposals on how to reform the multilateral system in a way that not only makes a compelling case for the representation and effective participation of Africa for it to occupy its rightful place in the global arena but also meets the just expectations and needs of the whole of humanity.

This accomplishment of the work of the High-level Panel and Amani Africa is reflected in the depth and scope of the issues canvased and the richness of the areas of reform identified in the report. The report thus makes it clear that reforming the multilateral system is a strategic imperative rather than a policy choice, both for Africa and the world at large. It also underscored the need both for addressing the structural flaws of the multilateral system and making it fit for the purpose of responding to current realities of the international order.

Accordingly, the report examines the sources and manifestations of the historical injustice Africa suffered in the multilateral system as it was designed and operated thus far including within the UN System. This includes the non-representation and underrepresentation of Africa in the permanent and non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council and the report outlines how this has dealt a legitimacy blow that can no longer be maintained without redress. It has thus articulated how the legitimacy and effectiveness of the UN, particularly its Security Council, can be restored by addressing this historic injustice on the basis of the Ezulwini Consensus as part of the Pact of the Future by affirming the commitment to treat Africa’s quest for permanent membership as a special case.

The report also highlighted and provided useful proposals on the need for an equitable and fair global financial and economic architecture and how to achieve robust cooperation to overcome the magnitude and interconnectedness of various challenges affecting the globe, such as climate change and cyber security and the necessity for the global community to organize the system in a way that caters for the needs and interests of various sectors of society, notably women, youth, and future generations.

In doing so, the report builds on AU’s Agenda 2063’s vision of Africa as a dynamic force in the international arena and the lessons from the historical processes that led to Africa’s marginalization. And it affirms Africa’s position as a bastion of multilateralism and a region with a major stake in and contribution to the reform of the multilateral process.

The report of the Panel also makes it clear that the contestation facing the world is not between dismantling the system and building a new one. The fact that there may exit those who espouse ideas of dismantling does not mean that they represent the majority of nations. From where Africa stands, the contestation facing the world is rather between the forces for reform and the forces of status quo. Considering that the status quo can no longer holds, it is clear that we need to reform the multilateral system and do so urgently.  We cannot afford to move into the future with the attitude of the past.

Thus, in the stark choice between ‘reform and rapture’, as the UN Secretary General put it, the High-Level Panel is unequivocal in demonstrating that Africa’s choice is that of a reformed multilateral system that is inclusive, equitable and effective. As Africans, we have a responsibility to stand up and demand to be treated fairly and justly for the multilateral system to be legitimate and effective. If we do not speak up for ourselves, no one else will do it on our behalf.

The timing of this report could not have also been more fitting. It comes in the context of the various ongoing initiatives and political dialogues on the reform of the multilateral system, notably the proposal by the UN Secretary-General to convene the Summit of the Future, scheduled for next month. As such it helps to solidify and reinforce the articulation of common proposals by the Africa Group in the finalization of the Pact of the Future for whose negotiation Namibia is proud to serve as co-facilitator.

This accomplishment could not have been possible without the dedication and technical backstopping of our continental think tank Amani Africa Media and Research Services. I would like to particularly salute the Executive Director of Amani Africa, Dr Solomon Dersso, for his vision and leadership in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of this process with the commendable support of his team at Amani Africa. You deserve to be lauded for showing that Africa has the capacity for strategic thinking in shaping global discourse and policy action on multilateralism. Let the African intellectual capacity be used to the benefit of Africans and take Africa out of marginalization and its people out of poverty.

I also wish to thank the members of the High-level Panel for working together with Amani Africa for the great work you have done. Congratulations for a job very well done, by producing a report that makes all of us and I believe the entire Africa proud. In the same vein I thank Ambassador Jeroboam Shaanika, my representative in the High-Level Panel for his commitment and dedication to the task.

I urge all member states of the AU and the Africa Group in New York to draw on the recommendations contained in this report as they pursue the very pressing agenda for the reform of the multilateral system to effectively respond to Africa’s needs and interests and make it fit for the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.