Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20

We, Ministers of African States, recalling UN Resolution 64/236 calling for the convening of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, otherwise referred to as Rio+20, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012, and further recalling the African Union Assembly Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.381(XVII) inviting member States to work on a common African Position for Rio+20, met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 24 to 25 October 2011, in the context of the Africa Regional Preparatory Process for Rio+20. The aim of the preparatory conference was to deliberate on the objective and themes of Rio+20 and other substantive matters of importance to Africa, with a view to arriving at a consensus on Africa?s key priorities and concerns to be reflected in the outcomes of Rio+20. In so doing, we took into account the concerns of all strata of the region?s stakeholders ? the public sector, private sector, civil society, youth, trade unions, academia and regional and subregional development institutions. We commend the objective of Rio+20, which is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges. We acknowledge the relevance of the two Conference themes - A green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and the Institutional framework for sustainable development - to advancing the global sustainable development agenda. We call on Rio+20 to reinvigorate political will and international commitment to the goals and ideals of sustainable development, to move the sustainable development agenda forward, and raise the level of commitment by countries, regions and the international community to a common cause for sustainable development, including the need to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We therefore call for the Conference to adopt concrete measures, supported by adequate means of implementation that would ensure accelerated implementation of sustainable development commitments, including those to be adopted at Rio+20. We further call on the developed countries to fulfil previous commitments and pledges to help Africa?s efforts in achieving sustainable development.