RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PARLIAMENTARY ACTION AWEPA SEMINAR
“Africa’s Development Future: Land, Hope and Hunger” DUBLIN, IRELAND 27, 28 JUNE 2013 Arising out of the presentations and discussions made by the participants at the AWEPA EU Presidency Seminar on “Africa’s Development Future: Land, Hope and Hunger”, the following issues have emerged as recommendations for the way forward. These recommendations aim at promoting dialogue on the roles, responsibilities and efforts of both African and European parliamentarians in Africa’s development future concerning land ownership; water scarcity; and chronic hunger; in order to contribute to the improvement of development policies, prior and post the 2015 targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With great sadness we have taken note of Nelson Mandela’s sickness, hero of the world in his life long fight for freedom and justice for all and the first democratic President of South Africa. The participants recommend: 1. For African countries, governments and parliaments should ensure the protection of land rights particularly those of women, who produce the majority of Africa’s food and still own on average not more than 10% of the land and address the negative effects of large investments in land by foreign investors and indigenous elite groups 2. MPs should work with NGOs, the private sector, local communities and researchers to establish the facts about large investments in agriculture and land grabs; to review legislative frameworks; to monitor the implications of FDI in agriculture and to establish the facts on who is benefitting from such land investments. 3. African MPs should design and implement policies to protect small farmers and pastoralist communities at the national and regional levels; and to facilitate space for dialogue between communities to prevent conflicts and adapt to climate change. 4. African MPs and governments should create incentives to trigger investments in sustainable agriculture, respecting customary landholding and ensuring the right of women to the land, to make livelihood viable. 5. African political actors should continue their efforts to develop and promote strong common regional positions in trade and investment negotiations with blocs such as the European Union, and insist on their right to economic policy space. Europe must respect those countries' development needs in its own negotiation position. European MPs and MEPs must continue to monitor and engage with DG Trade of the European Commission which has the mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU and its member states. Parliamentarians in Europe and Africa should engage with civil society and act on their legitimate development concerns regarding the Economic Partnership Agreements.
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6. European and African MPs, and MEPs, should work to ensure EU biofuels policy is not giving rise to land grabs – according to the International Land Coalition definition anywhere in the world; they should seek sustainable alternatives to biofuels including the pursuit of energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption and limit the use of land for biofuels to 5% now - to be phased out by 2020. They should also note and support the implementation of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure and the AU Land Policy Initiative. 7. In line with the legal obligation contained in the Lisbon Treaty for European MPs and MEPs to reinforce Policy Coherence of the EU and European countries’ external policies towards Africa, MPs and MEPs should ensure appropriate processes are in place to identify instances of incoherence and analyse all legislation for its potentially negative impact on development priorities; including improved impact assessments ex post and ex ante and establishing a complaints mechanism for partner countries with the aim of identifying verified cases of rights violations as a result of EU policies, and adapting or dropping those policies on that basis. 8. Development partners and donors should support awareness-raising and identifying of best practices among African and European parliamentarians to tackle crucial problems in relation to food sovereignty, land insecurity, water scarcity, chronic hunger and gender inequality; in particular where accessing landholding opportunities. They should take initiatives to ensure equal access to nutrition within households. 9. For European countries, governments and parliaments to ensure that transparency and enforcement are applied to companies that remain involved in illegal exploitation and land grabbing, including investigating and bringing to justice the European companies identified by the UN Panel of Experts on Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources as being involved in illegal practices; exploring the possibility to extend the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative to Agriculture and Natural Resources; To put into place adequate mechanisms to ensure the full implementation of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) which entered into force in March 2013 and which still lacks implementation in the majority of the EU States. 10. For African governments to meet the Maputo Declaration commitment to allocate and spend 10% of national budgets on investments in the agriculture sector, to ensure adequate resources are available to fight poverty and food insecurity, and for European MPs and MEPs to push for increased EU funds for sustainable agriculture which are set to increase via the EU Agenda for Change and the implementation of the MFF 2014-2020 - to help achieve local and regional initiatives and targets such as the Maputo Declaration. 11. For European MPs and MEPs, as influential leaders in resource-importing states, to support their African peers in their actions to strengthen their oversight capacity. 12. For all European and African countries to consider establishing Joint Monitoring Teams for their future relationships and mutual development.
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