Washington, DC — Making a fine distinction between the descriptive terms "permanent" and "continuing," the National Summit on Africa has announced it will go on as an organization. "The United States conducts foreign policy with Africa each day," Summit president Leonard Robinson told reporters Tuesday. "The National Summit plans to influence and guide what that process should be in this century."
Using a "National Policy Plan of Action" approved by 2,300 official delegates who attended a National Summit held in Washington two weeks ago, Mr. Robinson outlined three broad roles for the group:
* To facilitate and monitor the implementation of the National Policy Plan of Action by working with local grassroots organizations and not-for-profits;
* To continue the process of informing Americans about how "Africa Matters" by holding six one-day policy forums in various cities over the next year; and
* To hold a National Summit on Africa every two years.
Robinson said, however, that the Summit has not decided to become a permanent organization. "That is premature," he said. A decision to become permanent can only be made by the Summit Executive Committee which has not yet met to make such a decision.
"There are a number of outstanding questions to be decided," explained a Summit official: "whether we will establish a new executive committee, membership, our tax exempt status, name." The official insisted that for now, the group is best described as a "continuing organization."
Many observers think it is only a matter of time before the Summit announces that it has decided to become a permanent organization. In a January memo sent to the Summit board, Robinson seemed to come down squarely on the side of this, suggesting a new board and consideration of a new name for a permanent organization. Critics claim that this violates a promise agreed to when Summit planners first came together that the organization would end after the national meetings, following which organizers would "share lists of delegates with African organizations, pack up and close the office."
But even these critics, like Salih Booker who resigned from the Summit's Executive Committee protesting its plans to perpetuate itself, acknowledge "a new reality" defined by what appears to be overwhelming sentiment for continuing among the thousands of delegates and observers who came to Washington.
"People from all over the country who met here are now ready for marching orders and a lot of thought needs to be given to this," says Summit board member Gay McDougal, Executive Director of the International Human Rights Law Group. McDougal acknowledges having "ambivalence" about a continuing role for the Summit. "Leonard and [Summit board Chair] Herchelle (Challenor) are really focused on trade and investment issues. Human rights issues are not a priority." If the Summit does become permanent, "it must substantially empower the regional groups" working on Africa issues across the country, McDougal thinks.
But such regional power would be almost certain to bring to the fore issues such as human rights, labor and responsible corporate behavior in Africa that the Summit Secretariat would prefer to duck, say some critics. "The high profile Washington D.C.-based policy types are really different from the deliberative delegates who attended," says Booker.
Tim Bork, who helped begin the Summit organization three years ago as a Ford Foundation official, echoed McDougal's emphasis on reaching out to the grassroots. "The Summit itself proves that this can be successful. The goal is to make U.S. Africa policy better. Something should grow out of the Summit that does this. We need a critical mass of activities."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"We're building on the Summit's momentum," says Leonard Robinson, listing priority areas of immediate concern in the 200+ page Plan of Action. At the top of this list is passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) "as soon as possible." Robinson acknowledges that the act "is not a perfect piece of legislation," but says that "we believe a new bill should surface to take account of other related requirements not in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act."
Other priorities outlined by Robinson include debt relief, debt forgiveness and debt reduction; support for crisis management and peacekeeping on the African continent, promotion of democracy and human rights, basic education, "especially for girls and women," increased U.S. support for infrastructure development, and increased U.S. assistance to "impact significantly on AIDS in Africa."
Quoting the Reverend Leon Sullivan, with words that suggest some permanence, Robinson said, "none of this is going to happen overnight; we're talking years, decades."
