Description
Despite
the process of negotiating the EPAs between the ACP countries
appearing to have been conceived with sustainable development
goals in mind, progress in the negotiations seems has yet to reflect
this ambition. With only a few months remaining in the scheduled
EPA negotiations, this situation is generating significant concern
among various stakeholders including politicians, civil society
representatives and academics in the ACP and Europe who have repeatedly
urged that the EPAs not renege on their promise for sustainable
development.
It has also heightened awareness about the need to develop monitoring
mechanisms to measure the progress of implementing the agreements
in the context of sustainable development.
A
Consortium integrated by The Association of World Council of Churches
related Development Organisations in Europe (APRODEV) and the
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
has undertaken a programme in various ACP regions aimed at supporting
the regions to establish a sustainable development-focused monitoring
system of the EPAs. The Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (TRALAC),
in conjunction with the Consortium has implemented the first phase
of the programme in the SADC region, which has involved the assessment
of options on sustainable development benchmarks for the region.
As
a contribution to the discussions on sustainable development among
the various stakeholders from the region, TRALAC and the Consortium
are organizing a SADC EPA Benchmarking Workshop that will be held
in Johannesburg, South Africa on 1 October 2007. The workshop
will provide an opportunity to review the analysis on the issue
prepared by Professor Colin McCarthy, Mr. Paul Kruger and Mr.
Johan Fourie as part of the first phase of the programme, entitled
'Benchmarking EPA Negotiations between EU and SADC'.
In brief, the purpose of the workshop is to:
1.
Present the study on Benchmarking EPA Negotiations between EU
and SADC and gather feedback from stakeholders from the SADC region.
2.
Bridge the information gaps among the countries in the SADC and
COMESA regions with the respect to the EPA negotiations and gather
regional thinking on key issues relevant to ensuring the agreements
include and effectively monitor sustainable development objectives;
3.
Enable stakeholders in Southern and Eastern Africa to better define
and articulate their own sustainable development objectives for
their respective EPAs.
The
issues to be discussed will include: (a) a presentation of the
study on benchmarking EPA negotiations between SADC and the EU;
(b) observations on the study by representatives of the SADC Secretariat,
and the countries of BNLS, MAT and South Africa; (c) a briefing
on the recent EPA Experts' Meeting held in Brussels; (d) introduction
to a Development-Motivated Monitoring Process of the EPAs' Implementation
relevant to all ACP regions; and (e) key conclusions and the way
forward.
