Technical Assistance to Africa

Recommendation 279 (1961)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate, on 26th April 1961 (5th Sitting) (see Doc. 1281, Report of the Economic Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 26th April 1961 (5th Sitting).

The Assembly,

Recalling its Recommendation 222 on the Expansion of Technical Assistance to Africa,

Congratulates the Foundation for Mutual Assistance in Africa South of the Sahara (FAMA), which is an organ of the Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa South of the Sahara (CCTA), on the holding of a conference on bilateral technical assistance in Lagos in February 1961 during its Third Annual Meeting and expresses its satisfaction with the fact that the above-mentioned Recommendation was considered by the Conference and that the Secretaries-General of the Council of Europe and of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) were invited to, and attended, the Conference;

Takes note with interest of the Recommendations on Ways and Means of Developing Bilateral Technical Assistance adopted by FAMA at its Third Annual Meeting in which the Foundation indicates its willingness to consider any proposal from any organisation or country interested in African development and in which it further states that it would welcome information on available technical assistance resources by donor countries or organisations, in particular the OEEC and the Council of Europe, without prejudice to direct contacts between donor and recipient Governments;

Considering the practical proposals made by the Secretary of the Foundation to give effect to a closer co-operation between the Council of Europe and FAMA and noting that similar proposals have been made to the OEEC;

Recognising that the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entrusts that organisation with important tasks in the field of economic development assistance;

Convinced that the Council of Europe could and should make a useful contribution towards expanding technical assistance from its member countries to African countries in collaboration with the FAMA and the OECD in those fields in which it has a special competence, particularly in education and youth questions;

Welcoming Resolution (61) 4 of the Committee of Ministers by which the Committee, having regard to Assembly Recommendation 265, asks member Governments to give closer consideration to the question of their relations with,and assistance to, newly independent countries, while respecting their national aspirations and their desire for non-alignment in East-West controversies and also asks them to furnish information on their current programmes of technical assistance to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe for transmission to the Assembly,

Recommends to the Committee of Ministers :

1 to invite member Governments to offer to co-operate with the CCTA/ FAMA and with other regional organisations of countries in process of development in the field of technical assistance both through the Council of Europe and the OECD;

2 to instruct the competent expert bodies of the Council of Europe to give high priority to the question of technical co-operation with CCTA/FAMA in higher education and to give them the mandate, or if necessary create a suitable new expert body, to promote similar technical co-operation in secondary education;

3 to instruct the competent expert bodies of the Council of Europe to examine the possibilities of developing technical cooperation with the CCTA/FAMA in the field of youth questions;

4 to instruct the competent expert bodies of the Council of Europe to examine the possibilities of developing technical cooperation with the CCTA/FAMA in the field of youth questions;

5 to instruct the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe to organise a clearinghouse service with regard to technical assistance in the field of education and youth questions, with the task of :

a circulating to member Governments and to the appropriate national agencies information emanating from CCTA/ FAMA on the technical assistance needs in these fields of its African member countries;

b centralising information on technical assistance available in member countries and of technical assistance contracts entered into between them and African member countries of CCTA/ FAMA and of channelling such information to the latter organisation;

c promoting the conclusion of bilateral or joint agreements for technical assistance;

6 to inform the Assembly of action taken on this recommendation and subsequently to submit to it regular progress reports on these activities.