17 December 1981

Special measures for the social and economic development of Africa in the 1980s

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation, and 35/56 of 5 December 1980, containing the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade,

Recalling its resolution 35/64 of 5 December 1980 in which it advocated the adoption of a wide range of special measures for the social and economic development of Africa in the 1980s,

Recalling also its resolution 35/66 B of 5 December 1980 on the Industrial Development Decade for Africa,

Deeply concerned at the worsening of the current world economic crisis and its devastating effects on the particularly vulnerable economies of the African countries,

Fully aware that the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa provides a framework of priority actions for achieving the rapid over-all economic and social development of Africa,

Recognizing the primary responsibility of the African countries for their development and the importance of the mobilization of their national resources for their socio-economic development,

Convinced of the need for increased and sustained external resources to achieve the aims and objectives of the Lagos Plan of Action,

Welcoming the initial measures adopted by the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to implement paragraph 3 of resolution 35/64,

1. Takes note of the interim report of the Secretary-General concerning special measures for the social and economic development of Africa in the 1980s, which indicates the contributions by organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations to the implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa;

2. Invites, in this context, the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to examine ways and means of increasing the resources for the execution of the programmes for the Development Decade for Africa and to apply the special measures in a comprehensive and co-ordinated manner;

3. Urges donor countries to provide the necessary resources for the effective implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action;

4. Invites all international financial institutions, particularly the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, to continue to consider actively increasing substantially their development assistance to Africa during the Decade;

5. Renews its invitation to the non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to submit to the Secretary-General, for transmission to the Council at its second regular session of 1982, suggestions for the contribution which they intend to make towards the implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to allocate necessary resources to the Economic Commission for Africa, taking into account its role as the main economic and social development centre within the United Nations system for the African region, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 32/197 of 20 December 1977 and 33/202 of 29 January 1979;

7. Further requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session, through the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1982, a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.