Draft Annotated Agenda - Committee of Experts

1. Opening of the Meeting

The opening statements will be delivered by the Chairperson of the Bureau, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and a Representative of the Ministry of Economics and Development of Burkina Faso. (The session will be presided over by the Chairperson of the outgoing Bureau until a new Bureau is elected under Item 2).

2. Election of the Bureau

There will be a short break after the opening ceremony, during which the Heads of Delegation will meet to elect a new Bureau as provided for in the rules of procedure of the Committee. The Bureau will comprise five members - a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons, and one Rapporteur to be elected on the basis of equitable geographical representation of the five subregions of the continent. Following the election, the new Chairperson of the Committee will deliver a statement.

3. Adoption of the Draft Agenda and Draft Programme of Work

The Committee will be invited to adopt the draft agenda and programme of work.

4. Presentation and discussion of the Survey of economic and social conditions in Africa 2005

Under this item, the secretariat will present an overview of recent developments in the world economy and their implications for Africa. The presentation will also highlight regional economic developments for 2005 and prospects for 2006. The presentation will be followed by a general discussion on the key policy issues highlighted in the presentation.

5. Presentation and discussion on the theme of the Conference - Meeting the challenge of employment in Africa

During this session, the secretariat will make a presentation to take stock of the employment situation in Africa. Over the past few years, the economic performance of the region has improved significantly. However, this growth has not been accompanied by sufficient job creation. To remedy this problem, the Ouagadougou Declaration with its Plan of Action, adopted by African Heads of State and Government in 2004, calls for employment to be placed at the centre of development policies and programmes in Member States. This session will therefore provide a chance to review progress made in the implementation of the Plan of Action and elaborate on the constraints faced by Member States in this process. The session will be informed by an ECA Issues Paper which focuses on mainstreaming employment in the development agenda. The session will also be informed by the outcome of the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission of the Africa Union to be held in Cairo, Egypt on 22-27 April 2006. Ultimately, the objective of the session is to propose policy recommendations to address the challenges of Member States in implementing the Ouagadougou Declaration. The outcome of this session will feed into the 2006 High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), as this year's theme is "Creating an environment at the national and international levels, conducive to generating full and productive employment and decent work for all, and its impact on sustainable development"

6. Presentation and discussion of the Report on Progress in Aligning Poverty Reduction Strategies with Millennium Development Goals

African countries generally lag behind other regions in achieving the MDGs. Several reports have highlighted the challenges facing African countries and the need to take urgent action to accelerate progress towards these goals in the region. At the 2005 United Nations World Summit, Member States committed to adopt, by the end of 2006, comprehensive national development strategies that are bold enough to meet the MDGs and to use the PRSs as the key instrument to achieve these goals. This session will therefore provide an opportunity to review progress made on the commitment. In that regard, the session will be informed, in part, by an analysis of country reports as well as the Outcome Statement of the "African Plenary on National Poverty Reduction Strategies and the implementation of the MDGs", which was adopted in Cairo in March 2006.

7. Statutory Issues

The Committee will consider and make recommendations on statutory issues related to the work and functioning of the Commission, including issues arising from the meetings of various subsidiary bodies of the Commission, which have met since its last session. To inform this discussion, the secretariat will present the Annual Report on the work of the Commission 2006. In addition, the session will also discuss the response of ECA to the 2005 World Summit Outcome.

The Committee will also consider and take action on other statutory issues that may be brought to its attention.

8. Any other business

The Committee may wish to consider any other matter that may be brought to its attention.

9. Consideration and adoption of the report of the Committee of Experts and draft resolutions

The Committee will consider and adopt a report of its meeting, including draft resolutions.

10. Closure of the Meeting