UN General Assembly
1999

forget that political idealism of any kind is based on a culture appropriate to the population in question. Here, human beings are the raw material, and the proper conditions must be present for the success of that kind of ideal political system. Hence, so long as the peoples of Africa suffer from hunger, poverty, war and pandemic disease, and so long as they are overwhelmed by cultural deficiencies, ignorance and illiteracy, efforts to democratize their States and ensure peace will always fail. It is said that an empty sack cannot stand by itself. Africa needs economic inputs, technology transfer for development, and recognition of its cultural and moral values, so that internecine struggle will cease and so that democracy and political theories will be employed in the most objective way. That is why Central African heads of States members of the Economic Commission of Central African States and of the Central African Economic and Monetary Commission, meeting at Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 23 to 26 June 1999, carefully studied all these factors and