UN General Assembly
2013

decades, in order to promote intra-African trade and fast-track regional integration. We are also committed to redoubling our efforts to improve the overall well- being of our society. In particular, we believe that Africa should reap the benefits of its demographic dividend by investing in its people. Educating our youth and upgrading their skills is critical to the effective use of our human capital. Therefore we very much hope that the post-2015 global development framework will be aligned to our development priorities and needs. We in Africa certainly recognize that we cannot realize our development aspirations in the absence of durable peace and security. That is why we have concentrated tremendous efforts in addressing the scourge of conflicts on our continent. We are indeed very pleased to note the drastic decline in the number of conflicts in Africa during the last decade, with the exception of a few situations. But we also understand that there is a new security dynamic on our continent, with the rise of popular dissatisfaction associated with demands yet unmet.