RESOLUTION(1)

on the fight against poverty in the ACP countries and in the European Union

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Nassau (Bahamas) from 11 to 14 October 1999,

- having regard to the report on the fight against poverty in the ACP countries and in the European Union (ACP-EU 2770/99),

- having regard to the reports and declarations by various international organisations (UNDP, OECD, ILO, World Bank, IMF, G7, WTO), and in particular:

- the 1997 United Nations report on human rights and extreme poverty,

- the UNDP reports on poverty (1998) and human development (1997 and 1998),

- the World Bank reports (1998 and 1999), and

- report no. 30/1998 by the DAC (Development Assistance Committee) of the OECD on European Community development cooperation,

- having regard to the Final Declaration adopted at the UN's Cairo Conference on Population and Development,

- mindful of the 1979 report entitled "North-South: a programme for survival" by the independent commission on international development problems, chaired by Willy Brandt,

- having regard to the 1997 White Paper on international development entitled "Eliminating World Poverty: A Challenge for the 21st Century", presented to the British Parliament by the Minister for Overseas Development,

- having regard to the 1996 DAC-OECD strategy document entitled "Shaping the 21st century: the contribution of development cooperation",

- having regard to the recent reports by the European Court of Auditors, and in particular to the remarks on the European Development Fund,

- having regard to the Council of the Union resolution of December 1993 on the fight against poverty, paragraph 8 of which states that the fight against poverty must occupy a central place within development cooperation policies and programmes,

- having regard to Articles 136 and 137 of the Treaty on European Union (Social Provisions),

- having regard to Articles 177 (Development Cooperation), 178 (Coherence) and 180 (Cooperation) of the Treaty on European Union,

- having regard to the document by Parliament's STOA panel entitled "Evaluation of agricultural and other technologies fighting against hunger and poverty",

- having regard to the contributions by the experts invited to the public hearing of 17 March 1999 organised by the European Parliament on combating poverty in the countries of the Lomé Convention,

- having regard to the contributions submitted through the embassies of the ACP countries and the Permanent Representations of the Member States of the European Union,

- mindful of the guidelines for negotiations on the renewal of the Lomé Convention, which give absolute priority to eradicating poverty,

A. mindful of the declarations issued at world summits held over the past decade, at which poverty and the eradication of the same have been the focus of attention, and in particular the Rio, Cairo and Copenhagen summits, which signalled a new departure in that they took into account the economic, social, environmental, demographic and political aspects of development,

B. highlighting the four basic principles established at those world summits, namely sustainability, empowerment, participation and equality,

C. whereas the ten commitments contained in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development reveal a broad consensus on the social dimension of development and identify poverty, unemployment and exclusion as the three major social problems affecting the human race at the end of the current century,

D. mindful of the fact that at the World Summit for Social Development the heads of state and representatives of 186 countries defined the eradication of extreme poverty as "an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind",

E. drawing attention to the commitments made by the participants at the World Summit for Social Development to set targets and to formulate plans and programmes, together with the ambitious objective established by OECD members to halve, between 1993 and 2015, the number of people living in extreme poverty,

F. whereas the obstacles faced by some ACP countries in overcoming poverty stem, inter alia, from:

- internal factors, namely: the lack of access to basic social services (education, housing and health care above all); hunger; a deteriorating environment (diminishing resources, biodiversity, climate change); inequality between the sexes; the absence of democracy and the rule of law (mechanisms to redistribute the fruits of growth, maladministration and the lack of control over own economic and human resources, corruption); and armed conflicts;

- external factors, namely: the international climate (instability and uncertainty with regard to trends in demand, fluctuating rates of exchange and interest, varying availability of capital on financial markets); the agricultural product trade policies pursued by the industrialised nations; non-tariff barriers; the market in basic products; the heavy burden placed on development by foreign debt; the downward trend in foreign aid and the fact that, in many instances, foreign aid has failed to reduce poverty; the lack of sufficient political will in the countries of the North to promote development; and the absence of a democratic and social framework in the international economic system; and

- historical factors, namely: the colonial past; slavery; the cold war; and their status as a battleground in the conflict between the superpowers,

G. Stressing in particular the fact that the AIDS pandemic is not only a health problem but a major factor contributing to poverty and a broad development issue affecting practically all layers of society and severely threatening the economic and social development of whole generations and nations, especially in Africa,

H. having regard to the close link between action to eradicate poverty and population growth control policies,

I. whereas this is a period in which the large transnational companies are pushing States to deregulate, so as to be able to increase their profits, and governments are finding it extremely difficult to enforce sustainable domestic development strategies,

J. whereas the factors which have undermined the capacity of developing countries to achieve autonomous development include those countries' dependence on northern countries, the collapse of purchasing power, the growth of the debt burden, the deterioration in trading conditions and subsidised exports from the EU,

K. whereas the ACP countries possess a wealth of natural resources which, if exploited appropriately, would unquestionably alleviate the burden of poverty,

L. whereas a reason for the lack of access to the goods and services which constitute a basic level of provision and which enable men and women to lead a decent life lies in the high cost of education, training, health care, drinking water, sewage systems, public transport, energy, telecommunications, etc.- services which nearly always cost as much as in the industrialised countries,

M. whereas relations between the industrialised nations and the developing world have been undergoing sizeable, and at times alarming, shifts in the era of globalisation,

N. whereas steady population growth, stagnation in revenue from agricultural produce and a decline in natural resources have placed the developing countries in a delicate situation since the late 1980s,

O. mindful of the long list of ACP nationals who perish in their attempts to flee to the developed countries to escape poverty; especially shocked by the recent news that two Guinean children had frozen to death in the undercarriage of an aircraft during their clandestine journey to "wealthy and erudite Europe" to request aid for Africa,

P. having regard to the comments made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who has stated that, were Africa to receive attention on a par with that afforded to Kosovo, many of its problems would be in the process of being solved,

Q. whereas indebted countries are repaying to wealthy nations five times more than they receive in resources that they need for development; whereas since the era of slavery the ACP countries have contributed to economic development in other areas of the world with resources which have been used not for their own benefit but as cheap raw materials,

R. whereas the Court of Auditors has expressed the view that the European Union's structural adjustment programmes have failed to pay due attention to the poorest groups and that expenditure on health and education has benefited urban populations whose economic circumstances are healthier,

S. whereas consumption habits in the West by no means constitute a development model to be imitated; whereas the industrialised nations themselves should re-examine these habits if they intend to keep the Earth's resources intact; whereas this "consumerist" model wrongly identifies poverty as a symptom of "under-consumption",

T. whereas small and micro-businesses are of major significance within the economies of the poorest countries since, of the developing countries' population in gainful employment, over 60 % of the worst paid work in that sector,

U. whereas micro-businesses are often distinguished by their innovative nature but whereas they produce only a very low per capita income for want of capital, know-how, basic training, technology and financing, and whereas this low level of productivity can be regarded as a further main cause of poverty,

V. convinced that the future for forthcoming generations in the wealthiest nations is inextricably linked to development in the Third World,

W. convinced that the success of any future successor agreement to the Lomé Convention will depend on its placing human beings at the centre of development measures and ensuring that the poorest sectors of the population are the prime beneficiaries,

X. whereas the world population has reached 6 billion,

On the extent of poverty and international development cooperation

1. Notes with dismay that, at present, more than 1,3 thousand million people are living in extreme poverty, and that whilst this represents a 3,5 % decline since 1987, the overall number of poor people in the world is growing and has increased by 75 million over the past decade;

2. Considers it scandalous that the richest 20 % of the world's population account for 85 % of global wealth, while the poorest 20 % account for only 1,4 %, and considers that a fair redistribution of wealth should form part of action to combat poverty;

3. Observes that inequality is a structural feature of our time, that unregulated globalisation has exacerbated inequalities amongst and within nations, and that the number of poor people has risen sharply as a result of the financial crisis in Asia, the knock-on effects of which have been felt in Russia and Latin America;

4. Declares that many African economies find themselves caught in the poverty trap, whereby in striving to free themselves from it they fall ever more deeply into poverty;

5. Takes the view, therefore, that the fight against poverty should be used as a lever for social and political change and also for growth and development;

6. Stresses that the fight against poverty does not merely entail cooperating with the poorest nations, since there are often extremely poor sectors of the population in relatively wealthy countries, including those in the European Union itself, which deserve to be targeted by policies geared towards stamping out extreme poverty;

7. Considers that poverty is caused by a wide range of factors, including excessively low or non-existent incomes for most people, the growing debt burden, structural adjustment programmes and the unbridled liberalisation of world trade, and that the structural causes of poverty should therefore be tackled, rather than the effects;

8. Considers that poverty constitutes a violation of human rights;

9. Affirms that, regardless of the economic conditions in a given country, the same approach to eradicating destitution or extreme poverty is required in all countries and should be based on a change both in the way in which destitution is perceived and in the scale of priorities;

10. Calls on the ACP states, in association with the European Union, to develop suitable strategies which will allow a re-think in the provision of basic services (education, training, health care, drinking water, sewage systems, public transport, energy, telecommunications, etc.), so as to enable those services to be made available, if possible, to all people at low cost;

11. Considers, therefore, that full support should be given to production and service-provision techniques which are tailored to local and regional conditions and that, at the same time, alternative technologies should be promoted at local level in the areas of health care, sewage systems, drinking water provision, housing construction and the energy and transport sector;

12. Adds its voice to the alarm expressed by the UN at the disturbing data pointing to a 24 % cut in the aid provided to the Third World by the 21 wealthiest and most developed nations since 1992, namely during a period in which the economy in the wealthy nations has enjoyed steady growth, with state aid for development from industrialised countries having bottomed out at 0,22 % of their combined GDP, far below the 0,7 % target advocated by the United Nations;

13. In particular calls on the European Union Council of Ministers to maintain and intensify efforts to target development assistance to the least developed countries; to maximise the overall volume available ; and to give priority to poverty eradication over commercial ties in determining development assistance at European Union and Member State levels;

On social and human development

14. Believes that the focus for development is the individual and that the aim should lie in broadening the range of opportunities of all human beings, thereby rendering development more equitable, democratic and inclusive;

15. Condemns the suggestion by Member States of the EU that resources from the Community budget intended for the poorest countries should be directed to the relief and rehabilitation taking place in Kosovo;

16. Subscribes to the concept which defines human poverty as the denial of the basic opportunities and prospects from which all human development stems, namely those of living a long, healthy and fulfilling life and of enjoying a decent standard of living, freedom, dignity, self-esteem and the respect of others;

17. Believes that human poverty comes about when a set of social, political and economic inequalities combine, one of the most acute inequalities being inequality of the sexes;

18. Takes the view that the worse discrimination against women is, the more widespread poverty will be; reaffirms that equality between the sexes must play a major role in strategies to combat poverty and, therefore, that strengthening the rights of women in many countries is an imperative requirement;

19. States emphatically that any prospective eradication of poverty depends on a fair redistribution of wealth and the elimination of inequality of the sexes at all levels and of discrimination against the elderly, who are especially at from poverty;

20. Considers that the fight against poverty amongst the elderly should be an independent component of strategies to combat poverty since poverty amongst such people is becoming a growing problem in many countries in which life expectancy is increasing;

21. Considers that population growth control policies have an essential role to play in action to eradicate poverty;

22. Stresses that education constitutes one of the main weapons in combating poverty; draws attention in this regard to the fact that international development aid donors, including the European Community and its Member States, have undertaken to increase the funds earmarked for education - and basic education in particular - in the developing world and to support educational reform;

23. Calls for the successor Convention to include an explicit reference to investment in quality, relevant education with the following text: Cooperation shall support ACP states' efforts to :

(a) Guarantee the participation of a broad range of civil society organisations in education sector planning, monitoring and evaluation ;

(b) Increase financial commitments to basic education, in line with the target adopted at the World Social Summit in 1995 of allocating 20 % of aid to basic social services. Increase support to non-formal education programmes, with a specific commitment to improving access to education for women and girls ;

(c) Develop a coherent strategy for achieving the international commitment on universal primary education by 2015, in close cooperation with other donors and civil society ;

(d) Coordinate donor activity in sectoral plans efficiently, so that ACP endeavours in education are supported and complemented;

24. Welcomes in this regard the statement by the President of the European Parliament, Mrs Fontaine, in which she echoed the pleas of the Guinean children who died in the undercarriage of the aircraft bound for Europe and stated that we must be capable of responding to this dramatic appeal by incorporating in our cooperation policy an educational and cultural dimension which is lacking;

25. Points to the advantages in setting up modern, central bodies engaged in research, higher education and vocational training at regional level, as well as the need to adopt a regional rather than a national approach in the following sectors:

- medical research and the treatment of infectious diseases,

- the conservation of threatened animal and plant species,

- measures to combat drought and desertification,

- programmes geared towards reafforestation and protecting local natural resources, and

- power generation, with particular emphasis on hydroelectric power;

26. Stresses the importance, in the fight against poverty, of establishing decentralised public health programmes;

27. Takes note of the outcome of the 11th International Conference on AIDS in Africa, held in Lusaka recently; notes with alarm that almost 95 % of those infected with the HIV virus live in poor countries and that this epidemic is taking its toll on young, active and often well-educated individuals in the countries concerned; appeals for broad information campaigns and an emphasis on prevention in education to encourage people to change their habits and for the provision of medical treatment;

28. Stresses however that prevention and access to treatment and care go hand in hand, given that prevention can only be effective if those infected are afforded appropriate medical cover;

29. Urges therefore the international community and the EU in particular, to dramatically increase efforts and resources to meet the growing challenges and the human development crisis to which the AIDS pandemic has given rise, as part of the fight against poverty; and stresses the need for a change in attitude of both donors and local governments, who should demonstrate a greater degree of openness in their efforts when dealing with this issue and make the fight against AIDS a priority of their development policies;

30. Calls on the WTO to ensure that the ACP countries are able to produce the necessary medicines or to acquire them at cost price;

31. Calls on the Council and Commission to make it possible to obtain effective, affordable medical treatment for the disease;

32. Urges the Member States of the European Union and the ACP countries to assign budgetary allocations to health care and primary education in line with the stipulations of the "20/20" initiative drawn up at the World Summit for Social Development;

On economics and trade

33. Affirms that development is not synonymous with good economic performance and that economic growth is a necessary yet insufficient precondition for reducing poverty; forms of cooperation must therefore be developed which attack the roots of poverty wherever it exists and in whatever forms it has adopted;

34. Believes that trade liberalisation, macroeconomic efficiency and fair prices are not enough to ensure that markets serve people, rather than vice versa, and that regulation, fair competition, transparency and accountability are also crucial factors;

35. Considers that an increase in demand within the economies of individual countries can be achieved through a strengthening of the internal market and points, in this connection, to the significance of creating synergies between local, regional and national markets;

36. Emphasises that the State, the market and civil society should not counteract or supplant one another, but should strive in unison to guarantee a transparent, effective and non-discriminatory system; considers that, with a view to achieving sustainable development, States should lay down the framework and limits within which the market is to function;

37. Points out the need for a clear understanding amongst wealthy nations of the fact that poor nations will remain so if they continue to make debt service payments four times the size of their health and education budgets, and for the political decisions of those nations to take account of that fact;

38. Welcomes the Council's stance as regards the undertaking to speed up the debt-relief arrangements for the poorest nations by linking them closely to the anti-poverty strategy;

39. Urges the European Union and its Member States in this respect to set ambitious targets with regard to the amount of debt to be written off and to do its utmost to expedite and improve the implementation of the initiative to assist heavily indebted poor countries, an initiative which falls short of the aim it pursues and has stringent conditions attached to it;

40. Appeals to the sense of responsibility of bilateral and multilateral creditors with regard to writing off outstanding debt or reducing it drastically;

41. Calls for the debt owed by severely indebteded ACP countries to be written off entirely by 2001;

42. Notes with concern the proposal to use unallocated EDF funds to finance the EU's EUR 1 billion contribution to debt relief under the HIPC initiative - especially since no consultation has taken place with the ACP governments;

43. Emphasises the seriousness of the social and economic impact which structural adjustment policies (SAPs) have on the poorest countries, particularly among the ACP countries; calls for the SAPs to be thoroughly overhauled so as to take account of the social dimension of development; and highlights the importance of seeing to it that economic reforms are devised by the developing countries themselves, with a view to meeting the needs of their peoples and combating extreme poverty;

44. Stresses that the poorest countries should be allowed to participate on an equal footing in the international financial and commercial institutions, that the "weighted voting" system within the IMF and the World Bank should be reformed, and that thought should be given to enabling the poorest countries to influence the general approach adopted by the WTO; hopes, furthermore, that those international financial and trade organisations and institutions will endeavour to devise instruments which are suited to financing productive activity in poor areas - n addition to micro-loans there is a need for micro risk-capital, micro-financial engineering and micro-consultancy;

45. Urges the Commission and the Council to show solidarity with the developing countries, with a view to revising the WTO rules in such a way as to enable those countries to control their development;

46. Draws attention to the serious impact which financial speculation has on international stability and security, particularly in the ACP countries; draws attention to the urgent need to regulate such speculative activities;

47. Urges the Commission in this regard to look into the possibility of adopting the so-called Tobin tax;

48. Condemns the attempt made under the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) to secure a definitive liberalisation of capital markets which would have deprived developing countries, and the ACP countries in particular, of the ability to decide how their resources are used and to control their own economies; considers that the institution in which such an agreement is negotiated should under no circumstances be the OECD, given that it represents the industrialised nations only;

49. Points out that the poor and women do not enjoy access to financial services; calls on governments and donors to take their lead from the successful programmes conducted in some developing countries and to create new micro-credit facilities aimed at broadening access to credit and savings, especially in rural areas;

50. Recommends in particular that assistance should be given to micro-businesses to enable them to improve the services they provide, for which purpose sector-specific programmes to promote vocational training and practical management should be launched;

51. Reiterates its support for measures to foster the popular economy, particularly in large urban sprawls, given that rapid urbanisation in certain ACP countries is causing political and social instability;

52. Notes that production processes which are heavily reliant on resources enjoy access to subsidised raw materials on which the livelihood of a sizeable number of people from more underprivileged groups depends, and that the consumption of these industrial raw materials is determined by market forces alone, not by social and environmental considerations;

53. Declares its support for fair, solidarity-based trade as a valid practice in ACP-EU relations;

54. Recommends a more transparent and simpler approach to rules of origin, which have greatly hindered the development of ACP trade at regional and international level alike;

55. Regards trade liberalisation as a threat to the security of food supply for the poorest in society, unless it is tied to a set of conditions designed to dismantle agricultural subsidies, allow free access to markets and remove export subsidies in the wealthy nations; asserts the fundamental right of peoples and governments of developing countries to seek self-sufficiency in food, notwithstanding external pressures;

56. Stresses that, although the smooth integration of the ACP countries into the world market is one of the conditions for those countries' development, the impact of that integration must not be excessively disruptive, for which purpose development must be allowed to come from within and a transition period of at least 10 years must be granted before the WTO rules are fully applied;

On the political dimension

57. Believes that whilst democracy is not the fruit of economic progress, political dictatorship and economic dictatorship frequently lead to poverty;

58. Asserts its conviction that development is intrinsically linked to democratic processes and to the democratisation of political, social and economic structures, and that likewise the involvement of the entire population is a critical aspect of the development process;

59. Affirms the importance of the early establishment of the International Criminal Court and, appreciating and welcoming the leading example of Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago and Italy which have already completed the process for ratifying the ICC statutes, calls upon all Lomé Convention Member States to sign and ratify the ICC statutes by the end of 2000;

60. Maintains that cuts in military spending by the developing countries could bring real benefits in terms of development and security by enabling the ACP countries to spend more on health, education, drinking water and other basic social services and thus make investments which would serve to bolster social stability and lessen the risks of conflict;

61. Calls on the European Union to adopt a common position which will prohibit the export of armaments to developing countries, and in particular, to ACP states where conflicts, potential conflicts, or serious tensions already exist - as a positive contribution to supporting peaceful and democratic resolution to civil and military conflict, and to avoid unnecessary debt arising from the purchase of armaments;

62. Believes that armed conflict, economic inequalities, social injustice, the absence of democratic participation, environmental degradation, human rights violations and conflicting state interests are among other factors which contribute to poverty, and that all these factors should be addressed in order to fight poverty;

63. Believes that before any development-related activity can go ahead, mines must be cleared from those countries affected by this problem; calls on the European Union and the ACP countries to sign and ratify the Ottawa treaty on anti-personnel mines;

64. Recalls that a consensus has been reached on the idea that it is better to prevent conflicts than merely to deal with them, for which purpose appropriate tools need to be developed, namely regional tension-monitoring centres and permanent mediation structures;

65. Draws attention to the fact that refugees throughout the world currently number more than 30 million and rank amongst the poorest people on the planet;

66. Considers that priority must be given to ensuring that refugees and displaced persons have access to special education programmes, this being a priority task to be carried out in order to alleviate the poverty of such people;

67. Declares that poverty is one of the causes of drug trafficking in many developing countries and that its eradication will thus contribute towards combating drug trafficking;

68. Condemns violations of the fundamental rights of women, who suffer from exclusion, particularly in the poorest countries; calls on the Commission and the ACP countries to introduce cooperation programmes which take account of gender issues, with a view to promoting the dignity of women and putting an end to violations of their rights, such as the practice of genital mutilation;

69. Declares that the successful fight against poverty in rural areas of Africa depends on the adoption of political and economic measures to introduce and share out land ownership;

On sustainable development, science and poverty

70. Regards it as imperative that, in keeping with the principles and undertakings regarding sustainable development adopted at the Earth Summit, environmental protection should be a consideration running through cooperation policies, from their inception to their implementation, in particular where security of food supply, access to clean water and solving hygiene problems are concerned;

71. Asserts its conviction that the deteriorating environment has a disproportionate effect on the poorest in society; believes, therefore, that research in that field should form part of a broader framework linking the eradication of poverty to good governance and fairness;

72. Urges the international community as well as ACP countries to pay more attention to the interlinkages between poverty and environment, in particular the high dependence of the rural poor on their natural resources base and, building on experience in both India and selected African countries, to explore the opportunities to address poverty by investing in afforestation schemes, soil conservation, water management and so on;

73. Points out the need to formulate basic principles governing the use and distribution of water worldwide; calls for human rights to be respected in the development and distribution of water resources;

74. Believes that science should address basic human needs and emphasise sustainable development and the environment, in accordance with the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the World Conference on Science in Budapest on 1 July 1999;

75. Recommends accordingly that, in the case of the less developed nations, at least 0,4 % of GDP be earmarked for research, in particular primary research;

76. Notes that there are entire areas of the world virtually devoid of research activity, be it conducted by the state or by industry, and that, as a whole, the international arena is dominated by the increasing power of the large multinational companies from countries in the North, which do not give priority to issues of vital importance to countries in the South; calls for North-South solidarity to be practised in this field also and emphasises in particular the importance of exploring new avenues of cooperation between the private and public sectors to control the spread of malaria, including malaria research, given the devastating effects of this disease on poor people's health;

77. Calls on the EU to develop an ACP-EU scientific cooperation policy enabling the ACP countries to be included in the "information society" project and global communications networks to be developed in those countries;

78. Points out that increased agricultural production is vital to development in many countries; recommends, therefore, that agricultural research focus on technologies which may bring benefits to poor farmers;

79. Underlines the importance of traditional know-how and its applications, which should be utilised on a broad basis, given that they generally contribute towards sustainable development; accordingly, draws attention to the need for rural development programmes and micro-projects which are particularly targeted at women to be promoted and adequately funded and for due recompense for the marketing thereof to be guaranteed;

80. Highlights in this regard the importance, with a view to eradicating poverty, of supporting research into, and the full use of, state-of-the-art yet easy-to-use technologies (primarily for the purpose of combating poverty) in the fields of hygiene, water and waste treatment, small-scale irrigation and the utilisation of local resources for medical purposes;

81. Proposes to include in the new Lomé Convention provisions on the principles of Article 8.J of the Convention on Biodiversity concerning the preservation of knowledge, innovation and practices of indigenous and local communities and their intellectual property rights, including their approval and involvement and an equitable sharing of the benefits deriving from any use of such resources;

82. Calls for a programme to transfer technology to the ACP countries on a non-commercial basis, together with training programmes which are targeted towards real needs and are in keeping with the principles of sustainable development;

On poverty in the context of future ACP-EU relations

83. Warns those governments determined to stamp out poverty of the need to consider both the amount and breakdown of public spending, to conduct an equitable fiscal policy and to look into the most suitable means of utilising their resources with a view to promoting an appropriate political, economic and social climate enabling people to emerge from poverty;

84. Maintains, however, that the eradication of poverty cannot rely on the efforts of central governments alone, but requires the active involvement of a coalition of local and regional authorities, including a practical role for organisations from civil society and the private sector; this requires greater decentralised cooperation;

85. Calls on the Commission to extend concessional facilities to the private sector to involve itself in the provision of health services at the community level in poor areas of ACP countries;

86. States that poverty is neither an isolated issue nor a social problem to be dealt with alongside other such issues, and that the eradication of poverty should form the guiding principle of all development-related measures;

87. Condemns the failure of the policy for the international coordination of development aid; stresses the importance of strengthening the complementarity and coordination of the aid provided by the Member States, the Community and other bilateral and multilateral donors, so as to improve effectiveness; calls on the EU to revive its project for the coordination of the cooperation policies of the Member States, in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam;

88. Considers that the excessive increase in the number of requests for action and in uncoordinated projects has come to undermine the effectiveness of aid and had an undesirable impact on recipient countries and donor countries alike; therefore urges those ACP countries which have not already done so to use the commitments made in Copenhagen as a basis for formulating domestic development and anti-poverty strategies providing a coherent overall framework in which to coordinate domestic initiatives, both public and private, and external aid as a whole;

89. Similarly, emphasising the intrinsic link between poverty and ill-health, calls on all EU and ACP Governments to fulfil commitments made at the Cairo Conference to ensure reproductive health services for all ; to ensure EU development assistance targets thus especially vulnerable groups including young people and refugees; and to recognise the importance of family planning;

90. Points out that the priority given to the fight against poverty should be reflected in the allocation of resources and that one of the criticisms levelled at Community policy in independent assessment reports refers to the fact that low-income countries receive a smaller share of Community aid than middle-income countries;

91. Points out likewise that the impact of action cannot now be measured solely in terms of the amount of money allocated and that the pressing need exists, therefore, to devise and apply methods and indicators to gauge the follow-up, impact and results in the various spheres of action;

92. Considers that, it is absolutely necessary to make development cooperation policy consistent with the other policies pursued by the Union,

93. Calls on the Commission and the ACP countries to make universal access to basic social services a core aspect of future cooperation, in accordance with the undertakings given with a view to achieving social development;

On poverty in the European Union and alerting the European citizen thereto

94. Considers that, within the European Union, integrating the poor into its economic and social life should constitute a leading policy aim and that resources should be freed up to combat the spread of poverty across the Union, a contributory factor in the upsurge in racism and violence, a move which would involve supporting local groups active in the fight against poverty, and averting a deterioration in social protection systems for the most impoverished, particularly in urban areas with pockets of social exclusion and in less-developed European regions with poverty rates which are high by comparison with the EU average;

95. Notes that in Europe ever broader sectors of the population, particularly immigrants and people from ethnic minorities, are falling prey to destitution, marginalisation and exclusion;

96. Warns of the need to reorganise public spending if social cohesion is to be achieved;

97. Draws attention to the fact that poverty is linked to the respect for human rights and consequently concerns all countries, be they in the developing world or in the industrialised world, where the plight of refugees and immigrants, as well as the poorest in society, is worsening;

98. Calls on the EU to highlight the economic, cultural and social contribution made by ACP immigrants, to take effective action to combat the racism and xenophobia which seems to be spreading in our societies, and to uphold the fundamental rights of immigrants particularly in the economic, social and political fields;

99. Is aware that worldwide development cannot be achieved without the support of the international community; considers it important, therefore, that European citizens be made aware of the causes of poverty and inequalities in the developing world, the means at their disposal to alleviate those causes, and the threat posed by inequalities to the future of an ever more interdependent world;

100. Considers it necessary to promote awareness within European society of the plight and problems of those people excluded from that very society;

101. Underlines the huge importance of improving education on development; calls for public opinion to be alerted to the action undertaken by the European Union in the field of development policy, for greater awareness and understanding of the reasons for pursuing this policy to be encouraged, above all amongst young people, and for a spirit of solidarity with underprivileged peoples to be encouraged; calls also for a more systematic project to set out and analyse relations between the industrialised nations and the developing world;

102. Believes that the human race has immense potential at its disposal and that, as the UNDP has pointed out, for the first time in history, the human race has the resources to eradicate poverty and social exclusion; points out that only with a huge input of solidarity which enables the principle of social justice to be made a reality can that potential be put to good use; appeals, therefore, to all institutions and Member States of the European Union to make the 21st century the century of solidarity;

103. Draws attention to the recommendation by the European Parliament to develop cooperation between local communities in the ACP countries and in the Member States of the European Union, since such decentralised cooperation involves measures and projects which affect people's everyday lives, boosts moves towards decentralisation at local level in the ACP countries and promotes awareness amongst the inhabitants of local communities in Europe of the problems allied to poverty and development;

104. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council and the Commission.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 14 October in Nassau (Bahamas).