SHARED VALUES, SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The G8 and Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa, and the African Union Commission, highlight the importance of an enhanced partnership between the G8 and Africa. Africa is on the move, and is becoming a new pole for global growth, even if challenges to be addressed remain, particularly in the least developed countries. The G8 and Africa stand side-by-side during this key time of change.

2. To reach our objectives, we are determined to further promote together shared values, notably peace and human rights, democratic governance and sustainable development, and we will continue to endorse our respective and shared responsibilities in this regard, in a spirit of mutual accountability.

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Peace, Security and Governance

3. We welcome the overall progress that has been made towards stability and democracy on the continent. Several long-lasting armed conflicts have come to an end and democratic processes are becoming the norm and no longer the exception. However, we need to address remaining challenges, notably respect for free and fair election results and for the rule of law, people's aspirations for increased democratic openness, and resolution of the persisting conflicts. Current global threats such as terrorism, trafficking in human beings, arms and drugs, organized crime and piracy likewise, require strengthening national and regional initiatives in Africa with the support of the international community and increased global cooperation.

4. We commend the steadfast support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and the United Nations for the free and sovereign will of the Ivorian people. We express our deep concern over the grave humanitarian and socio-economic situation in Côte d'Ivoire. In this regard, we call on the International Community as a whole to extend the necessary support to alleviate the plight of the refugees and internally displaced persons as a matter of urgency and to lend support to President Alassane Ouattara and his government to enable them to restore lasting peace, security stability and economic recovery throughout the country. We also encourage the Ivoirian authorities to spare no efforts to take the necessary steps to address the issues of justice, peace and reconciliation among all Ivoirian people, and to implement the pending issues of the Ouagadougou Political Agreements, including those relating to Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of ex-combatants.

5. We commend the African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan for its work with the Sudanese parties. While congratulating the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the people of Sudan for the successful conclusion of the 2011 referendum, we condemn the recent escalation of violence in Abyei. We call on all parties to withdraw all unauthorized forces from the area, to uphold their previous commitments, and we call on the parties to reach agreements on all outstanding issues of the CPA, particularly the status of Abyei, oil issues and debt. We also urge the parties to reach a speedy conclusion to the negotiations on post-referendum arrangements between Sudan and an independent South Sudan, within the framework of good neighbourhood and the mutual economic viability of the two states. We express concern about the persistent violence and insecurity in Darfur and call on all parties to engage with a view to reaching a speedy solution in the context of the Doha Process mediated by the Joint Chief Mediator and the Government of Qatar. We encourage G8 and African countries' continued cooperation and mutual efforts to these ends, including through the Sudan Consultative Forum.

6. We urge the Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to broaden and consolidate the reconciliation process and to work with the international community with a view to agreeing on the way forward notably on how to end the transition and on the key tasks ahead such as the constitutional process after the Transitional Federal Institutions' mandate expires in August 2011. We call on all actors to support an inclusive, Somali-led process as the means to resolve the conflict. We commend the action undertaken by the African Union and its mission, AMISOM, and express our full support for the mission and the effort of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Somalia. We commit to remain constructively engaged on Somalia and to support international efforts for the establishment of a peaceful and secure environment in which human rights and democratic institutions can develop at all levels.

7. We welcome the Political Declaration and Action Plan adopted at the G8 Ministerial Meeting on Transatlantic Cocaine Trafficking on May 10 and aimed at strengthening the international and regional cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking on both sides of the Atlantic.

8. We reaffirm our commitment to fight against all forms of terrorism and address the conditions conducive to terrorism in full compliance with international law, in particular the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international conventions. We encourage the creation of regional strategies to take into account all the dimensions of this transnational threat. We stand ready to assist the countries affected by this scourge in building their own capacities to fight terrorism and terrorist groups.

9. We express our continued concern regarding the serious threat of piracy, in particular emanating from Somalia. We underline our determination to continue to respond resolutely to this threat, through a coordinated response at sea and by tackling longer-term regional capability development needs, including through the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, as well as the comprehensive strategy that would address the root causes of piracy and reinforce the Somali capacity. In parallel, we agree that effective prosecution including execution of sentences need increased support. We welcome the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1976, which represents a significant step forward in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia.

10. We welcome efforts made by the African Union and the regional economic communities to build up the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), including the African Standby Force, as well as the successful implementation of the G8 Action Plan, adopted at the Sea Island Summit in 2004, to reinforce African peacekeeping capabilities. We stress the need to further enhance the APSA in a spirit of mutual accountability, and we recognize the progress made with the recent APSA assessment and the adoption of the indicative elements for the APSA Roadmap. We emphasize the importance of improving coordination between all stakeholders in providing assistance and of promoting African ownership, in order to ensure maximum impact and sustainability of peace and security initiatives on the African continent.

11. Respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic governance, as well as gender equality, are of key importance to sustaining development, stability and democracy. We welcome the African Union decision on speeding up the ratification of African governance and human rights instruments, in particular the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. We recall our support to the African Governance Architecture, in particular the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and we encourage further implementation of the APRM National Programmes of Action's recommendations. We also encourage ratification and full implementation of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.

12. We fully support the action taken by the African Union and African regional organizations to fight unconstitutional regime changes. We encourage further efforts to ensure the rule of law and the respect of human rights and to tackle impunity. We strongly welcome the initiatives taken by several African countries to set up transitional justice mechanisms to address human rights violations. These actions need to be further developed.

Economic Development and Environment

13. Africa is increasingly a destination for foreign investment and private sector development. The challenge today is to build on the current and positive dynamic of the African economy to achieve a more inclusive, shared and sustainable growth that creates jobs, ensures human security and empowers individuals, especially the younger generation. We need to intensify our efforts on drivers for economic growth, including human capital development, regional and global trade integration, business environment, domestic resources mobilization, and scaling up access to infrastructures and related services, including for energy, transport, information and communication technologies. In this regard, we welcome the conclusions of the 16th meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) on 21 April 2011 in Paris.