The Socialist International held its Council meeting on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 November in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by the African National Congress, ANC, under the main theme "The Progressive Agenda: The priorities for our movement today".
The Council was attended by leaders and delegates from member parties and organisations from around the world. (List of participants) The agenda of the discussions further to the main theme included three panel debates, the first under the title "The African Union: building common responses for the people of the region"; the second "Ten years of the Beijing Platform for Action: which way forward to continue empowering women?"; and the third "Sustainable development: Fulfilling the commitments of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg 2002".
This gathering of the Council, the highest decision-making body of the organisation in the inter-Congress period, in Johannesburg underlined the commitment of the International to the concerns of the African people and the International's strong presence in the continent, where it has convened on previous occasions in recent years in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2000 and in Casablanca, Morocco, in 2002.
On the eve of the Council, on Sunday 14 November, a working meeting of the leadership of the International, the Presidium, was held with the participation of the President of the Republic of South Africa and of the ANC, Thabo Mbeki. The Presidium addressed an agenda which included three themes: priorities for the International in Africa, an evaluation of the outcome of the US elections and current developments in the Middle East. On Monday 15 November, the plenary meeting of the Council was opened by SI President António Guterres in an address in which he defined some of the tasks and priorities for social democracy today, and by South African Vice-President and Deputy President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma. At the opening other contributions were heard from the President of the Republic of Mozambique and leader of the Frelimo party, Joaquim Chissano, Prime Minister of Mauritius and leader of the Mauritius Militant Movement, Paul Bérenger, among others, on the main theme. (Speakers in the first session) On Monday 15 in the afternoon and on Tuesday 16 morning, the panel discussions took place with a broad representation of participants. (Panelists) On each subject addressed by the panels, the Council agreed specific resolutions reflecting the outcome of the debates. The Council also addressed the urgent and critical developments in the Middle East and the serious situation in Côte d'Ivoire.
The SI Secretary General, Luis Ayala, gave a report on the activities of the International and presented an outline of the work of the organisation for 2005.
At the closure of the meeting, Kgalema Motlanthe, Secretary General of the African National Congress, ANC, gave some final remarks in which he said "Our task, as we adjourn here today, is to return to our towns and cities, to our countries, and to our regions - and pursue with ever greater vigour and confidence the programme of progressive action we have deliberated on".
Monday, 15 November Morning session |
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OPENING |
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Addresses by: -Jacob Zuma, Vice-President of the Republic of South Africa and Deputy President of the - António Guterres, President of the Socialist International |
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Contributions on the main theme by: Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique and leader of Frelimo Paul Raymond Bérenger, Prime Minister of Mauritius and leader of the Mauritius Militant Movement Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Member of the German Federal Parliament and Member of the SPD Executive Committee Mohamed El-Yazghi, First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, Morocco Elio Di Rupo, Leader of the PS, Belgium, and a Vice-President of the SI Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven, Labour Party, PvdA, Netherlands, and a Vice-President of the SI Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists, PES Fikile Mbalula, President of International Union of Socialist Youth, IUSY Deniz Baykal, Leader of the Republican People’s Party, CHP, Turkey and a Vice-President of the SI George Foulkes, British Labour Party and a Member of the SI Executive |
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End of morning session |
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Afternoon session |
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Discussion of the main theme (continued) |
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Contributions and debate on the first panel: Jessie Duarte, Member of the ANC National Executive, South Africa Julião Mateus Paulo, Secretary General, MPLA Angola Hugh Bayley, Member of Parliament, Labour Party, Great Britain Jacques Baudin, Socialist Party of Senegal Guy Labertit, Socialist Party, France Jemal Abdelwaheb, Deputy Secretary General of the Constitutional Democratic Assembly, RCD, Tunisia Chantal Kambiwa, Social Democratic Front, Cameroon and SIW Vice-President Ahmed Ould Daddah, President of the Assembly of Democratic Forces, Mauritania |
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End of afternoon session |
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Tuesday, 16 November
Morning and final session
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Session resumes |
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SECOND PANEL |
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Contributions and debate on the second panel: Bathabile Dlamini, Secretary General of the ANC Women's League Pia Locatelli, President of Socialist International Women Margarita Zapata, Sandinista Liberation Front, FSLN, Nicaragua Lissy Groner, Member of the European Parliament and an SIW Vice-President Mario Nalpatian, ARF Armenian Socialist Party Amelia Sumbana, Frelimo Party, Mozambique, and SIW Vice-President |
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THIRD PANEL |
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Contributions and debate on the third panel: Mohammed Valli Moosa, former Minister of Environmental Affairs, ANC, South Africa Christoph Zöpel, Chair of the SI Committee on the Economy, Social Cohesion and the Environment, SPD, Germany Ousmane Tanor Dieng, Chair of the SI Africa Committee, Socialist Party, Senegal Ouafa Hajji, Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, Morocco / Ibrahim Rachidi, USFP, Morocco Maria Titizian, ARF Armenian Socialist Party Nalin Pekgul, President of Swedish Social Democratic Party’s Women’s Organisation |
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Report of the Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee |
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Report of the Chair of the Ethics Committee |
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Date, venue and main theme of the next Council meeting |
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CLOSURE |