RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/W/3
FOR THE 20July1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-1498)
Original: FrenchPREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BYTHE CONFERENCE OFTHE
ORGANIZATION OFAFRICAN UNITY (OAU)
ATITSTHIRTIETH SESSION
Communication from Tunisia
Inacommunication dated 11July1994, thePermanent Mission ofTunisia hasrequested that
thefollowing Resolution adopted ontheoccasion oftheThirtieth Session oftheOAU Conference be
circulated tomembers ofthePreparatory Committee.
_______________
Resolution ontheEvaluation oftheResults oftheUruguay Round of
Multilateral Trade Negotiations ofGATT
TheConferenceofHeadsofStateandGovernmentoftheOrganizationofAfricanUnity,meeting
initsThirtieth Ordinary Session inTunis, Tunisia, from 13to15June1994,
Bearing inmind thesignificance ofAfrica 'sparticipation ininternational commercial relations
asamajor source offoreign exchange thatisrequired forfinancing thedevelopment ofitscountries,
Concerned about thecontinued deterioration ofAfrica 'sterms oftradewiththeindustrialized
countries, thecollapse ofcommodity prices, thelossofmarket share andtheresurgence ofprotectionist
tradepracticesthatcharacterizedtheinternationaltradingsystemsincetheperiodprecedingthelaunching
oftheUruguay Round ofMultilateral Trade Negotiations inSeptember 1986inPunta delEste,Uruguay,
Aware thaton15April 1994 inMarrakesh, Kingdom ofMorocco, theFinal Actembodying
theresults ofthemultilateral trade negotiations (Uruguay Round) wassigned bytheMinisters ofthe
participating countries intheUruguay Round,
Taking intoaccount theTunis Declaration andtheresolution ontheUruguay Round of
negotiations adopted inOctober 1933 bytheTwelfth Session oftheConference ofAfrican Ministers
ofTrade,
Recalling resolution CM.Res.1505(LIX) oftheOAU Council ofMinisters ofFebruary 1994,
which requested theSecretary General oftheOAU, incollaboration withtherelevant institutions, to
conduct acomprehensive evaluation oftheresults oftheUruguay Round inorder todetermine the
overall impact ontheAfrican economies,
./.PC/W/3
Page2
Further recalling theresolution ontheUruguay Round ofmultilateral tradenegotiations adopted
inMay1994bytheConference ofMinisters oftheUnited Nations Economic Commission forAfrica,
Aware oftheneedfortheintegration ofAfrica within theglobal trading system inorder to
foster economic growth inAfrica,
Conscious oftheimportance offreetrade foreconomic growth andemployment andofthe
needtopromote national development forjobcreation,
Mindful thattherearenewareas thatarestillopenfornegotiations inthecoming months, such
asrelations between environment andtrade, basic telecommunications andfinancial services,
Having considered thereport oftheSecretary General entitled "Evaluation oftheResults of
theUruguayRoundofMultilateralTradeNegotiationsofGATT(APreliminaryAssessment)",document
CM/111839 (LX),
1. Takes noteofthereport andrecommendations indocument CM/1839 (LX)andwelcomes the
comprehensive analysis contained inthereport;
2. Welcomes theconclusion oftheUruguay Round ofnegotiations andthesigning oftheFinal
Actby120countries on15April 1994 inMarrakesh, Kingdom ofMorocco, aswellasthe
Agreement establishing theWorld Trade Organization (WTO);
3. Expresses concern atthedeterioration ofthemargins ofpreference hitherto enjoyed bythe
majority ofAfrican countries asaresult oftheRound;
4. Urges African countries which havenotyetdonesotoenvisage acceding totheWTO soas
toensure thesafeguard ofAfrica 'sinterests from within thenewOrganization;
5. Welcomes theconvening oftheInternational Conference onTechnical Assistance toAfrican
Countries inTunis inOctober 1994 withtheaimofenabling them toadapt theireconomies
tothenewinternational trading system andmore particularly totheoutcome oftheUruguay
Round ofmultilateral trade negotiations;
6. Calls onUNDP, GATT, other institutions anddonors toprovide therequired financial support
andtechnical assistance forthispurpose;
7. Calls ontheOAU, UNECA, UNCTAD andGATT toorganize regular seminars andsymposia
toacquaint member States ofOAU withtheoutcome oftheUruguay Round andthemechanisms
fortheimplementation oftheagreements;
8. Calls foranAfrican common position ontheissueoftheinclusion oflabour standards within
thenewWorld Trade Organization 'ssphere ofcompetence;
9. Requests theSecretary General oftheOAU andtheExecutive Secretary ofUNECA, inclose
consultation withmember States andrelevant organizations, tomonitor onacontinuous basis
theimpact oftheUruguay Round andtomake periodic recommendations totheCouncil through
theSecretary General;
10. Requests theSecretary General tomonitor theimplementation ofthisresolution andtoreport
backtotheCouncil.