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Conflict, the link between peace and development, and the debt burden were among the issues international and African officials addressed on at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Algiers, which began on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that there were positive
developments in Africa, such as the Sierra Leone peace agreement and Nigeria's return to civilian rule, but that deadly conflicts persisted.
He said there had also been deviations in the Comoros, Guinea Bissau and Niger "from the principle that the will of the people must be the basis of authority in Africa and that governments, duly elected, should not be overthrown by force".
Unless conflicts are curbed, Annan said, "Africa will not attract the private investment and official development it so badly needs, nor will it liberate the creative and entrepreneurial energies of its people".
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata said "peace and development were the only hope for resolving the continent's refugee crisis", a direct result of the conflicts.
UNCHR reported on Tuesday that in discussions with the presidents of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia, Ogata urged the leaders to renew their commitment to Africa's refugees and displaced people.
President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria told the summit, which ends on Wednesday, that there was need for a comprehensive process of managing Africa's conflict.
Relieving the debt burden, which rose in sub-Saharan Africa from US $60.9 billion in 1980 to US $219 billion in 1997, held the key to the continent's survival in the 21st century, he said.
"Today, every man, woman or child owes US $357," he said, referring to sub-Saharan Africa's per-capita debt.
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