Joint UNITAR/Pôle-Dette Seminar for Economists on the
Legal Aspects of Debt and Financial Management
for French-speaking Central and West African Nations
(Libreville - Gabon, 28 April to 2 May 2003)

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Workshop Information Note

Background
As part of a joint UNITAR/Pôle-Dette training initiative, this five-day seminar is the first activity being proposed by UNITAR and Pôle-Dette specifically for economists from Central and West African nations. This five-day seminar also follows a Needs Assessment Mission conducted jointly by UNITAR/Pôle-Dette/BEAC/BCEAO with a view to assessing the training and capacity building needs in terms of the legal aspects of debt, financial management and negotiation. This seminar expects to invite senior and middle level government officials (especially economists, as the title suggests) from a range of ministries and government departments from sixteen Central and West African nations.

Seminar Objectives
This seminar is designed to achieve the following objectives:

1) Enhance participants' understanding of the legal procedures and legal aspects (i.e. regulatory framework) of debt management;

2) Enhance participants' understanding of the legal issues in debt transactions, particularly those involving external sources of funds; and

3) Enhance participants' understanding of the role of the lawyer in debt management and debt transactions

Diagram showing UNITAR's Multi-disciplinary approach to Debt Management and
the Centrality of the Legal Aspects therein.

Intended Audience
This seminar is designed for government officials, particularly economists, involved in public debt management who are interested in learning more about the legal aspects of public debt management, legal issues in debt transactions, and the role of the lawyer in debt management and debt transactions.

Beneficiary Countries
This workshop intends to invite participants from the following sixteen countries of Central and West Africa: Bénin; Burkina-Faso; Cameroun; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Gabon; Guinée; Guinée-Bissau; Guinée Equatoriale; Mali; Mauritanie; Niger; République Centreafricaine; Sénégal; Tchad; and Togo.

UNITAR's Mandate
UNITAR's training programme in the legal aspects of debt, financial management and negotiation commenced after a high-level expert meeting in Geneva in 1987. Since the onset of this programme, UNITAR has conducted training activities in a number of developing countries (primarily from English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa from East, West and Southern Africa) and economies in transition. The programme focuses on:

• training government officials through short-duration regional seminars and workshops on various aspects of debt, financial management and negotiation;
  
• developing on-line training courses (since January 2001, and in parallel with traditional regional training) with a view to tapping a wider audience and reducing cost of training per participant;
  
• strengthening existing ties with regional training centers (like Pôle-Dette) and offering joint courses with partners in Africa and elsewhere;
  
• creating awareness among senior government officials of the importance of the legal aspects in the borrowing process and of putting together a multi-disciplinary team for loan management and international negotiation;
  
• providing in-depth training and skills development for accountants, economists, financial experts, decision and policy makers, and lawyers coming from government ministries and departments;
  
• developing and disseminating training packages and 'best practice' materials directly related to the practicalities of legal aspects of debt and financial management with a view to strengthening existing human and institutional capacities at the national level; and
  
• last but not least, assisting in capacity building at the country level through the introduction of a UNITAR-developed Guidance Document entitled 'Preparing a National Profile to Assess the National Legal Infrastructure for Sound Financial Management'.

To date, UNITAR has held over 100 training events in 35 countries. These training activities provide training to senior and middle-level government officials in the field of debt, financial management and negotiation. The programme has trained over 3500 participants from the various partner countries. These training programmes are designed to enhance the existing human resources in these developing nations in the fields of financial management. Each training programme or activity is designed to meet the specific needs of the country or region in question.

Since December 2001, UNITAR has conducted a series of seminars and workshops with its Partner Pôle-Dette in the legal aspects of debt, financial management and negotiation.

This training programme has drawn on the expertise and knowledge of numerous institutions and individuals who have and are working closely in debt, financial management and negotiation issues worldwide.

Why Legal Aspects?
UNITAR's training programmes on debt and financial management often focuses on the legal aspects. This is because surveys and evaluations that were held in partner countries have found that a certain lack of awareness of legal procedures in debt and financial management prevails in many of United Nations member states. This lack has lead to negative effects in ability of these countries to repay their debts and manage their finances. At the same time, few other international institutions provide training in the legal aspects of debt and financial management in a systematic and methodical way. UNITAR has thus tried to address a concrete training need in many of its partner countries and offers a training programme tailored to deal with the legal aspects of debt and financial management. Moreover, UNITAR believes that good legal support plays a crucial role in negotiating and implementing a loan agreement.

UNITAR thus follows a multidisciplinary approach to its training in the field of debt and financial management. Since 1987, UNITAR has worked with a view to developing a comparative advantage in the legal aspects of debt and financial management. UNITAR considers linkages and cooperation with other training institutions vital for the success and evolution of its training programmes in the legal aspects of debt and financial management. It is with this in view that UNITAR welcomes its partnership with Pôle-Dette for training and capacity building in the Central and West African region.