Africa: British prime minister Tony Blair's Commission for Africa set out yesterday to "redefine the dysfunctional compact between our world and the world of the poor".
The commission's report, published in London, was blunt, saying: "The condition of the lives of the majority of Africans [ is] intolerable and an affront to the dignity of all humankind".
It insisted on "an alteration of these conditions through a change of policy in favour of the weak".
Mr Blair and the Chancellor Gordon Brown have staked a great deal of their credibility on using yesterday's report - calling for a doubling of aid, cancellation of most debt and dismantling of western trade barriers and subsidies, as well as an attack on corruption and bad governance in Africa - to secure real change when the leaders of the most industrialised nations meet under the British chairmanship in Scotland in July.
The report called for an additional $25 billion (€18.6 billion) per year in aid for Africa, to be implemented by 2010, and said donor countries should commit immediately to provide their fair share of this.
Subject to a review of progress, a second stage would see a further $25 billion a year implemented by 2015. Rich nations should commit to a timetable for giving 0.7 per cent of their annual income. And to provide the critical mass of aid needed now, "the aid should be front-loaded through the immediate implementation of the International Finance Facility".
The report says Africa's history has been blighted by two areas of weakness. These are "capacity", the ability to design and deliver policies, and "accountability", how well a state answers to its people.
"Improvements in both are first and foremost the responsibility of African countries and people," the report said. "But action by rich nations is essential, too."
African leaders could achieve greater accountability by broadening the participation of ordinary people in government processes, in part by strengthening institutions like parliaments, local authorities, trades unions, the justice system and the media.
They could also help build "accountable budgetary processes" so that the people could see how money was raised and where it was going. That in turn could help combat corruption, "which African governments must root out".
The report said developed nations could help here, too. "Money and state assets stolen from the people of Africa by corrupt leaders must be repatriated. Foreign banks must be obliged by law to inform on suspicious accounts. Those who give bribes should be dealt with, too; and foreign companies involved in oil, minerals and other extractive industries must make their payments much more open to public scrutiny," it said.
Mr Blair said: "The report itself is only a first step. It is nothing if we do not use it to achieve change."