On Africa Day, we recognize the people and promise of Africa. The continent has just experienced a decade of rapid economic growth – a stark contrast to the stagnation and reversals of previous years. Many of the world's fastest-growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa, and attractive investment opportunities are proliferating. Africa has also made gains in consolidating democracy. The United Nations will continue to support the African people's efforts to realize their right to choose their own leaders and ensure that elections are a route to peace, not violence.
值此非洲日，我們贊美非洲人民，看好非洲的前途。非洲大陸剛剛經(jīng)歷了經(jīng)濟(jì)快速增長(zhǎng)的十年——這與此前多年的停滯和倒退形成了鮮明對(duì)照。世界許多增長(zhǎng)最快的經(jīng)濟(jì)體在撒哈拉以南非洲地區(qū)，有吸引力的投資機(jī)會(huì)不斷涌現(xiàn)。非洲還努力鞏固民主制度，并取得了成果。聯(lián)合國(guó)將一如既往，支持非洲人民爭(zhēng)取選擇自己領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的權(quán)利，并確保選舉成為通往和平而非暴力的道路。

I am marking Africa Day this year with a visit to the continent aimed at mobilizing global support for reducing child and maternal mortality rates. Progress in this area has been slower than it is on all the other Millennium Development Goals, despite proven policies, practices and technologies. Our new Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health aims to save millions of lives by bringing together all relevant partners and scaling up what works, including many home-grown African strategies for success.
今年，我慶祝非洲日的活動(dòng)是訪問(wèn)非洲大陸，借以調(diào)動(dòng)全球的支持，降低兒童和孕產(chǎn)婦死亡率。雖然實(shí)施了行之有效的政策、做法和技術(shù)，這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的進(jìn)展卻不及在所有其他千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)方面的進(jìn)展。我們已經(jīng)制定新的全球婦女和兒童健康戰(zhàn)略，我們的宗旨是，調(diào)動(dòng)所有相關(guān)合作伙伴，加強(qiáng)實(shí)施行之有效措施的力度，包括加強(qiáng)實(shí)施許多非洲本土成功戰(zhàn)略的力度，挽救千百萬(wàn)人的生命。

The theme of this year's observance – “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development” – highlights one of Africa's greatest untapped resources: its young people. Africa is the world's youngest continent; 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30. Despite advances in education and economic growth, progress remains fragile, inequalities are widespread and young Africans face major difficulties in finding decent jobs and participating in decision-making. In North Africa earlier this year, the lack of such freedoms was among the factors that led young people to take to the streets demanding change and fulfillment of their legitimate aspirations for better lives. Empowering youth is essential for sustainable economic growth and sustainable management of the earth's ecosystems and resources; the clear challenge for many countries now is to pay just as much attention to sustainable political progress.
今年紀(jì)念活動(dòng)的主題是 “加速賦予青年權(quán)能，促進(jìn)可持續(xù)發(fā)展”，這個(gè)主題強(qiáng)調(diào)的是非洲最大的未發(fā)掘資源之一：非洲青年。非洲是世界最年輕的大陸，30歲以下居民占其人口的70%。雖然在教育和經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)方面取得了進(jìn)步，但進(jìn)步仍然很脆弱，不平等現(xiàn)象很普遍，非洲青年很難找到體面的工作，很難參與決策。今年早些時(shí)候，除其他因素外，缺乏這些自由也是導(dǎo)致北非青年走上街頭、要求改革和實(shí)現(xiàn)改善生活合理愿望的因素。賦予青年權(quán)能對(duì)于促進(jìn)可持續(xù)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)和促進(jìn)以可持續(xù)方式管理地球生態(tài)系統(tǒng)和資源至關(guān)重要；對(duì)于許多國(guó)家而言，現(xiàn)在的明確挑戰(zhàn)是，必須同樣重視可持續(xù)政治進(jìn)步。

As Africans strive to overcome threats to peace and development, the continent will continue to need strong and dedicated support from all its partners. On Africa Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to work in partnership with Africans of all ages to realize their potential by building an environment conducive to prosperity, democracy and peace.
在非洲人民努力克服和平與發(fā)展所面臨威脅過(guò)程中，非洲大陸仍將需要所有伙伴給予強(qiáng)大和專款支持。值此非洲日，我們?cè)钢厣?，我們致力于與所有年齡的非洲人合作，努力建設(shè)可促進(jìn)繁榮、民主與和平的有利環(huán)境，發(fā)掘他們的潛力。