Antonio Pedro, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has said that Africa is experiencing significant losses, estimated at around $40 billion annually, due to illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the extractive sector. Such financial losses not only hinder developmental progress but also exacerbate economic injustices, depriving African populations of access to essential resources and underscoring the connection between IFFs and the pursuit of reparatory justice. He argued that IFFs in the extractive sector were one of the symptoms of a serious structural problem compounding Africa’s development, i.e. its excessive dependence on the export of raw materials, an extractivist model and construct inherited from colonial times. He  noted that exporting raw materials was exporting jobs, a luxury that the continent cannot afford given the need to create at least 20 millions jobs annually for the youth. As such, addressing IFFS and its root causes should be at the centre of Africa’s development policy and action.

Mr. Pedro was a panelist at the High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) held on Friday, 30 May 2025, in New York, to draw the curtain on the month-long 2025 African Dialogue Series (ADS), on the theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”  It was organised by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, and the AU Permanent Observer Mission to the UN, in collaboration with various UN agencies, including the ECA. The Africa Dialogue Series (ADS) is an annual event that brings together global leaders to discuss pressing issues impacting Africa and its diaspora, focused on the AU theme of the year.