The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution has welcomed a presentation focusing on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism by the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) at the ongoing sittings of the Permanent Committees of the sixth Parliament of the PAP held in Midrand, South Africa.
Last month, PAP President, H.E. Chief Fortune Z. Charumbira led a high-level PAP delegation on an official visit to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, where they sought to understand the missions, assess the effectiveness of the work and explore synergies with AU Algiers-based entities which include ACSRT and African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), an independent mechanism and a key stakeholder in the area of international police cooperation and in the fight against transnational organized crime.
Established by the African Union Plan of Action in 2002, ACSRT is mandated to strengthen the capacity of the member states of the African Union (AU) to deal with issues relating to the prevention and combating of Terrorism, in order to complete the international action. It also helps with the full implementation of the international conventions relating to the fight against terrorism.
“As African parliamentarians, you have indeed a critical role to play in preventing and combating terrorism,” said ACSRT, Acting Director, Idriss Mounir Lallali.
Lallali also mentioned that through the legislative, oversight, and budgetary functions, African lawmakers can help to ensure that their countries have the necessary laws, policies, and adequate resources not only to prevent and combat terrorism but more importantly to address the causes that are conducive to these scrouges in their respective countries and regions, by also ensuring that these efforts are aligned with the needs and priorities of communities.
He also disclosed that at the level of PAP, the parliamentarians can establish a High-Level Advisory Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Violent Extremism.
International Relations, Cooperation and Conflict Resolution Committee Chairperson Hon. Dr. Eng. Sherif. El Gabaly from Egypt hailed the presentation as an “excellent product” but called for more work to be done.
“This is a great presentation by ACSRT, but more work still needs to be done. We have been receiving more academic ideas from various organs and instruments of AU, we believe that now it is high time to implement more practical solutions. If we are to defeat terrorism in our continent let us encourage more practical solutions. We need to be less of always seeking advice that will not be implemented, however, we applaud the role played by ACSRT; we understand and appreciate that they provide vital data on terrorism and other important things in our continent; we are grateful for that as PAP,” added Hon. Dr. Gabaly.
The ongoing sittings of the Permanent Committees of the PAP are held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AFCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area”.
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