Members of the Central African Regional Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament have been urged to intensify advocacy and toinitiate concrete parliamentary actions in favour of the ratification, domestication, and effective implementation of African Union treaties on human rights, good governance, democracy and peace and security, in line with Agenda 2063.
This is the overarching resolution from the recently concluded Regional Conference on Governance and the Promotion of Ratification, Legislative Domestication, and Implementation of African Union Legal Instruments on Shared Values, hosted by the National Transition Council of Chad in N’Djamena, from 25 to 27 September 2023.
Lawmakers from the Central Region of Africa were further challenged to develop strategies and mobilise efforts for the ratification of the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union relating to the Pan-African Parliament, also known as the Malabo Protocol. The Malabo Protocol is intended to extend the powers of the Pan-African Parliament into a fully-fledged legislative organ of the Union. Only four countries out of nine have ratified the Protocol in the region.
The Conference also saw calls for national and regional parliaments to strengthen their oversight function on government action, and allocate adequate budgetary resources to the implementation of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063.
The Regional Conference covered the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, the African Governance Architecture (AGA), the role of national, regional and Continental Parliaments in the acceleration of the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area in Africa (AfCFTA) among other issues.
Additionally, Members of the Central African Regional Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament held a Dialogue with Civil Society on the African Union Legal Instruments on Shared Values, as well as the Draft legal framework of the Pan-African Parliament Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity.
The objective of the Regional Conference was to promote the ratification, domestication, and effective implementation of African Union treaties on human rights, good governance, democracy and peace and security, in line with Agenda 2063 and the African Union's theme for 2023.
The Regional Conference also sought to address specific and thematic issues relating to the Central African region, for which advocacy and awareness-raising actions need to be undertaken vis-à-vis Member States to accelerate the culture of good governance and respect for the rule of law, and to protect the fundamental freedoms and essential human rights of citizens.
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