JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 17, (Xinhua/GNA) — The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the legislative body of the African Union (AU), is deeply concerned about unconstitutional changes of government and conflicts in various parts of the African continent, Fortune Charumbira, president of the PAP, said on Monday.
Charumbira made the remarks in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the plenary session for the sitting of the permanent committees and other organs of parliament. “The situation in the Eastern Africa region remains volatile, characterized by the devastating war in Sudan, the elongated transition in South Sudan, stabilization, and state-building efforts in Somalia, and transnational organized crime including human trafficking,” said Charumbira, adding that the West African Region has been characterized by unconstitutional changes of government in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and growing insecurity, resulting from the activities of terrorism and violent extremism within the Sahel region.
He said Southern Africa is generally calm, except for the situation in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, and the North Africa region is also calm, except for the continuing transition in Libya.
Charumbira expressed concern over the “security and political challenges” in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly the presence of armed groups, hostile entities, and mercenaries, notably around the Great Lakes.”It is imperative for the PAP, as the supreme continental representative institution, to leverage parliamentary diplomacy, to find durable solutions to the conflicts riddling the continent.
The parliament has a sacred responsibility to protect the lives and human rights of the people we represent, who bear the brunt of the conflicts across Africa,” Charumbira said.
Charumbira said the African continent is increasingly experiencing severe weather events, including droughts, floods, and heat waves, which threaten agriculture, water resources, and overall livelihoods. He urged African countries to invest in renewable energy, enhance climate resilience, adopt innovative solutions, and foster regional cooperation.
The PAP is an African parliament, comprising about 250 members of parliaments from different African countries, with each country having five in the AU organ.
GNA