The Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament Eastern Caucus, Hon. Terence Mondon, attended the European Parliament Pan-African Parliament Inter-Parliamentary Meeting (EP-PAP IPM) in Brussels from the 8th to the 9th December 2022.
The inter-parliamentary meeting, organized by the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) with the support of the African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGASP), aimed to reinforce corporation between both the African Union and the European Union, as well as prioritizing discussions centered around parliamentary support to both the African Union and the European Union’s Peace & Security strategy and responses to gender parity issues.
The two Union Parliament Leaders pushed forward actions on their agenda in relation to five core discussions. The New Pan-African Parliament in the African Union architecture encompassed the support of the European Parliament in regards to the Pan-African Parliament’s endeavor to enhance its role in the African Union and become a fully fledged legislative body. This followed with an agreement between the EP and the PAP to promote continent-to-continent parliamentary dialogue to stimulate Pan-African integration and encourage international cooperation. The second discussion, European Parliament and Pan-African Parliament cooperate on gender equality and Interaction with parliamentary networks of women organizations, was centered on women’s empowerment and gender equality; a commitment was made to advance women’s economic empowerment and to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation, femicides, and child/forced marriages. The third discussion, Strengthening resilience in nutrition in the African continent in the current global context of food crisis: Accelerating human capital and social and economic development, stemmed from the commitment to the essential nature of universal food access and the current drivers of food insecurity (including the COVID 19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict). The fourth discussion focused on peace and security, notably the war in Ukraine and the accompanying adverse impacts. Both delegations called to resolve the war through “negotiation and dialogue in respect of the UN Charter as to preserve international peace and security”. The fifth and final discussion, Enhancing youth participation in decision-making and society, was a commitment to the promotion of young people’s skills and the creation of spaces for youth engagement in politics and decision-making. Both delegations commend the adoption of the first Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU External Action 2022-2027, to strengthen engagement with young people worldwide.
The key to the achievement of these priorities is the “institutional reform of the Pan-African Parliament and the strengthening of its Committee, Bureau and Plenary”.
