The
Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the
African UnionThe African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...
. The African Parliament held its inaugural session in March 2004. At present it exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, which will last for the first five years of its existence, after that time period it will exercise full legislative powers. Its 265 Parliamentary representatives are elected by the legislatures of the 53 AU states rather than being directly elected in their own capacity.
The
Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the
African UnionThe African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...
. The African Parliament held its inaugural session in March 2004. At present it exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, which will last for the first five years of its existence, after that time period it will exercise full legislative powers. Its 265 Parliamentary representatives are elected by the legislatures of the 53 AU states rather than being directly elected in their own capacity. Initially the seat of the Pan African Parliament was in
Addis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
,
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
but it was later moved to Midrand,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. Additionally, Ten Permanent Committees were created dealing with different sectors of life in Africa.
The current President of the Parliament is
Idriss Ndele MoussaIdriss Ndele Moussa is the president of the African Union's Pan-African Parliament. He became president on May 29, 2009. The other leading contenders for the presidency were Sawadogo Lassane and Mostefa Abdelaziz El-Gendy...
from
ChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
.
The Parliament also has four Vice-Presidents:
- Southern Africa. Joram Macdonald Gumbo from Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
.
- North Africa. Laroussi Hammi from Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
.
- East Africa. Mary Mugyenyi from Uganda
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania...
.
- West Africa. Bethel Amadi from Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
.
These officials are the composition of the
Bureau of the Pan-African ParliamentThe Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament is essentially the leadership of the Pan-African Parliament and consists of one President and four Vice-Presidents. The current President of the Parliament is Idriss Ndele Moussa from Chad....
.
The Parliament is assisted by the
Secretariat of the Pan-African ParliamentIn order to allow the Pan-African Parliament's functions to be carried out more smoothly and in a more streamlined fashion, it is assisted by a Secretariat.The Secretariat is composed of:A Clerk, the Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament is Murumba Werunga....
.
History
The
Abuja TreatyThe Abuja Treaty is a Pan-African international agreement signed on June 3, 1991 in Abuja, Nigeria. The treaty created the African Economic Community.-African Central Bank:...
and
Sirte DeclarationThe Sirte Declaration was the resolution adopted by the Organisation of African Unity on 9 September 1999, at the fourth Extraordinary Session of the OAU Assembly of African Heads of State and Government held at Sirte, Libya...
called for the creation of a PAP. The former had simply listed the PAP among the organization's bodies and stated, "In order to ensure that the peoples of Africa are fully involved in the economic development and integration of the Continent, there shall be established a Pan-African Parliament. The composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Pan-African Parliament shall be defined in a Protocol providing thereof." The Treaty on the Establishment of the African Union and a Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament followed. Then there was the
Constitutive Act of the African UnionThe Constitutive Act of the African Union sets out the codified framework under which the African Union is to conduct itself. It was signed on 11 July 2000 at Lomé, Togo.-See also:*Sirte Declaration, 9 September 1999, resolving to create the African Union....
. The Protocol Establishing the Pan African Parliament was adopted in 2000 during the OAU Summit in Lomè, Togo. The Protocol is now open for signature and ratification. So far 21 member states have signed and three have ratified. Article 22 of the PAP protocol provides for the Protocol to enter into force after deposit of the instruments of ratification by a simple majority of the member states.
Objectives of Parliament
- Implement the policies and objectives of the African Union.
- Cultivate human rights and democracy in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
.
- Make sure Member States adhere to good governance
Good governance is a indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions...
, transparency and accountability.
- Let the peoples of Africa know what the objectives and policies of the African Union are so that they might be able to integrate themselves contentally while still working within the framework of the AU.
- Engender peace, security and stability on the Continent.
- Promote self-reliance and economic recovery so as to lead to a more prosperous future for the peoples of Africa.
- Engender cooperation and development in Africa.
- Strengthen a sense of solidarity and build common destiny among the peoples of Africa.
- Create cooperation among Regional Economic Communities and their Members in Parliament.
Powers of Parliament
- Examine, discuss or express an opinion on any matter, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Assembly or other policy organs and make any recommendations it may deem fit relating to, inter alia, matters pertaining to respect of human rights, the consolidation of democratic institutions and the culture of democracy, as well as the promotion good governance and the rule of law.
- Discuss its budget and the budget of the Community and make recommendations theron prior to its approval by the Assembly of the African Union
The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government AU-AHSG, is one of several decision-making bodies within the African Union. The other bodies are the Pan African Parliament, the Executive Council consisting of foreign...
.
- Work towards the harmonisation or co-ordination of the laws of the Member State.
- Make recommendations aimed at contributing to the attainment of the objectives of the OAU/AEC
The African Economic Community is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states...
and draw attention to the challenges facing the integration process in Africa as well as the strategies for dealing with them.
- Request officials of the OAU/AEC to attend its sessions, produce documents or assist in the discharge of its duties.
- Promote the programmes and objectives of the OAU/AEC, in the constituencies of the Member States.
- Promote the co-ordination and Harmonization of policies, measures, programmes and activities of the Regional Economic Communities and the parliamentary fora of Africa.
- Adopt its Rules of Procedure, elect its own President and propose to the Council and the Assembly the size and nature of the support staff of the Pan-African Parliament.
- Perform such other functions as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3 of the Protocol.
In one of its first actions the Pan African Parliament agreed to send a fact-finding mission to the
DarfurDarfur is a region in Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur which are coordinated by a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority...
region of
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
.
Trust fund
A trust fund was established 26 May, 2005. In the motion to create the fund, it was said the Pan-African Parliament Trust Fund will promote "good governance, transparency and democracy, peace security and stability, gender equality and development in the integration of African people within Africa and other nations. It will also support the fight against HIV/AIDS, hunger and poverty on the continent".
External links