Winds of change
Can the new Pan-African Parliament bring peace to Africa?
‘Our continent has decided where to go. And we have established the institutions to take us to this destination,’ according to the South African President Thabo Mbeki. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) at its permanent seat in Johannesburg in September.
In its first five years of existence, the 265-member PAP will mainly serve in an advisory and consultative capacity to the African Union (AU). The AU’s 53 member states will each send five representatives drawn from national parliaments to the PAP, including at least one woman. In 2009, the Parliament will be given teeth: the power to make laws.
While the creation of a continent-wide legislature is undoubtedly historic, it has yet to elicit universal support in Africa. So far, only 46 African countries have ratified the assembly’s protocols. Fear of PAP intervention may explain why Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Somalia have yet to ratify. Mbeki said Africans were looking to the Parliament to resolve their problems: ‘This includes putting an end to unnecessary wars which force Africans to live as refugees in their own countries.’ At present, the continent is pock-marked with conflicts. The actions of Arab militias against three ethnic groups in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have drawn extensive media attention recently. But the situations in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC and northern Uganda are also fraught.
‘A wind of change is blowing across Africa. But the challenges are daunting,’ Julia Doily, an AU representative, told the assembly.
Join over 30,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, action alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
