Posted in Press Release
The curtains have closed on the 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly and related Meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.
Adopting a resolution on democracy in the digital era at the 133rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the MPs have set new standards on protecting democracy and digital freedoms in an age of mass surveillance.
The resolution urges Parliaments to review national laws to prohibit the interception, collection, analysis and storage of personal data without informed consent of concerned individuals or valid court order.
Legislators further reiterated the need for fairer and more humane migration. The resolution outlined a set of measures that MPs could take to protect migrants and maximise the full potential of the world’s oldest human phenomenon.
They further committed to working towards the ratification of various international conventions that protect migrants’ and refugee rights. The President of the IPU, Hon. Saber Chowdhury said that IPU had embraced an open door policy and was keen to continue collaboration with the national assemblies, regional and international bodies.
EALA was represented by the Speaker, Rt Hon. Daniel F. Kidega and Hon. Straton Ndikuryayo. In his remarks, Rt Hon. Kidega underscored the importance of focus on part of legislators towards ensuring countries undertake more humane migration.
He said the refugees’ problem would probably be a thing of the past in the EAC region once it attains the Political Federation. He however lamented that the refugees’ problem had continued to affect the region owing to instabilities in Somalia, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, and that it was larger than anticipated a few years ago.
The matter, he remarked, was more complicated given the entry of the Common Market Protocol which anticipates free movement of the citizens. The General Assembly was attended by over 90 Speakers and 600 Members of Parliament from 130 Parliaments globally.
Parliament of Uganda was represented by a delegation led by Speaker, Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga while the President of the Senate of Burundi, Rt Hon. Révérien Ndikuriyo led his team. Rt Hon. Ekwee Ethuro and a number of legislators from both Houses represented Kenya while the Deputy Speaker of Rwanda Senate, Hon. Jeanne D’Arc Gakuba led the team from Parliament of Rwanda.
Parliament of Tanzania which was dissolved at the end of the term in July 2015 sent a Senior Parliamentary staff, Owen Mwandumbya. 133rd Assembly approved the re-admission of Fiji into the IPU in a move welcomed by the Organisation as a significant step forward in ongoing efforts to cement democracy in the country and in IPU’s engagement with parliaments from Pacific Ocean Island nations.
The re-admission at Fiji increases the Organisation’s membership to 167 national parliaments. Fiji had first joined IPU in 1997 but was expelled from the IPU following a military coup in 2007.
The 133rd Assembly further convened several IPU bodies including the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, IPU’s Forum of Young Parliamentarians, the Committee on Middle East Questions as well as the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.
The next (134th) IPU General Assembly shall be held in Lusaka, Zambia in March 2016.
Posted in Press Release
EALA Speaker Rt Hon. Daniel F. Kidega is calling on legislators in Burundi to go the extra mile to help cement calmness in the East African country.
Rt Hon. Kidega said peace in Burundi was vital to enable the nation to realise any meaningful progress. The EALA Speaker made the call when he held talks with the President of the Senate of Burundi, Rt Hon. Révérien Ndikuriyo on the sidelines of the 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
“As representatives of the people, you have a role to play in ensuring stability of the nation is maintained”, Rt Hon. Kidega told the Speaker of the Senate. “As Parliamentarians, you are not just the representatives of the people, but you are their voice also and are capable of instilling confidence in the populace”, he added.
The Speaker added that EALA would continue to stand firm with Burundi and that its position on the situation in the country was firmly aligned with that of the Summit for the EAC Heads of State.
The EALA Speaker informed the Speaker of Senate that the regional Assembly had in May-June this year, undertaken a goodwill mission to assess the situation of the refugees from Burundi in Kigoma, United Republic of Tanzania and in the Eastern Province of the Republic of Rwanda. The report he noted, was further debated and adopted at its recent sitting in Nairobi, Kenya (2nd meeting of the 4th Session of the 3rd Assembly).
Present at the occasion was the Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Burundi, senior diplomatic officials of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Burundi to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva led by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, H.E. Pierre Claver Ndayiragije and the EALA Senior Public Relations Officer, Bobi Odiko.
The President of the Senate, Rt Hon. Révérien Ndikuriyo, lauded EALA for the support so far shown to the Republic of Burundi. He maintained that all stakeholders were committed to finding a lasting solution to take the country forward.
“The Head of State has called for national dialogue”, he remarked and “this shall help realise national consensus”, he added.
Rt Hon. Ndikuriyo maintained though that Burundi was largely peaceful. “Ideally, I have been to eleven of the seventeen Provinces in the country so far. I want to report that in a number of places visited, the situation is calm”, the Senate Speaker added.
“The authorities continue to do all that is possible to restore calm in some of the areas that may still be tense if any”, he added. He stated the leadership of Parliament of Burundi was keen to meet with their counterparts from the Parliament of Rwanda as well to help inspire confidence between citizens of both nations.
On his part, the Deputy Speaker of Senate, hailed the Summit of EAC Heads of State for their mediation efforts. “I congratulate H.E. Yoweri Museveni who is heading the peace efforts on behalf of the EAC”, he said.