PAP moves on African conflicts
Matome Sebelebele
12 April 2005
The Pan African Parliament will send fact-finding missions to the conflict-ridden Ivory Coast and Democratic Republic of Congo next month.
The teams will make recommendations to the parliament and the African Union (AU) on ways to help the two countries attain peace.
This emerged in Johannesburg on Monday, the final day of the African Parliament's third session.
The continental body also vowed to up the pressure on outstanding African countries to subscribe to the AU's African Peer Review Mechanism, seen by many as a crucial instrument in holding leaders accountable for underdevelopment and maladministration.
The institution praised President Thabo Mbeki for his fruitful mediation role in Ivory Coast, saying it was "pleased" to note the successful conclusion of
long-running talks.
Speaking to reporters after two weeks of deliberations, the body's president, Gertrude Mongella, said the parliament wanted to have its own report to give it a clear picture of what was happening on the ground.
Meanwhile, a Pan African Parliament mission to Sudan has expressed concerns at the repeated violations of ceasefire agreements, stalled peace talks and growing humanitarian crisis in the region.
Presenting its report to the parliament last week, the seven-member Darfur mission, headed by Ugandan Adbul Katuntu, urged the body to call on the Sudanese government to "immediately" disarm the Janjaweed rebels, blamed for undermining peace agreements there.
The report painted a picture of a distressed population besieged by fear and distrust of the authorities, of displaced people living under "inhumane conditions", calling for the parliament to set up a trust fund for humanitarian assistance as well as an ad hoc committee on
Darfur.
Source: BuaNews
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