The Parliamentary Dialogue with the Pan-African ParliamentCivil Society Forum is underway today, 19 May 2023, on the sidelines of the Second Session of the Sixth Pan African Parliament. The Keynote Speaker at the Parliamentary Dialogue is Namibia’s Minister of Justice, Hon. Yvonne Dausab, who will look into the role of civil society in the promotion of democracy, in the context of human rights, peace and security within the structure of the African Union.
Established under Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union to ensure an effective participation of the peoples of Africa in the development and economic integration of the continent, the Pan-African Parliament recognizes that it cannot fulfil its mandate without interrogating and mainstreaming the voices and aspirations of the people and organizations of Africa. Since August 2018, the PAP Civil Society Forum was established as a deliberate mechanism for coordination, cross-pollination and harmonization of civil society efforts and inputs for meaningful and constructive engagement with the Pan-African Parliament. The Parliamentary Dialogue with the Pap Civil Society Forum therefore provides an ideal forum for civil society actors and organizations to be heard by, and to channel their views and recommendations to PAP in relation to key thematic issues to be considered in Plenary and to ensure that the resolutions or recommendations to be adopted are duly informed by the voice of the people that PAP was established to represent.
This proposed dialogue will focus on peace and security in Africa as well as the implementation of the Africa continental Free Trade Area. The PAP Civil Society Forum will reflect upon and harmonise their views ahead of the Dialogue with PAP Members on their recommendations to the larger Pan-African Parliament.
