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.
Posted in Press Release
The 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly and related Meetings commenced in Geneva, Switzerland with sustained calls for fairer and more humane migration.
The General Assembly brings together over 50 Speakers and 600 Members of Parliament from 130 Parliaments globally over the next 5 days in discussing key thematic areas on migration. The theme this year is “the moral and economic imperative for fairer, smarter and more human migration”.
Addressing the Assembly, EALA Speaker, Rt Hon. Daniel Fred Kidega said that migration was a predominant and persistent characteristic of humanity, and that it occupied a central place in human history and current affairs.
The Speaker pushed for the uptake of the Political Federation in the East African region saying such move would demystify the refugees’ problem. “At worst, under the Political Federation, we can only be talking about internally displaced persons and not refugees”, he remarked.
He therefore urged Parliamentarians and Parliaments to concert individual and collective efforts in ensuring countries undertake more humane and smarter migration. “As Parliamentarians, we need to focus on the migration challenge by probing the root causes of international migration, particularly global processes that are unprecedented in their power to encourage the crossing of borders”, he said.
The Speaker noted that insecurities in the neighbouring countries of the EAC similarly resulted in the migration inflows and the refugees’ problem arising from instability in Somalia, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi 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 Speaker said the EAC was working towards attaining a sustainable and stable region that boosts and respects the UN agenda, particularly on matters of peace, development, challenge of migration and human rights.
“The Parliaments must take their role of legislation, representation and oversight in the areas”, Rt Hon. Kidega remarked. Rt Hon. Kidega also urged Parliaments / Assemblies to enact effective law against traffickers and smugglers.
The Speaker is leading a delegation of EALA consisting of Hon. Straton Ndikuryayo and two EALA staff. The top leadership of the Parliaments of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi are in attendance while Parliament of Tanzania is represented by senior staff.
The issue of humane migration is taking central stand following the recent Syrian crisis among others. According to the IPU, although the more than 230 million migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the world today represent a small percentage of the global population, rising xenophobia combined with the ongoing impact of the global economic crisis continue to warp any reasoned debate and policy response on the migration phenomenon.
The President of IPU, Hon. Saber Chowdhury said it was necessary for IPU to consider better migration in order to impact on people’s lives. “This is a critical agenda that we must engage in”, Hon. Chowdhury said. He noted that IPU and the UN were working closely together and that more collaboration was expected in the coming year.
The Director of ILO said that migration was a major trend given that 1 in every 7 persons globally are migrating. He cited degradation of environment, demand for labour and instabilities as some of the reasons for migration. He maintained that Parliaments can also pass legislation on diaspora and ensure policies on the same are effected.
The 133rd Assembly has also considered and 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 of Fiji today increases the Organisation’s membership to 167 national parliaments. Fiji had first joined IPU in 1997. However, a military coup in 2006, the fourth since 1970, had led to the dissolution of parliament and Fiji’s formal expulsion from the Organisation in 2007.
The 133rd Assembly will also convene 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. Cases involving the violations of the human rights of nearly 120 MPs from 21 countries will be examined by the IPU Committee, which will also hold up to 12 hearings with parliamentary authorities, victims and others who could assist in investigations.