Sadc parliaments calledto promote human rights
Malawi Parliament’s Second Deputy Speaker Aisha Adams has called on the Southern African Development Community- Parliamentary Forum (Sadc-PF) to uphold their mandate of promoting principles of human rights.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday when she presided over the Joint Sadc-PF workshop on enhancing parliaments’ role in defending and promoting human rights in Southern Africa, Adams said the Sadc-PF mandate recognises the important role parliaments play in the promotion and protection of human rights.
Adams added that their oversight function enables them to monitor the implementation of policies by governments in their quest to protect human rights.
She said: “As one of the primary institutions of the State, parliaments share a responsibility to protect and realise human rights and the rule of law and to implement the State’s obligations, alongside the Executive and the Judiciary.”
The Deputy Speaker further observed that parliaments’ law-making function makes them well-placed to ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent human rights violations and that national laws provide practical and effective means for seeking remedies for human rights violations.
In an interview on the sidelines of the workshop, Sadc-PF Human Rights Committee member Utaara Mootu, who is also a member of Parliament in Namibia, bemoaned political interference as one of the challenges that Sadc parliaments meet when championing human rights.
He said there are times when Bills aimed at promoting human rights get shot down based on popularity of those championing proposed laws.
Said Moota: “Minority voices in Parliament should be heard. We have, for example, situations where MPs shoot down important Bills just because they are coming from opposition members of Parliament. Parliamentarians need to know and ensure that politics comes second from human rights.”
In his remarks, European Union (EU) head of cooperation Ivo Hoefkens said the EU’s role in the Sadc-PF human rights project is to uplift the lives of all men, women, youth and children across the globe, to ensure they live dignified lives and that they fulfil their potential and make meaningful contributions towards development.
He hailed the regional meeting, saying such conversations on common issues of interest help in brainstorming clear plans of actions on how the issues should be addressed.
Said Hoefkens: “This should be the default way for operating and addressing all global issues. As the EU, we believe that there can be no development without human rights.
“We, therefore, ensure that we spearhead meaningful actions through grants, to work with key institutions such as local and regional parliaments to support your crucial role of passing and following up on positive legislation that serves the interests of the people.”
According to Hoefkens, some of the human rights issues are those of sexual and gender-based rights, access to good healthcare and education facilities, prisoners’ rights, protection of persons with albinism and other minorities, and increased access to formal justice, among others.
The Sadc-PF is a regional inter-parliamentary body that was established in 1997 as an autonomous institution of Sadc. It comprises parliaments of all Sadc countries
