National Assembly Building in Banjul
By Ramatoulie Jawo
The members of the National Assembly on Thursday adopted the report from the Gambian delegation that participated in the third ordinary session of the Pan-African Parliament held in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Gambian delegation attended this session from June 18 to July 15, 2024.
Presenting the report to the plenary, Hon. Suwaibou Touray, a member of the delegation, outlined the resolutions adopted during the session. He emphasized the establishment of a Pan-African Parliament Network focused on the free movement of persons in Africa. This network aims to advocate for the advancement and enhancement of free movement across the continent.
“The mandate the Pan-African Parliament Parliamentary Network on Free Movement of Persons, under the coordination of the Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters, to spearhead sensitisation and mobilisation of members of National and Regional Parliaments on the importance of ratifying and domesticating the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons” he said.
Touray also noted that the advocacy efforts would continue through its committees and national delegations, with progress reports expected during the next ordinary session.
Additionally, he discussed the resolution addressing drug and substance abuse as a barrier to inclusive, lifelong quality education in Africa. He referenced Article 28 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, along with Articles 16 and 17 of the African Youth Charter, which commit Member States to take necessary measures to protect children and youth from narcotics and the illicit use of psychotropic substances, as well as to prevent their involvement in the production and trafficking of such drugs.
Touray underscored the need to combat the issues of drug and substance abuse and illicit trafficking throughout Africa, highlighting their detrimental effects on quality education, especially for children and youth.
“For the establishment and strengthening of national drug use epidemiology sentinel surveillance systems in all African Union Member States in the Member States a balanced and integrated approach to drug control providing a solid framework to address both supply and demand reduction as well as ensuring availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes,”he said.
He further urged the parliaments of Member States that have imposed a moratorium on executions to take decisive steps toward the formal abolition of the death penalty within their legal frameworks.
Touray called for parliamentary advocacy and diplomacy to encourage those Member States that have de facto abolished the death penalty, as well as those still applying it, to make bold moves towards formal abolition. This includes ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights concerning the abolition of the death penalty and commuting death sentences for all individuals currently on death row.