APU conference to tackle terrorism

Source: APU conference to tackle terrorism | The Herald

African Parliamentary Union Secretary General Mr Idi Gado Boubacar (left) being welcome by Parliament of Zimbabwe principal director external relations Mr Ndamuka Marimo at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare yesterday. —Picture: Justin Mutenda

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter 

The 78th executive committee and 44th conference of the African Parliamentary Union scheduled for November in the resort town of Victoria Falls will tackle the scourge of terrorism that has gripped a number of African countries.

This was said by the APU Secretary General Mr Idi Gado Boubacar who arrived in the country yesterday to assess facilities in Victoria Falls. 

The date and venue for the event will be announced in due course.

“We are going to have a big conference here in November,” said Mr Boubacar. “You know one of the big problems we have in Africa and the issue of terrorism, so it will be one of the subjects for the conference.” 

Islamic militants have wrecked havoc in a number of West African countries displacing millions of people.

Mozambique has also experienced deadly attacks in recent times, especially in its northern Cabo Delgado province. 

Mr Boubacar said Zimbabwe had been nominated to host the conference for the role it played in fighting terrorism.

He said the event would also offer an opportunity for African parliamentarians to see some of the tourist attractions in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was nominated as the host of the conference at the 76th executive committee and the 43rd conference of the APU held in Djibouti last year.

The Zimbabwe delegation was led by deputy president of the Senate, Michael Nyambuya, while president of the Senate, Mabel Chinomona, was elected vice president of the executive committee representing Southern Africa.

At the Djibouti conference, the political committee had adopted a resolution outlining the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which primarily notes the negative impacts of the pandemic as it relates to the implementation of the sustainable development goals for health systems, climate change, peace and security issues, provision of social safety nets, reduced remittances from the diaspora and food security.

The resolution called for the implementation of policies that would allow African governments to be the main drivers in a crisis such as Covid-19, and foster greater transparency and better governance to improve confidence in the rule of law.

APU is a continental inter-parliamentary organisation set up in Abidjan on February 13 1976.

Its goals are to promote unity of action among parliamentary institutions of all African States, and dedicate the APU as forum of National Parliaments of the African continent and as an instrument of dialogue and parliamentary co-operation in the service of peace, democracy, good governance and sustainable development.