East African Legislative Assembly, Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, October 22, 2015: The curtains have closed on the 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly and related Meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.
Adopting a resolution on democracy in the digital era at the 133rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the MPs have set new standards on protecting democracy and digital freedoms in an age of mass surveillance.
The Resolution urges Parliaments to review national laws to prohibit the interception, collection, analysis and storage of personal data without informed consent of concerned individuals or valid court order.
Legislators further reiterated the need for fairer and more humane migration. The Resolution outlined a set of measures that MPs could take to protect migrants and maximize the full potential of the world’s oldest human phenomenon.
They further committed to working towards the ratification of various international conventions that protect migrants’ and refugee rights.
The President of the IPU, Hon Saber Chowdhury said that IPU had embraced an open door policy and was keen to continue collaboration with the national assemblies, regional and international bodies.
EALA was represented by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Daniel F. Kidega and Hon Straton Ndikuryayo. In his remarks, Rt. Hon Kidega underscored the importance of focus on part of legislators towards ensuring countries undertake more humane migration.
He said the refugee problem would probably be a thing of the past in the EAC region once it attains the Political Federation.
He however lamented that the refugees’ problem had continued to affect the region owing to instabilities in Somalia, South Sudan, and DRC and that it 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 General Assembly was attended by over 90 Speakers and 600 Members of Parliament from 130 Parliaments globally.
Parliament of Uganda was represented by a delegation led by Speaker, Rt. Hon Rebecca Kadaga while the President of the Senate of Burundi, Rt. Hon Reverien Ndikuriyo led his team. Rt. Hon Ekwee Ethuro and a number of legislators from both Houses represented Kenya while the Deputy Speaker of Rwanda Senate, Hon Jeanne D'Arc Gakuba led the team from Parliament of Rwanda.
Parliament of Tanzania which was dissolved at the end of the term in July 2015 sent a Senior Parliamentary staff, Owen Mwandumbya.
The 133rd Assembly approved the re-admission of Fiji into the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in a move welcomed by the Organization 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 readmission at Fiji increases the Organization’s membership to 167 national parliaments. Fiji had first joined IPU in 1997 but was expelled from the IPU following a military coup in 2007.
The 133rd Assembly further convened 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.
The next (134th) IPU General Assembly shall be held in Lusaka, Zambia in March 2016.
-Ends-
For more Information, contact:
Bobi Odiko,
Senior Public Relations Officer;
East African Legislative Assembly;
Tel: +255-27-2508240, Cell: +254-733-718036, +@55-787-870945,
Cell: number in Switzerland; + 41-767-858939
Email: bodiko@eachq.org
www.eala.org
Arusha, Tanzania
