By Binta Jaiteh
According to the report of the Gambian Delegation to the First Ordinary Session of the 6th Pan-African Parliament held at Midrand, South Africa from the 24th of October to the 10th of November 2022, the parliament recommended for African Union (AU) to consistently apply serious and targeted sanctions to perpetrators of coups as a deterrent to the potential perpetrator of unconstitutional changes of all kinds of governments.
Under the African Union theme for 2022, “Building resilience in nutrition the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development.
Speaking during the laying of the report Hon Allagie Mbowe chairperson of the committee further noted that Pan African Parliament also recommended AU should establish a coordinated early monitoring and intervention mechanism to identify countries likely to experience coups and intervene to prevent the coups beyond sharing information with member states and the expectation that Regional Economic Communities should take lead.
He said the AU Heads of State should reaffirm their commitment at the continental level through the ratification of instruments and swift action in dealing with unconstitutional changes of governments and the AU Members States should ratify AU normative instruments, particularly the Malabo Protocol.
The AU, he added, should strengthen the electoral observer missions, which should adopt a holistic approach to election observation to incorporate the pre-election, election, and post-election developments and follow up the implementation of the recommendations to cover the gaps identified during the missions.
He explained that the AU should focus on technical assistance to election management organizations with the view of building capacity and enhancing their ability to deliver free and fair elections without bias and the AU should collaborate with Civil Society Organisations to provide an alternative avenue for citizens to voice out their concerns and hold their governments accountable to complement state structures aimed at triggering mechanisms for self-correction in political systems.
However, the Pan African Parliament and its organs should intensify advocacy for the ratification of AU normative instruments against unconstitutional changes of government as well as the promotion of democracy and rule of law.
Mbowe lamented that AU Member states should strengthen governance institutions and national accountability mechanisms to allow the general public to hold governments to account and demand reforms as a way of ensuring that governments enjoy the sustained trust of the citizenry and the African Union should set up a Pan African Institute to bring together African experts to interrogate and make recommendations in addressing challenges affecting the continent including unconstitutional change of governments. The Africa Union should set up a Pan African Force as a standing Army to intervene in resolving conflicts including the unconstitutional change of governments and adopted in Midrand 10th October.
