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Centre for Human Rights and Mzalendo Trust in partnership with Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) host Civil Society Engagement on the workings of the Pan-African Parliament for the East African Community
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, 27th April 2022, Nairobi – Kenya.
The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and Mzalendo Trust in partnership with Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) hosted a two-day civil society engagement on the workings on the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) for the East African Community. This forum was held on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 April 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya. The forum focused on developing networks for increased engagement between civil society in the East African region and the Pan-African Parliament.
The forum began with a welcome address delivered by Dr Nkatha Murungi, Assistant Director of the Centre for Human Rights based in the Law Faculty of the University of Pretoria (UP). Ms. Caroline Gaita, Executive Director of Mzalendo Trust, the host organisation for this engagement, followed with welcome remarks to the organisations present. The Centre for Human Rights and Mzalendo Trust in partnership with the Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) sincerely appreciated the distinguished speakers and participants drawn from various civil society organizations including the Civil Society Parliamentary Engagement Network (CSPEN) and Open Government Partnership (OGP) umbrellas, academia and Parliamentary journalists.
The objective of the forum was guided by the concern that despite the potentially crucial role they can play in the activities of the PAP, civil society organisations (CSOs) still know very little about this institution; and that for most CSOs, the African Union (AU) and the PAP in particular, are largely invisible and inaccessible. The discussions were guided by the need to explore ways of engaging with the PAP and to raise awareness about the importance of transparency and accountability in the operations of domestic and regional parliaments in Africa. Discussions were also guided by the need to identify gaps and challenges relating to civil society engagement with PAP, devise effective strategies to address these challenges and to establish best practices of engagement with the PAP.
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