By Staff Reporter
Midrand , Johannesburg, South Africa (News of The South) – Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a development bent on finding durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa.
The signing happened on the margins of the 2nd ordinary session of the 5th Pan-African Parliament currently taking place in Midrand, South Africa.
The business of the day saw presantations and debates on this year’s theme’s, “2019 the year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”. A theme set by African Union.
The MoU sets to establish a general framework of cooperation for the parties to engage in mutually beneficial information sharing, consultation, knowledge exchange and to cooperate, on projects, studues and events of mutual interest.
The parties will also act as strategic partners in all matters of common interest to them in accordance with the provisions of the respective programme of work as well as regulations and practices applicable to each party.
On behalf of Pan-African Parliament was its President Roger Nkodo Dang who expressed optimism in the tackle the issue of refugees and statelessness.
“What has happened here is a great milestone towards the eradicating the root cause of forced displacement.It is our hope from here to go to the ground and visit all refugees camp in the continent and the globe so as to come up with solutions,” he said.
UNHCR was represented by its represantative to the African Union, Cosmas Chanda, who exhibited pleasure in being associated with good works such as that of PAP.
“Any attempt to permanently eradicate statelessness and forced displacement to us its a milestone hence we are pleased to be associated with such good works and we are promising hundred percent of actualisation of the MoU contents,” he said.
Meanwhile during the presantations on the theme of the year in the chamber Chanda confirmed that Africa has the largest refugee population as they constitute a third of the world’s population.
He said 7 million people are stateless and seeking asylum in Africa.
However he was optimistic that the Global Compact of Refugees initiative being rolled out in 15 countries, eight of which being African countries, will ease pressure on refugee-hosting nation.
Mutsa Mugangavari, senior legal adviso at ICRC said legislators should help in the development of mechanism that will allow displaced people to work and contribute to development in the community they have been displaced to.This ensures that refugees become reliant agents of development in their adopted community.
Professor Carol Batchelor,Special Advisor on Statelessness,UNHCR, believes that Europe is to blame for all the troubles of Refugees and statelessness bedevilling Africa.
She said Europe’s policy of closing borders in Africa should be questioned.
She said Europe is unashamedly closing borders not in Europe but in Africa restricting movements of Africans and that is having dire consequences.
She said many have died in Libya due to the invincible wall built on the South of Mediterranean Sea.
She concluded by asking Europe to do soul searching.
“Is it not open borders that have provided peace to Europe?Why then is it impossible for Africa?Why close borders in Africa,” she said.
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