The African Union should play a vanguard role in upholding human rights on the continent, its chairperson, Ghana president John Agyekum Kufuor, said on Monday.
Addressing the opening session of the seventh session of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, he said the situations in Sudan and Darfur had exposed limitations of the AU.
”As much as we all value the principle of sovereignty and integrity, Africa of today should play the vanguard role in respecting and upholding human rights within the continent generally, and much more so within the component states,” he said.
”We have to regret the situation within some sister nations where domestic policies are or seem to be at variance with these principals,” Kufuor added.
He urged parliamentarians to use PAP to strive for the transformation of the continent.
”The importance of good governance and sustainable development cannot be over-emphasised,” Kufuor said.
He added that if Africa wanted to sustain good developments such as an average economic growth of 8%, there was a need for continued peace.
”There must be improvements in the law-and-order situation all over the continent,” he said.
Kufuor became the first sitting AU chairperson to address the PAP, promising that the AU was committed to making funds available for its work.
PAP, which started in 2004, still does not have any legislative powers and is struggling with constant budgetary constraints.
During the coming two weeks the parliamentarians would look at major issues on the continent including peace and security, the African Union government and climate change. — Sapa