SADC PF Joint Standing Committees Session Ends with Call for Action on Governance, Human Rights and Inclusion

The curtain came down on the Joint Session of Standing Committees of the SADC Parliamentary Forum in Johannesburg on Thursday with a strong call for Member Parliaments to translate regional commitments into concrete national action.

Held under the theme, “Enhancing Parliamentary Advocacy for the Effective Domestication and Implementation of SADC Protocols for Democratic and Inclusive Governance,” the three-day meeting brought together parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, civil society representatives, researchers, cooperating partners and governance experts from across the SADC region.

It was supported by several cooperating partners, including International IDEA, GIZ, the European Union, Austrian partners and the Government of Sweden through the SADC PF Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, HIV and AIDS Governance Project.

Closing the meeting, newly elected Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Human and Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP), Angolan parliamentarian Honourable Luísa Damião said the session had been “productive and important”  and tackled issues that go to the heart of democratic governance, human dignity and social justice in the SADC region.

“We deliberated, debated and built together,” she said and noted that the discussions over the three days could not easily be compressed into a brief summary because of their breadth and significance.

The Joint Session examined a wide range of issues including women’s participation in decision-making, political financing, violence against women in politics, youth participation in parliamentary processes, inclusive governance for persons with disabilities, partnerships between civil society and parliaments, and socioeconomic inequality.

Hon Damião said delegates had heard “necessary words” about the barriers facing women in politics.

“We heard leaders from across the region speak honestly about quotas, political financing and violence against women in politics. They were not comfortable words. They were necessary words,” she said.

She stressed that representation alone was insufficient without meaningful influence.

“Sitting in parliament is important, but it is what one does from that position that transforms lives,” she said.

A major highlight of the final day was the validation of the SADC Model Law on Prison Oversight and deliberations on the SADC PF Sexual Harassment Policy.

Hon Damião described the prison oversight model law as a reminder that parliamentary action must also reach “those whom society prefers to forget.”

On the Sexual Harassment Policy, she said the initiative confronted an issue that had remained hidden for far too long.

“Sexual harassment is not a marginal concern. It is a matter of human dignity, institutional integrity and democratic accountability,” she declared.

The Angolan legislator outlined three strategic priorities emerging from the deliberations.

First, she urged Member States to ensure that prison oversight remained firmly on national agendas and called on parliamentarians to champion the domestication of the Model Law into national legislation.

“No model law can achieve its purpose without the political will necessary to bring it to life,” she said.

Secondly, she called for the creation of safe, respectful and inclusive parliamentary environments supported by reliable reporting mechanisms and victim-centred responses.

Her third priority centred on implementation, saying the real test would come after delegates returned home.

“The true test lies in what follows in the work of your standing committees, in plenary debates and in the daily exercise of parliamentary oversight,” she said.

Hon Damião also stressed the growing importance of parliamentary diplomacy and rejected the notion that diplomacy belonged exclusively to ministries and chancelleries.

“The working days we have just experienced prove the opposite,” she said and added, “Parliamentary diplomacy is shaped by the voices of populations that elected representatives to go beyond their borders and bring back concrete instruments.”

She said such instruments included model laws, institutional policies and monitoring mechanisms that national parliaments could adapt and implement.

Reflecting on Angola’s participation in the SADC PF, Hon Damião said her country had consistently approached the regional body “as a partner, as a builder, as an active voice of a region that believes integration is a historical necessity.”

She said that under the leadership of Angolan President João Lourenço, Angola was undergoing a transformation in political culture, while the National Assembly under Speaker Adão Francisco Correia de Almeida had adopted a proactive role in inter-parliamentary relations and recognised parliamentary diplomacy as a strategic instrument of foreign policy.

She urged delegates not to return home carrying only reports and documents, but renewed conviction.

“The documents we produce are worth what they promise. And what they promise will only become reality if each of us returns to our parliament, our party and our community carrying not merely a folder of reports, but a renewed conviction that through dialogue, legislation and political will, it is possible to build a region that is more just, more secure and more humane,” she said.

Speaking at the same occasion, Secretary General of the SADC PF, Ms Boemo Sekgoma, called on parliamentarians across Southern Africa to uphold a rules-based approach to governance and to defend the universality and indivisibility of human rights.

She said one of the key lessons emerging from the Joint Session was the importance of consistency in applying the rule of law.

“Either we believe in rules or not, and if we do, then the rules need to be enforced,” she said.

She stressed that laws and rights must apply universally and without discrimination.

“If rules are to be enforced, they should be enforced universally for all, leaving no one behind, since rules by definition are of general application,” she said.

The Secretary General warned against selectively applying human rights depending on circumstance or personal conduct.

Reflecting on deliberations surrounding the SADC Model Law on Prison Oversight, Ms Sekgoma said delegates had demonstrated maturity and balance in recognising that prisoners retain fundamental human rights despite restrictions on freedom of movement.

Ms Sekgoma stated that the discussions had reaffirmed the principle that human rights are indivisible and interdependent.

“We cannot pick and choose which human rights should be applicable,” she said.

Turning to the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms Sekgoma said disability does not diminish human dignity or personhood.

“The loss of a limb or the loss of memory does not change the human nature of a person, no more than loss of hearing or eyesight,” she said.

She also highlighted the Joint Session’s detailed consideration of the SADC PF Sexual Harassment Policy and described protection from sexual harassment as an extension of the right to physical integrity.

“As we speak of women empowerment, gender parity or the absence of discrimination to amplify the voices of women, we must recall at all times that equality only starts when women are respected and valued,” she said.

She said the Joint Session concluded with “a feeling of satisfaction and work well accomplished” and added that delegates had produced recommendations to be tabled before the next Plenary Assembly of the Forum.

Speaking on behalf of SADC PF President Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, Ms Sekgoma thanked Member Parliaments, cooperating partners, experts, civil society representatives and stakeholders for contributing to what she described as “an astounding success.”

“The Joint Session has met its objectives and expected outcomes which are to foster regional interest on the issues discussed and bring the region closer through regionalism and common norms,” she said.

Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC Parliamentary Forum.