Africa-Press – Angola. The secretary general of the Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (FP-CIRGL), Onyango Kakoba, highlighted yesterday, in Luanda, the attitude of the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, in mediating the conflicts between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Onyango Kakoba, who spoke to the press after the audience with the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, considered Angola a country with experience in conflict resolution.
“We came here to gain experience and receive advice on issues and problems on the continent, because Angola has a great deal of experience with regard to conflict resolution. Above all, we saw the attitude of the President of Angola in bringing together the parties to the conflict in Congo and Rwanda, in putting them at the same table to discuss the conflicts that plague the region”, he pointed out.
He also underlined that the ties of cooperation between the Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (FP-CIRGL) and the National Assembly are healthy, stating that he has received a lot of support as one of the members without delay in his contributions .
Forum Operation
The Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (FP-CIRGL) is an inter-parliamentary organization that brings together parliaments from 12 Member States, namely Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
The Angolan State is an effective member of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region since the adoption of the Declaration of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in that region, signed on 20 November 2004.
The FP-CIRGL, referred to as the Forum, was established on December 4, 2008, in Kigali, Rwanda, when the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Member States signed and ratified the Interparliamentary Agreement.
Unlike most Parliamentary Forums, the FP-IRGL was an initiative of the Heads of State of the member countries of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (IRGL), being a constituent organization of the IRGL which, in turn, was created when The Presidents of the Republic and the Governments of Member States signed the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region on 15 December 2006, in Nairobi, Kenya.
FP-CIRGL is based in Kinshasa, DRC, where it operates at the level of a diplomatic mission, with the Secretary General as ambassador and executor.
The diplomatic status of the headquarters was decided on the basis of international diplomatic principles governing intergovernmental organizations and is contained in the host country agreement signed between the ICGLR and the DRC.
Areas of action
The Forum, as activities beyond the statutory meetings of its different bodies, carries out verification missions to the CIRGL Member States that face security, political and humanitarian challenges, as well as other parliamentary diplomacy missions, organizes electoral observation missions, training deputies and networking with other international organizations.
It intervenes in the areas of Peace and Security, Democracy and Good Governance, Humanitarian and Social Issues, Economic Development, Natural Resources and Regional Integration, Women, Children and Vulnerable People.
The main objective of the FP-CIRGL is to contribute with parliamentary diplomacy to the implementation of the CIRGL Compact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, signed on December 15, 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Forum has the specific objectives of serving as a framework for dialogue, exchange of experiences and conflict resolution for the Parliaments of the Member States of the CIRGL, to train members and officials of the Parliaments of the region, to support the efforts of Governments in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and contribute to the consolidation of peace processes and national reconciliation, contribute to the implementation of United Nations resolutions regarding the respect and protection of the rights of women, children and vulnerable people in times of armed conflict.
Promoting democracy, respect for the fundamental freedom of Human Rights, the organization of free, fair and transparent elections and good governance in the Region, contributing to the harmonization of national policies with the action programs and projects developed under the CIRGL are other specific objectives of the forum.
The bodies of the FP-IGRGL are the Plenary Assembly, the Bureau of the Plenary Assembly, the Conference of Presidents, the Executive Committee, the Commissions and the General Secretariat.
Each country is represented at the Forum by the President of Parliament as head of the delegation, as well as five members. Every year, during the Forum’s annual Plenary Assembly, a President of one of the member parliaments is elected leader of the organization.
The organization’s main funding is provided by member states through annual contributions from parliaments.
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