First Vice President of PAP, Masele Calls on CSOs to lobby countries to ratify Malabo Protocol

H. E. Hon. Stephen Julius Masele

The First Vice President of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), His Excellency, Hon. Stephen Julius Masele has said that civil society organizations can play a critical role in lobbying countries ratify the Pan African Parliament’s Revised Protocol, also known as the Malabo Protocol.

Hon. Masele assured that PAP takes civil society organizations seriously and would want to effectively engage with them and that is why PAP agreed to be part of the forum to strengthen that engagement. Civil society' lobbying will be key in the ratification of the Malabo Protocol" he said.

He also spoke of PAP and its objectives of harnessing views and aspirations of African people into one while explaining that this can only be achieved by bringing on board the civil society.

"Pan-African Parliament aims to gives African people a voice and these objectives cant be achieved if mechanism to incorporate views and aspirations of our people are not in place, and the role of the civil societies cant be over emphasized" said Hon. Masele.

It would be recalled that the PAP hosted a forum of civil society organizations on the sidelines of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament currently going on in Midrand.

The event was organized by PAP in conjunction with University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights. The aim of the Civil Society Forum is to foster closer collaboration between and among CSOs on PAP related issues the one hand, and between CSOs and the PAP on the other, with a view to advancing and promoting the mandate of the continental Parliament.

Participants included representatives of South Africa-based Civil Society Organizations, including university students and members of academia; Representatives of civil society organizations from other regions of Africa; as well as PAP Members and Secretariat.