A High-Level delegation of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) headed by the President of the institution, H.E. Chief Fortune Z. Charumbira undertook on Friday a one-day visit to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The visit was conducted at the invitation of the Sahrawi National Council. This also forms part of the Continental Parliament’s resolve to honour calls and invitations from all Member States of the African Union (AU) as the body aims to get closer to the African citizens and understand realities on the ground.
The PAP delegation was welcomed upon arrival in the town of Tindouf by Rt. Hon. Hamma Salama, Speaker of the Sahrawi Parliament. The visit began with a tour of the Smara Refugee Camp where members of the PAP delegation took stock of the living conditions. The group of African legislators was sensitised to how refugees face harsh desert conditions and rely almost fully on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.
The visit continued with an interaction between the PAP delegation and members of the community-based in the Smara Refugee Camp. In his address to the gathering, the President of the Pan-African Parliament explained the purpose of the visit in line with the mandate of the Parliament to hear the concerns and carry the voices of the African citizens.
The delegation further participated in a listening session with different groups including Associations of families for persons affected by the current conflict between Saharawi and the Kingdom of Morocco.
Finally, the PAP delegation was received by H.E. Brahim Ghali, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The engagement aimed at exchanging views on the information collected by the PAP delegation during the visit, as the President of Sahrawi appealed for an intervention from African Parliamentarians to end the ongoing conflict that has caused suffering and despair.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the President of the Pan-African Parliament assured that the Parliament would follow up with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that decisions taken both at the African Union and United Nations levels, to bring an end to the conflict, are implemented.
Spurred by the difficult conditions witnessed in the camps, H.E. Chief Charumbira indicated the PAP Plenary would take up the matter in a process that will see both sides to the conflict given a platform to tell their side of the story. The Plenary will therefore be expected to decide on the best course of action and the extent to which the Parliament can help achieve concrete results.