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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

AFRICA needs to adopt new strategies, among them the formulation of comprehensive and robust punitive laws to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism bedevilling the continent.

Vice President General (Retired) Constantino Chiwenga said this while officially opening the 78th Session of the Executive Committee and 44th conference of the African Parliamentary Union (APU) here yesterday.

The Global Terrorism Index 2022 shows that 48 percent of global terrorism deaths took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, which authorities have said is a worrisome security development.

No state is immune to terrorism as it has been noted that violent extremists are no longer confined to the Sahelian states, northern regions and West African coastal states alone but have spread to Southern Africa particularly in Mozambique.

VP Chiwenga said the increased risk and incidence of terrorism, together with the dynamic modern socio-political and economic environment characterised by climate change, erratic weather conditions which have become more frequent in occurrence and severe in impact, as well as a general reduction of disposable financial resources and incomes has become the proverbial thorn in the flesh for many governments.

He said there is a need to take heed of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions which call upon member states to highly criminalise terrorism with stiff punitive penalties which must be couched in national laws in tandem with regional and international protocols against terrorism.

“Our meeting today therefore calls on us to review the current approach to counter terrorism and also discuss the growing nexus between governance and the causes of terrorism in this regard. 

“By the same token, in consistence with Sustainable Development Goal 16A, which calls for combating and prevention of terrorism by 2030, we are enjoined to effectively discharge our oversight function towards the full implementation of the global counter terrorism framework at both local and international levels,” said VP Chiwenga.

“Your role as Members of Parliament is to come up with strategies to counter terrorism and the extreme violence within Africa, to formulate comprehensive and robust anti-terrorism laws and national budgets which will enable individual states in particular and the African continent to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism.” 

There is a concern that threats of terrorism seem to be growing despite concerted continental effort to counter these tendencies.

Africa is witnessing a newer trend in religious extremism perpetrated by daring terrorist inclined entities and these groups have also further spread to the south-east of the continent notably in eastern DRC, northern Mozambique, and Tanzania.

The new strategies should be aimed at addressing the current terrorist threats from groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al Shabaab in the Horn of Africa and those groups of terrorists destabilising the economic investments in northern Mozambique among others.

VP Chiwenga said parliaments are sacrosanct institutions that represent people’s interests and their rights, hence it is imperative to use APU to come up with measures that address the growing threat of terrorism.

Conflicts and tensions have been brewing over the past three to four decades and have manifested in the increased cases of terrorism and violent extremism across our African continent. This has in turn threatened the peace, security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states, VP Chiwenga said.

He said parliaments play a crucial role in reshaping the future of the continent in countering terrorism and African Members of Parliament are therefore enjoined to pursue a comprehensive agenda in the fight against the scourge. 

“Going forward, eradicating terrorism requires a firm commitment by member states to pursue common objectives against the scourge of terrorism. These include the exchange of information and mutual legal assistance in terrorism containment among others,” he said.

VP Chiwenga said Africa can and will only advance through African integration which can be realised through the federal United States of Africa.

The APU conference came at the most opportune time when Africa is faced with unprecedented challenges that need urgent attention.

The weeklong conference started on Saturday and ends today.

Its main objectives were to deliberate on the contribution of parliaments in countering terrorism and violent extremism and mitigating the effects of this scourge through good democratic governance as well as focusing on the economic and social consequences of terrorism on populations, and role of African women in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Twenty-two countries are being represented.

The objectives attest that the role of APU as a vehicle for regional, continental, and inter-continental integration is in pursuit of peace, democracy, good governance, and sustainable development.

APU was formed in Abidjan in 1976 with the objectives of promoting unity of action among parliamentary institutions of all African states, creating a platform for dialogue and cooperation in the service of peace, democracy, good governance and sustainable development, strive for systematic establishment of an authentic law based African community founded on the political, economic, social and cultural realities of the continent.

VP Chiwenga acknowledged the role of women in fighting terrorism and called on member states to be guided by the cardinal principle of commitment to gender equity and peace, integrity, tolerance, respect and accountability. – @ncubeleon