Distinguished prosecutors and participants, Salutations

Guest of Honour, Honourable Justice Zione Jane Veronica Ntaba, Judge of the High Court, Malawi Justice Prof. Oagile Key Dingake, former judge of High Court of Botswana, the Industrial Court of Botswana, the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea.

Marco Moreira De Sa Assuncao Teixeira, UNODC Acting Regional Representative

Linda Naidoo, National Project Officer for Gender based Violence, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Southern Africa

Distinguished Prosecutors from SADC Member States. Ladies and Gentlemen

It is with an immense sense of gratitude that I welcome you to this meeting under the auspices of the SADC Parliamentary Forum. As you may be aware, the SADC-PF has been conducting a series of stakeholder consultations for its flagship SADC GBV Model Law. While consultations have been successfully held with SADC lawyers and jurists as well as judicial officers and Line Ministries, it was necessary to engage in consultations to understand and delve further into the prosecutor’s perspective to Gender Based Violence (GBV).

Today, we welcome you not only in your capacity as lawyers or police officials who act as prosecutors, but also as representatives of prosecuting agencies across SADC. In this respect, in my capacity as Secretary General of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, I wish to start by paying tribute to the august constitutional function of the Office of Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPPs) across the whole SADC region. All around the world, the DPP’s Office stands as a steadfast guardian against arbitrary arrests, unlawful imprisonment and detention by representatives of the Executive, and DPP’s offices thus constitute a pillar of the democratic framework of each SADC nation. It is well-known that the independence of the Office of the DPP lies at the very heart of any healthy democracy.

Since the Vision of the SADC-PF is to act as the Flag- Bearer of Democratisation and Socio-Economic Development for the region, it goes without saying that Offices of the DPP in SADC are valued and esteemed partners to the Forum. We hope to continue to collaborate with Offices of the DPP beyond the adoption of the GBV Model Law and we trust you will act as bridges to consolidate our partnership framework.

• Why is the Forum addressing GBV through a Model Law?

I wish to highlight that the need to address GBV is rectilinear to the Strategic Plan of the Forum. Indeed, according to the Strategic Plan (2019-2023), the Forum is to ensure gender equality and promote a culture of human rights that encompasses the right to physical integrity, the right to health as well as the right to life.

As prosecutors of SADC Member States, I am confident you will concur that human rights cannot thrive in an environment which is beleaguered by GBV. Furthermore, the ambit of GBV literally knows no bounds, with GBV affecting the destitute as well as wealthy individuals, being common at home or in workplaces, in urban or in rural areas alike. In this dominion, the Forum was inclined to consider the SADC Regional Strategy on GBV (2018-2030) and act on its recommendation to have a human rights compliant legal framework to address GBV.

By setting a normative framework through a GBV Model Law, the Forum is thus bringing SADC Member Parliaments several steps closer to the enactment of a robust GBV law that befits international best practices while also bearing in mind the SADC context. Soft law developed in this respect can thus act as a legal catalyst to facilitate the development of binding laws in each SADC country. A SADC Model Law can thus become a trend setter, and act as a template or a baseline for additional research or adaptation to the domestic context. With the SADC Model Law on HIV and Child Marriage, the Forum has already witnessed an upsurge in legal amendments brought to existing laws due to the convenient facility provided by the SADC Model Laws as benchmarking legal instruments. While the SADC Model Law is intended to be a booster at the domestic level, prosecutors present today are invited to continue to request for legal reform for GBV laws to be modernised and aligned with the Model Law and other current human rights instruments.

• Why is the engagement with prosecutors important?

Having said this, I wish to emphasize that prosecutors have a central role to play in the fight against GBV. Increasingly, GBV is being treated not only as a domestic issue which occurs within the confines of the household, or a civil law issue, but as an issue which can have criminal law implications. In that regard, prosecutors are important to consider GBV complaints, assess the evidence, filter false complaints from meritorious ones, and proceed in accordance with the law in place to advise for further prosecution and trial. Prosecutors fill the Charge sheets and decide which charge is more appropriate to the offence committed or advise for further enquiries to be conducted by the investigating authorities. Moreover, Prosecutors are involved in sensitisation campaigns against violence in society, inclusive of GBV. Prosecutors are thus prominent stakeholders in the fight against GBV as well as for sensitisation initiatives to prevent GBV.

• Areas in the Model Law that can interest Prosecutors

Distinguished Prosecutors and participants,

Your engagement today will be centred on the GBV Model Law, in particular on the offences which may be relevant for GBV. It is often said that a law is not a law unless it can be enforced in some binding manner by offence provisions or penalties.

In this respect, you may wish to consider the GBV Model Law from an offence perspective and determine if there are sufficient provisions to deter offending and also punish adequately repeated GBV offending. While the Model Law aims to provide the outline of the GBV offence framework, it will of course be up to the Member State to decide on the length of the proposed sentence and the type of sentence, whether custodial or non-custodial. Still, we would appreciate the wise input of prosecutors in this respect on issues such as proportionality of sentencing and preservation of the chain of custody, to set the GBV Model Law on the right track of implementation.

In addition, prosecutors should consider their respective country situations and advise when criminal law provisions are most relevant for application to domestic GBV situations. Key questions that may be addressed are “ Could GBV be adequately punished by a fine only?” – “When will be the custodial threshold be passed for GBV? That is when does GBV become serious enough to merit imprisonment?”- “ How does Member States reinforce the confidentiality of GBV reporting?” – “Should the divulging of confidential information relating to GBV reporting itself be considered as an offence?” – “Is prosecution always the right approach concerning GBV?”

These are just a flavour of the questions that participants may dwell upon for further engagement with the Legal drafter and facilitators of today’s session.

In addition, Prosecutors are also invited to give their views generally as lawyers on the purview of the Model Law and its responsiveness to the GBV context for the SADC region.

Having made the above remarks, I wish to thank you again for your attendance today, and I wish you all a pleasant session.

Thank You.

Ms Boemo Sekgoma, Secretary General,

SADC Parliamentary Forum 4th October 2021

Statement by the Secretary General During Stakeholder Consultations for the GBV Model Law – Prosecutors on 4th October 2021

Salutations

• Mémounatou Ibrahima, Third Deputy Speaker of the Ecowas Parliament;

• Dr. Anne Itto Leonardo, Chairperson of the East Africa Legislative Assembly Women Caucus;

• Marie Rose Nguini-Effa, President African Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (FPA);

• Mr Galal Nasir, Head of Committee Documentation Research and Library Division at the Pan African Parliament (PAP);

• Ms Bénite Dibateza, Programmes Officer and Network Coordinator for the Network for Women Parliamentarians, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA);

• Ms Brigitte Filion, Consultant, Gender Partnership Programme, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU);

• Citizens of the SADC Region following proceedings on various platforms;
• Members of the Media;

Dear Colleagues and distinguished participants,

It is with immense pleasure that I welcome you to this inter-parliamentary event under the auspices of the SADC Parliamentary Forum. This event is unlike others, because as we discuss the finalisation of the GBV Model Law, we are also reinforcing not only the valued bonds that we share between national Parliaments of Africa and around the world, but also the bonds of solidarity between regional and international parliamentary organisations which stand fiercely as the custodians of parliamentary democracy from a supra-national perspective. Thus today, we are celebrating parliamentarism and inter- parliamentary cooperation in a unique dimension under the umbrella of the SADC Parliamentary Forum. As Secretary General of the SADC-PF, I am honoured to be addressing this diverse audience of distinguished representatives from august organisations all around the world. In this respect, I wish to start by paying a tribute to the noble cause of inter-parliamentary cooperation and by recognising the resilience of inter-parliamentary networks around the world that have staunchly stood the test of time despite operational challenges. Yet, while inter-parliamentary organisations continue to promote stable democracies and the sovereignty and independence of Parliaments worldwide, there is a lot that remains to be done for democracy and human rights to be instilled across the world. I am confident that   you   will   corroborate   the   Forum’s   view that together, we can go further.

• Why is the engagement with inter-parliamentary organisations important?

Having said this, I wish to turn to the mainstay of the today’s theme of discussions which is the SADC Model Law on GBV. It is indeed apposite that inter- parliamentary organisations have a comprehensive say on the SADC Model Law on GBV which is currently in process of finalisation. As you may be aware, the Model Law on GBV entailed a wide calendar of consultations that have been made with several stakeholders from the public and private sectors as well as the judiciary. Inter-parliamentary organisations are peer organisations to the Forum and it was imperative to garner your esteemed insight as a final step before validating and adopting the Model Law.

Moreover, the participation of inter-parliamentary organisations will be quintessential to disseminate the SADC Model Law on GBV within the SADC region and beyond its borders. The SADC Model Law on GBV is not only a Model Law for SADC. Gender-based violence knows no bounds, and is not delimited by territory. GBV is a contemporary human rights issue and it can cause serious human rights violations such as the right to physical integrity, the right to health and the right to life. GBV affects all regions of the world without fail and it preys on the wealthy as well as the poor. At the same time, I am confident that all major inter-parliamentary organisations around the world subscribe to the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from which have stemmed the ensuing International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the corresponding International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. If we are to believe and uphold the principles laid down in international conventions, then GBV is a problem for all without distinction. In this respect, Member States have a duty to prevent their citizens from suffering inhuman, degrading treatment and punishment. If we are to believe and uphold the principles laid down in international conventions, then GBV is a problem for all without distinction.

From this perspective, the SADC Model Law on GBV is thus a Model Law that can be utilised for benchmarking purposes by all inter-parliamentary organisations around the world, and by extension all corresponding national Member Parliaments. While the SADC Model Law on GBV will remain as a benchmark and guiding reference, the Model Law may be adapted to frame legal frameworks on GBV at both the regional and domestic level. As observed with other Model Laws developed by the Forum, Model Laws have the potential of exerting ripple effects and influencing regions and people beyond the geographical scope of the SADC. I thus invite you to consider the session of today as serendipitous, and as a stepping stone towards further collaborative opportunities. Inter-parliamentary organisations can thus act as emissaries to share the Model Law on GBV and assist other regions of the world in enhancing their respective GBV legal frameworks.

• What are the issues which the Forum intends to advance with inter-parliamentary organisations

Dear Colleagues and distinguished Participants,

In your capacity as representatives of inter- Parliamentary organisations, you will be in the right position to attest to the fact that Model Laws only mark a beginning. Indeed, the Model Law on GBV will need to be progressively domesticated once adopted by the Forum, and thereafter the Forum will continue to monitor the domestication efforts made by Member States through the work conducted by its oversight organ, the Regional Parliamentary Model Laws Oversight Committee (RPMLOC).

Thus, looking forward, the Forum and inter- parliamentary organisations need to join hands and muster joint efforts to discuss issues such as the duality of norms and the normative divide that exists between national and international law, the concepts of monism and dualism, the need to identify the bottlenecks to domestication, to cite a few. The meeting of today is thus also to reflect on the ways and means to pave the way forward for the SADC Model Law on GBV by engaging reflections to jointly tackle GBV by capacity development. This will include regularly building the capacity of Parliamentarians on identifying the challenges to domestication and sharing cross-learning experiences that can save the time and energy for pro-active MPs who want to bolster their GBV frameworks at national level. Capacity development will also need to be targeted to legislative staff of State law offices and Parliaments, as well as those that assist Gender Caucuses.

There is also a further need for inter-parliamentary organisations including the Forum to reflect on the value that Model Laws or regional instruments made by inter-parliamentary bodies bring to the existing body of international law, and in this respect, how far can the Model Law on GBV influence international law.

Within the scope of its mandate under the Strategic Plan (2019-2023) of the Forum, the SADC-PF is thus poised to act as a think tank to attract ideas and proposals from peer inter-parliamentary organisations around the world in view of spearheading issues such as benchmarking and domestication that need to be promptly overcome for Parliamentarians to incorporate Model Laws within the national legal system, including the SADC Model Law on GBV which would be the subject of today’s discussions.

In addition, the Forum will be keen to collaborate with like-minded inter-parliamentary organisations to pool resources and develop advocacy content that can further facilitate the assimilation of the SADC Model Law on GBV not only by Parliaments but by other stakeholders in the law-making process such as Line Ministries, technocrats, civil society organisations, to cite a few. Advocacy content include parliamentary manuals, brochures, as well as animated videos, cartoons or any other content that can appeal to the attention of stakeholders and buttress the need to address GBV through a legislative framework, with the Model Law serving in the backdrop as a guiding normative standard.

• Implementing a plan for the Forum to disseminate the Model Law

Distinguished Colleagues and Participants,

I wish to end by saying that your collaboration today is highly appreciated as the Forum embarks into the final stages of the adoption of the SADC Model Law on GBV. In the months to come, the Forum will be finalising its dissemination plan for the SADC Model Law pursuant to its adoption by the 50th Plenary Assembly, and representatives present today are invited to engage their organisations to participate constructively to this exercise. The Forum firmly believes that baby steps can turn into giant steps by the earnest collaboration of like-minded organisations which are unified by the shared vision to eradicate GBV once and for all.

On this good note, I wish to thank you again for your attendance today, and I wish you all a pleasant session.

Thank You.

Ms B.Sekgoma, Secretary General,

SADC Parliamentary Forum 30th September 2021

**

WINDHOEK-NAMIBIA, Monday 27 September 2021 – The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) will tomorrow, Tuesday 28 September 2021, hold a virtual meeting on social accountability and oversight in the implementation of SADC regional commitments in health and agriculture in Zimbabwe. 

The meeting, a collaboration of the SADC-PF and the Partnership for Social Accountability, is a first of five national dialogues aimed at assisting SADC-PF Members and national Parliamentarians to critically assess the implementation and monitoring of regional agreements in their countries. The other four countries who are still to benefit from this initiative which will give Parliamentarians an opportunity to reflect on possible parliamentary interventions are Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. 

Details of the meeting are as follows: 

Date: Tuesday, 28^th September 2021 

Time: 09:30 to 16:00 Harare/Pretoria Time. 

MEDIA ACCESS: Meetings of the SADC-PF are open to the media and journalists who are interested in covering them must register on the following link to be added to a SADC-PF Accredited Media WhatsApp group where information on events of the Forum are regularly shared with the media: 

https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kj519Su3Py04YY8PW1t1Xy 

Registration for the meeting can be accessed on the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkc-yurjIrE9dBYNeXb9V6J5KEst5sdQK3 

The meeting will be broadcast live on DSTV Channel 408 and also streamed live on the SADC-PF social media platforms on the links below: 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadcpf
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sadcpf
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCa0QZWjuXVxer_vm637pBmQ

ISSUED BY THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PARLIAMENTARY FORUM 

Enquiries: Modise Kabeli +27 81 715 9969 or 

Documents

• Media Advisory: SADC PF holds Virtual Meeting on Implementation of SADC Commitments in Health and Agriculture in Zimbabwe
• Programme for the Virtual Meeting on Social Accountability and Oversight in the Implementation of SADC Regional Commitments in Health and Agriculture –Zimbabwe