SADC Parliamentary Forum
Caros Colegas/Parceiros,
É com bastante entusiasmo que publico a presente declaração aos parlamentos membros e parceiros do Fórum na ocasião da celebração do Dia Internacional da Juventude neste 12 de Agosto de 2022.
Desde a sua criação, o Fórum Parlamentar da SADC tem sido uma plataforma acolhedora que sempre atendeu com ardor à participação e ao activismo da juventude. Em particular, o Fórum acredita que a juventude deve contribuir activamente para os processos de decisão, com realce para temáticas como a centralidade do género, a consolidação da democracia e a acção visando conter as mudanças climáticas. Embora seja imperativo prestar uma voz suficiente à juventude, as sinergias prevalecentes entre todas as faixas etárias podem ser um potente catalisador para protagonizar avanços democráticos.
Neste sentido, o Fórum associa-se ao lema de «Solidariedade intergeracional: Criar um mundo para todas as idades», adoptado pela comunidade internacional este ano, que enfatiza a necessidade de todos os segmentos etários da população se apoiarem mutuamente e se ajudarem com vista ao alcance de objectivos comuns para o bem maior. O Fórum também incentiva os parlamentos nacionais da SADC a encorajarem o empoderamento e a participação da juventude em todas as esferas da vida socioeconómica, num espírito de oportunidades iguais, solidariedade e patriotismo.
Hoje é também um dia de comemoraço da Carta da Juventude Africana que prevê os direitos humanos básicos e as garantias do empoderamento da juventude e promoção das suas competências profissionais, educação e cultura. O FP-SADC reitera que a juventude de hoje representa os valores promissores de amanhã. Por isso, os programas que apoiam a juventude constituem investimentos seguros para o futuro.
A participação da juventude é portanto fundamental para desencadear o potencial da região e atingir objectivos nobres tais como os da Agenda 2063 da África, dos Objectivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável e, em particular, garantir que «ninguém fique para trás», através do alcance da solidariedade intergeracional.
Feliz Dia Internacional da Juventude 2022! Muito atenciosamente,
Sra. Boemo M. SEKGOMA SECRETÁRIA-GERAL
Fórum Parlamentar da SADC 12 de Agosto de 2022
A call has been made for all hands on deck to end Gender Based Violence (GBV), which has been described as is an endemic, multi-dimensional phenomenon with devastating effects on women, men, boys and girls in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Ms Habiba Roswana Osman, the Chief Executive Officer of the Malawi Human Rights Commission (HRC) made the call when she delivered a keynote address at a consultative meeting convened by the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF). The virtual meeting sought to allow Human Rights Commissioners and Ombudspersons to consider a draft of a SADC Model Law on GBV being developed by the Forum in collaboration with other partners.
She said GBV continued to pose a threat to human security, peace and development as well as the attainment of national, regional and international development blueprints. She said GBV also results in drastic socio-economic consequences.
“It remains the most severe human rights violation in southern Africa with one in two women having experienced GBV at some point in their lives globally,” she said.
She noted that in the SADC region, some countries had higher instances of GBV than others and noted that COVID-19 had exacerbated the structural discrimination and inequalities faced by women and girls.
She said that there had been reports, also, of marital rape in some countries, while GBV had cost the government of South Africa at least 1.7 billion Rands.
“Globally, data continues to show that GBV remains a serious and pervasive problem across all sectors,” she said.
Stressing that no sector was immune to GBV, Ms Osman said the scourge was negatively affecting the Gross Domestic Product of some countries and damaging health, lives, financial independence, productivity and effectiveness.
She noted that SADC had adopted various frameworks to combat GBV in a coordinated manner. In this regard, she cited the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (2015-2020) and expressed optimism that the SADC Model Law on GBV would guide Member States in the domestication, ratification and implementation of relevant international and regional guidelines and obligations that inform GBV prevention and responses.
She encouraged all stakeholders to aggressively promote the Model Law on GBV to support human rights for all and to ensure that no one was left behind.
Speaking at the same occasion, popular Judge, the Honorable Professor Oagile Key Dingake, stressed that GBV denies people their fundamental rights.
“When we talk about rights, we are speaking about non-negotiable entitlements which are not dished to us at the mercy of the state. In actual fact, the state as the duty bearer is obliged to ensure that these rights are realised. GBV implicates so many of the different rights contained in our constitutions and laws in SADC countries,” he said.
Justice Dingake presented two related papers. One focused on GBV as a human rights issue, and the other provided an overview of gaps in the GBV legislation within the SADC region.
Said the judge: “The right to life and the right to dignity constitute – in my mind – the foundational basis of all other rights. All other rights must accrue from the foundational rights: the right to life, the right to human dignity, security of the person, autonomy and self-determination. GBV is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. It knows no social or economic barrier. It doesn’t discriminate on the basis of class. It is very prevalent among women and girls.” He expressed concern over the fact that in some parts of the SADC region, culture was used as an excuse or justification to oppress women and girls.
He stressed that certain cultural practices flew in the face of human rights, while certain roles assigned to women and girls restricted their options and curtailed their autonomy. The judge said GBV had many negative ripple effects on survivors. These include physical and psychological injuries.
He explained that while physical injuries were manifest, psychological injuries, which included depression and anxiety, eating disorders, stress and compulsive behaviour, were difficult to identify.
The judge expressed concern, also, over low levels of reporting GBV, as well as successful prosecution of offenders. He nevertheless expressed optimism that continuous education might socialise boys and girls in such a way that they would embrace the values of equality and human rights for a better world
Honorable Anne-Marie Mbilambangu.
The scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) mostly affects women and the girl child in southern Africa, with its multi-dimensional effects negatively also impacting on the lives of men and boys in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Globally, one in two women have experienced GBV at some point in their lives, while in South Africa, reports indicated that someone was raped every 25 seconds.
It is on the back of such empirical evidence that the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC) of the SADC Parliamentary Forum tabled a motion during the 44th Plenary Assembly Session of the Forum in 2018 to develop a regional Model Law on Gender Based Violence (GBV).
The 44th Plenary Assembly unanimously adopted the motion in an attempt to remove threats to peace, security and the accomplishment of different developmental objectives.
Following the adoption of the motion, the SADC PF launched stakeholder consultations on 18 August 2021 targeting different players in the public and private sectors. They included human rights commissioners, traditional leaders, GBV survivors and different United Nations agencies, to name a few.
Speaking at the launch, the Chairperson of the RWPC, Honorable Anne-Marie Mbilambangu explained that the Model Law should be a tool used by SADC Member States to prevent and eradicate all forms of GBV.
She said that the RWPC would do everything “to improve social and economic conditions for women, because we think that they are the most affected by all forms of GBV.”
Caroline Peters.
She added: “Our objective is to do it in such a way that everyone – in particular women within the region – regardless of colour or belief, have the possibility to accomplish their full potential without any hiccups or interference by GBV.”
South African Community Advocate Caroline Peters narrated her harrowing ordeal as a GBV survivor during the consultative meeting and bemoaned the fact that ever since she experienced GBV, very little had changed in terms of statistics.
“I am a survivor of brutal gang rape and my friend was murdered at the age of 16. When this happened to me, I didn’t realise this would be the