PRESS CONFERENCE BY PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR GLOBAL ACTION

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR GLOBAL ACTION

The role of legislators was key in ensuring that peace agreements that were being put into place by governments had the requisite political support domestically, regionally and internationally, Shazai Rafi, Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Ms. Rafi said that the PGA was an association of 1,300 legislators from 99 parliaments that had been working for global peace, disarmament, development, democratic transition and women’s empowerment since 1978. The goal of the PGA’s upcoming Peace-building Workshop was to draw support from the legislative community for the intergovernmental peace process accompanying the implementation of the Lusaka Peace Accord. While this approach to ongoing peace negotiations was still in the developmental stage, it was not the first time that the PGA had done this type of work.

“We call it ‘one-and-half-track diplomacy’”, she said. The first track would be the efforts of governments and diplomats in ensuring ongoing peace and diplomacy, and the second was the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society. The Workshop, which was to be held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 20 to 23 March, would assemble Members of Parliament and politicians from the countries that had signed the Lusaka Accord in order to help secure a durable peace for the Congolese people.

Ms. Rafi was joined at the briefing by Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Member of the Parliament of Zambia; Andrea Bartoli, Director of the International Conflict Resolution Program, Columbia University; and Andras Vamos-Goldman, Counsellor, Political Affairs, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. The Workshop is being sponsored by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Mr. Vamos-Goldman said that his country was very supportive of the PGA’s initiative and that Canada would continue, either through financial contributions or close cooperation with the Security Council, to assist all efforts to achieve peace in the Great Lakes region.

“The main idea is that parliamentarians must be in the forefront as legislators and policy-makers in promoting peace”, said Dr. Mbikusita-Lewanika. It was time for Parliaments to take their place alongside NGOs and other organizations and agencies in the global search for peace and sustainable development.

Dr. Mbikusita-Lewanika said she was also President of the Federation of African Women Peace Networks, a collaborative of national peace movements for African women. That organization’s agenda was to campaign for women to be involved in formal peace negotiation processes. “The pressure is for women to be involved in all peace processes”, she said, “not just to be at the receiving end of the consequences of conflict.” What was really missing was the voice of women in peace negotiations, women parliamentarians in particular.

PGA Press Conference - 2 - 14 March 2000

Dr. Bartoli said that somehow parliamentarians had for the most part been left out of the peace process. At times, they had advocated for peace or participated as icebreakers in conflict situations, but there had been no formal involvement. “What was clearly lacking was a sense of strategy and a sense of sustainability of effort”, he said. The PGA was remarkably ahead of the curve in trying to establish a track record that would enable parliamentarians to see themselves as active participants in peace processes.

Since it was generally clear that no peace process could be completely successful without cooperation between civil society and political entities, parliamentarians could play an important role by influencing the outcome of such negotiations within their own countries and among their own constituents. “One of the major outcomes of this workshop”, he continued, “will be strengthening the capability of parliamentarians themselves through networking and raising the awareness of the political implications of their actions.”

A correspondent wondered if the PGA was concerned with the number of ceasefire violations in the region and if more pressure needed to be put on the signatories to enforce and abide by the tenets of the Lusaka Accord.

Ms. Rafi said that part of the reason the Workshop would focus on members from countries who were signatories was because it was felt that not enough attention was being paid to the peace process itself. “We feel it is important for parliaments in the region to be briefed and then add their support to the process”, she said. This would create pressure within parliaments and regional governments to adhere to the agreements. Parliaments also had the ability to affect their own constituents which could lead to a “wider circle of peace” that would involve society at all levels.

“We do not have such an inflated opinion of ourselves to think that, as a result of one workshop, we can bring an end to the ceasefire violations”, Ms. Rafi continued. “But this is the first time that a parallel process to an agreement that is still tenuous is being discussed at the parliamentary level.” It was hoped that this particular exercise would lead to some movement in the direction of a full and sustainable peace in the region. The PGA was not looking to expand or bypass the Accord, however. Its role was to support whatever had been agreed upon at an intergovernmental level and to add the voice of Parliament to that. “We hope this sets a trend”, she said, “where governments, not just in this region but elsewhere, will begin to involve Parliaments as they begin their peace negotiation processes.”

Another correspondent asked the panel how parliamentarians that represented constituents on the differing sides of a conflict situation could be expected to “give a voice of reason” to help resolve contentious issues. How could they negotiate peace when their opinions might be at the heart of the current conflict?

Ms. Rafi said that the PGA had found that when put in groups with their peers, parliamentarians had, by and large, been able to transcend their own domestic political concerns. This was made easier by the fact that PGA’s members elect to join the organization on their own. Therefore, those who chose to be members were already interested in international peace negotiation, expressing an interest to go beyond the work they did for their own political parties.

“Parliamentarians are particularly suited to this type of work”, Dr. Bartoli added. It was the “culture of the trade” of parliamentarians to develop the ability to express their opinions succinctly, make political concessions and use their political skills to gain compromise. It was exactly those skills, which were important in conflict situations, where political discourse was stultified by military confrontation.

Ms. Rafi said that the PGA had often found that inviting members of a new Parliament to act as a facilitator had a beneficial effect on the negotiation process. “So the effect is almost 360 degrees if it’s well done”, she said, “and we hope we’re going to do it well next week.”

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