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10th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference
Addis Ababa , 8-10/1/2003

Item 3 on the agenda

Report of the Follow-up Committee

The present Follow-up Committee was formed as per a resolution passed by the 9th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference held in Tunis in September 2000. The Committee was made up as follows:
From the African side: Angola, Comeroon, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, in addition to the group of presidency in the African Parliamentary Union (APU);
From the Arab side: Jordan, Tunisia, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, in addition to the group of presidency in the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU).
Since its creation, the Committee held two meetings, the first in Khartoum on the 22nd of October, 2002, and the second in Addis Ababa on the of , 2003.

Here is a brief report of the two meetings:

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First Meeting in Khartoum:
Upon a kind invitation by the Sudanese National Council, the Follow-up Committee of the Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference convened in Khartoum on the 22nd of October, 2002. The representatives of the parliaments of the following countries attended the above mentioned meeting:Angola, Cameroon, Jordan, Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, Ethiopia (group of the African presidency) and Sudan (group of the Arab presidency).
H.E. Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim AL-Taher, Speaker of the Sudanese National Council and President of the AIPU, opened the meeting with a brief speech extending a warm welcome to the participants. He also expressed hope in developing the Afro-Arab parliamentary dialogue which represents, as he said, a high civilized form of cooperation between Africa and the Arab world.
Mr. AL-Taher also praised the constant African support for the just Arab causes and wished the members of the Committee a successful meeting and fruitful results.
Subsequently, H.E. Mr. Dawit Yohannes, Speaker of the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives and President of the APU, expressed gratitude to the Sudanese National Council for hosting the meeting of the Follow-up Committee. However, in his speech he pointed out that Afro-Arab relations are developing, but not to the required level. Mr. Yohannes emphasized the importance of upholding these relations at both bilateral and international level. He also expressed his belief that the voice of Africans and Arabs could be conveyed in a better way to the international fora, particularly in regards to the Palestinian cause.
The Committee, then adopted its agenda which included the following items:
    1. Election of the Committee Bureau;
    2. A joint report by the two secretariats on the mutual activities and the implementation of the resolutions of the 9th Conference held in Tunisia; 3. Preparation for holding the 10th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference:
    a. Fixing the date for holding the 10th Conference in Addis Ababa.
    b. Drawing up the draft agenda.
After discussion, the following was agreed upon;

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1) Election of the Committee Bureau:
Members of the Committee agreed, unanimously, on electing the representative of the Ethiopian group as the head of the Follow-up Committee and the representative of the Palestinian group as its rapporteur.

2) Report of the two Unions secretariats:
After reading the report submitted by the Secretariats of the APU and the AIPU on the joint activities and the implementation of the resolutions of the 9th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference held in Tunisia in September 2000, a thorough discussion contained the following issues and proposals took place:
    - Cooperation amongst representatives of the two Unions in the IPU conferences is still under the required level. A clear example of such situation is the absence of coordination between African and Arab delegations concerning the IPU suggested reforms.
    It is very necessary to voice the Afro-Arab stand on many suggested reforms which will, once adopted, limit greatly the possibility of submitting and discussing the crucial political, social and economic problems facing the peoples of the world, especially those of the 3rd World countries in front of that very important parliamentary forum.
    The Committee members confirmed the necessity for a complete coordination among Arab and African parliamentarians on the suggested amendments that will be adopted conclusively in the coming Chile Conference.
    - Activating a complete political and economic partnership between African and Arab countries in order to ensure the interest of these countries at time of globalization and giant economic blocs.
    - The Addis Ababa Conference has to activate the role of the African and Arab parliamentary and cultural institutions through suggesting tangible programs and resolution.
    - Necessity for showing more concern towards the Palestinian problem as it is a common cause for Arabs and Africans, and giving support to the Arab Palestinian people without any reservation.
    - Necessity for directing the attention of African and Arab parliaments to cooperate actively for the realization of the NEPAD Projects.
At the end of the discussion, all members of the Committee expressed satisfaction with the report submitted by the two Unions' secretariats and gave it their approval.

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3) Preparation for the 10th Afro-Arab Conference:
a. Place and date of the Conference:
Members of the Committee affirmed their welcome to the invitation directed by the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives to hold the 10th Conference in Addis Ababa. It was agreed on holding the Conference in the period from 8 to 10 January 2003.
The two Unions secretariats were charged with taking the necessary measures.

b. Conference draft agenda:
 Members of the Committee approved the draft agenda of the 10th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference as follows:
    1) Election of the Committee Bureau (Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Rapporteur)
    2) Adoption of the agenda
    3) Report of the Follow-up Committee
    4) General debate on political, economic and social situation in the world
    5) Afro-Arab cooperation for:
    a. Putting an end to the war of Israel against Palestinian people and securing protection for them, as well as implementing the international legitimacy Resolutions, relevant to the Palestinian cause and Arab-Israeli conflict.
    b. Supporting the exerted regional and international efforts aiming at finding a solution for the Iraqi issue through the United Nations.
    c. Supporting the current changes in Africa towards unity, as well as political and economic integration.
    d. Drawing up a vision for a comprehensive Afro-Arab partnership;
    6) Brain drain from African and Arab countries and its consequences
    7) Cooperation between the two Unions in the IPU conferences:
    a. Taking a unified stand on IPU reform issue,
    b. Practical suggestions to improve cooperation and coordination between African and Arab delegations.
    8) Forming the new Follow-up Committee.
    9) Venue and date of the forthcoming 11th Afro-Arab parliamentary Conference.

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