Commonwealth parliamentary conference underway in Nairobi
President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past event. He is set to open the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Nairobi on August 11, 2015. PHOTO | PSCU
What you need to know:
- Its mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance.
- Kenya, which has been a major target of the extremist groups, is expected to lead the discussion on efforts to curb violent extremism.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will Tuesday open the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa region) conference at Safari Park hotel, Nairobi.
Members of Parliament from 18 African states that are members of the Commonwealth will attend the conference.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association comprises countries that were formerly colonised by Britain.
Its mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance.
Key issues to be discussed are women representation and terrorism.
Kenya is currently struggling to meet the constitutional requirement on gender parity in both elected and appointive positions.
Parliament has until August 27 to implement the two-third gender rule even though a petition has been lodged in court by activist Okiya Omtatah challenging the directive the High Court gave to the Attorney General to come up with the law on gender rule.
Kenya, which has been a major target of the extremist groups, is expected to lead the discussion on efforts to curb violent extremism.
Member states of the CPA Africa Region include: Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Uganda and Zambia.
