EDITORIAL: EALA speaker Ngonga right

The 141st Assembly and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Belgrade, Serbia, ended on Thursday with the adoption of resolutions and reports of assorted Standing Committees.

The 4-day Assembly of 1,750 delegates focused on strengthening mechanisms geared at enhancing international co-operation and collaboration. This comes in the wake of increased violations against international treaties and covenants.

The Assembly was addressed by – among other dignitaries – the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), the Rt Hon Martin Karoli Ngoga. In the event, he urged Parliaments “to pass relevant national and regional laws that anchor to the international laws and treaties in order to find lasting solutions to emerging threats from violations of global treaties.”

This was more-or-less in keeping with the theme of the General Debate: ‘Strengthening international law, Parliamentary roles and mechanisms – and the contribution of regional cooperation.’

That last bit about ‘cooperation’ was further embellished by Mr Ngoga who said “nations that ‘stand and walk together’ face the future with more certainty – and deliver economic prosperity for their citizens...”

How melodramatic; how true, we say. We also commend Mr Ngoga for undertaking to ensure that – acting in the best interests of East Africans in particular, and humanity in general – Eala would “continue to adhere to agreed treaties and covenants.”