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‘Anything that affects Europe is also of interest to Africa’ says Gertrude Mongella

Gertrude Mongella, first President of the Pan-African Parliament set up in March, in South Africa, wishes to start a permanent dialogue and an exchange of information and experience with the Council of Europe.

Interview 04.10.2004

Question : Mrs Mongella, you are a Tanzanian and the first President of the Pan-African Parliament, a little-known institution hitherto. Can you describe this parliament to us?

Gertrude Mongella : Il It is not surprising that our parliament is not very well known, as it was set up on 18 March 2004, under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity, which brings together all the countries of Africa and had as one of its main aims Africa’s liberation. This goal has now been reached, the culminating point having been the dismantling of the apartheid system in South Africa and that country's democratisation.

Once that point had been reached, it became clear that Africa needed a new organisation with new objectives, the first of which is development and African participation in the development of a globalised world. Thus the African Union was set up, a body with several organs, including the Pan-African Parliament. One of the parliament's prime roles is to give citizens back their voice through their representatives.

Each country sends five delegates, who have to represent the different political parties. Each delegation has to include women. The parliament's other objectives are integration, peace and conflict resolution. Thus one of our very first decisions was to send a mission to Darfour. Our parliament is to hold a public debate on this subject, whereas conflict resolution was previously a matter for heads of state, behind closed doors, far from their citizens.

Question : You are coming to Strasbourg and to the Council of Europe. What do you expect from this visit?

Gertrude Mongella : Il We are coming to Strasbourg to find out about the Council of Europe and examine its functioning, because the Pan-African Parliament is not trying to reinvent the wheel. I believe that we have much to learn from an institution with 50 years of experience. We have come mainly in response to an invitation from the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, who invited us to Strasbourg on the very day on which our parliament was created.

Thanks to this invitation, we are going to be able to see for ourselves how the Council of Europe functions and look at highly specific questions such as the financial and human resources needed to make such an institution work, the way in which staff are trained, how the Council of Europe has managed to develop its skills and how much time this all took.

We should also like to have exchanges of view with the Council of Europe so that we can put across the Pan-African Parliament's viewpoints, and see to what extent we can develop co-operation between the Council of Europe and our parliament. In an ever smaller world, we are ever more interdependent. Anything that affects Europe is also of interest to Africa, and matters of concern to Africa cannot fail to have repercussions in Europe.

Question : Does the Pan-African Parliament intend to model itself on the Council of Europe?

Gertrude Mongella : The Pan-African Parliament certainly has a great deal to learn from institutions like the Council of Europe, but, at the same time, we must build our own parliament in our African environment. We cannot therefore just be a replica of the Council of Europe. However, in view of the very similar nature of the two institutions and their common aims of the integration of peoples, peace and security, we must find a forum for meetings and exchanges so that each can tell the other about its activities.