Reconciliation and the rebuilding of societies should be an inclusive process based on joint strategic action to help consolidate peace. Given the important decisions they take, and their impact on life in society, parliaments are among the main actors engaged in this process.
Means to strengthen parliamentary action in this important area was the subject of a conference jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliament of Rwanda, in Kigali, from 13 to 14 July 2009. This conference brought together parliamentarians and parliamentary officials from Burundi, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, the East African Legislative Assembly, and the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Togo.
Several presentations were made on the conditions required for more effective parliamentary involvement in national reconciliation process, and in particular:
- Reform within parliament.
- The promotion of gender and human rights.
- Cooperation among all relevant actors, including civil society and youth.
- The need to promote a comprehensive and effective reconciliation strategy.
- Regular oversight of governmental action to carry out this strategy.
To conclude the conference, the participants issued recommendations reflecting the concerns expressed and suggestions made during their discussions.
The participants recommended in particular that parliaments take the lead in initiating measures to promote reconciliation and in encouraging tolerance among their peoples. In view of this crucial role, it is essential that parliaments initiate reforms enabling them to ensure their own financial autonomy, effectively represent and involve all population segments, and reflect the full range of public opinion in the actions they take. Particular attention was therefore given to the need to define the role, rights, and duties of the opposition.
Given the importance and sensitivity of reconciliation process, participants strongly recommended an inclusive approach to policy formulation, enabling stakeholders of all political persuasions to contribute to reconciliation efforts and to see their aspirations reflected in the strategies developed in pursuit of national unity. In the same vein, they called for frank interaction with civil society, whose contributions can help to strengthen parliamentary efforts in support of reconciliation.
The participants also recognized the need for effective transitional justice as part of the reconciliation process. In prosecuting the perpetrators of substantiated crimes, they declared, such adjudication should aim to restore peace, advance national reconciliation, and promote and protect human rights.
Participants observed that creating a favourable socioeconomic environment would be essential to a strategy of full national reconciliation. They placed particular emphasis on the need to promote the right to development and to draw inspiration from the full range of legal instruments for the promotion of economic and sociocultural rights while formulating development strategies. They said that in exercising their constitutional prerogatives in the approval of national budgets, parliaments should ensure the allocation of sufficient resources to social needs, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
