The\nPan African Parliament has commended Uganda for its progressive policies in the\nmanagement of refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda\u2019s\nopen-door policy to asylum seekers was lauded as one of the most generous in\nthe world because it grants refugees relative freedom of movement, the right to\nseek employment and also accords migrants land for farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor several decades, Uganda has been generously hosting refugees and asylum seekers from the conflict-affected countries in its neighbourhood, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi,\u201d Hon. Jacquiline Amongin told legislators adding that;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince achieving its independence in 1962, Uganda has been hosting an average of approximately 161,000 refugees per year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amongin\ninformed MPs that working with UNHCR the government of Uganda has included\nrefugee issues in its national development planning as part of the National\nDevelopment Plan II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The continent\u2019s legislators, who are attending Committee meetings in Midrand, South Africa, were on Tuesday, 5 March 2019, discussing the African Union theme of the year 2019: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYear of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
George\nKuchio of the UNHCR who made a presentation on Migrants, Refugees and\nInternally Displaced Persons: an outlook on the current situation in Africa,\nsaid Uganda\u2019s efforts were worthy emulating and urged regional bodies such as\nthe Pan African Parliament, the Southern African Development Community (SADC),\nEast African Community and the African Union to rethink how they can address\nthe challenge of refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUganda is an example that will show us that if you leave refugees outside the camp, you do not have a problem at all,\u201d Kuchio said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He cited South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland as some good examples on the continent that were making commendable strides in managing refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nBabirye Kadogo (Uganda) suggested that the continental parliament should\nconcern itself more with the solution to the refugee problem since it was\nevident that there is a lot of burden refugees put to host countries and\ncommunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Africa\npresently hosts the largest number of displaced persons within the continent\nand worldwide and as a way to mitigating the problem, the MPs argue that there\nis need to urgently address youth unemployment while developing policies that\nwill curb poverty and ensure equitable distribution, utilization of natural\nresources and management of conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon. Mc Henry Venaani, the Chairperson of the Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters said \u201cThe search for durable and sustainable solutions to forced displacement constitutes an important task to all of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There is an urgent need to work with African states and various partners to further enhance national capacities to fulfill and implement responsibilities towards sustainable solutions to forced migration on the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said MPs, as representatives of the people, have a cardinal duty to ensure that refugees are protected in law and practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He urged parliamentarians to persuade their governments to undertake measures to ensure refugees\u2019 rights are protected and that they are accepted by the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon. Sidia Jatta (Gambia) said it\u2019s an indictment on Africa that even after attaining independence, people are leaving the continent in search of better life elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asked MPs to concentrate on the role PAP can do to address the problems confronting the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliamentary News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Pan African Parliament has commended Uganda for its progressive policies in the management of refugees. Uganda\u2019s open-door policy to asylum seekers was lauded as one of the most generous in the world because it grants refugees relative freedom of movement, the right to seek employment and also accords migrants land for farming. \u201cFor several […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":8484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-8483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n