Pan-African Parliament: an advocacy mission to Dakar to accelerate the ratification of AU instruments

The West Africa Regional Group of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) will carry out, from September 28 to October 1, 2026 in Dakar, an advocacy mission dedicated to accelerating the ratification of several African Union instruments.

Led by the President of the Regional Group, the Honorable Lazare Yao Yao, the delegation will be made up of six parliamentarians from Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

At the heart of this mission is the Revised Protocol relating to the Pan-African Parliament, adopted in 2014 in Malabo. Its entry into force should allow the PAP to evolve into a parliamentary institution endowed with legislative powers. The delegation thus intends to raise awareness among the Senegalese authorities and parliamentarians of the importance of ratifying this instrument and the role of national parliaments in this process.

The advocacy will also focus on several other African Union instruments, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and the Right of Establishment, as well as the protocols dedicated to the rights of persons with disabilities and the right to a nationality and the eradication of statelessness.

Discussions will also concern several protocols linked to the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), notably those relating to investment, digital trade and the participation of women and youth in trade.

According to the communicated program, the mission will begin Monday September 28 at the National Assembly with a meeting with Senegalese deputies who are members of the PAP. This meeting should make it possible to coordinate advocacy approaches. The delegation also plans exchanges with the Committee on Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Senegalese Abroad as well as with the heads of the different parliamentary groups.

Meetings are then planned with the ministries responsible for Industry and Commerce, Family and Solidarity and Justice. The delegation must also meet with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), the first vice-president of the National Assembly and the National Human Rights Commission.

Interviews with the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic also appear in the draft program, subject to confirmation.

Through this mission, the Pan-African Parliament intends to strengthen its cooperation with Senegalese institutions and identify common avenues of action with a view to the signature, ratification, transposition into national law and implementation of the instruments concerned.

This initiative is part of the PAP’s mandate to contribute to the achievement of the policies and objectives of the African Union, particularly in the areas of democratic governance, protection of human rights and continental integration.