Discrimination based on social, economic, religious and political grounds have been highlighted as one of the leading causes in triggering terrorism on the African continent.

Pan African Parliament (PAP) President Roger Nkodo Dang, said Parliaments should therefore, ensure good governance, accountability and respect for law in their countries and use their positions to foster dialogue between warring parties.

The PAP MPs were deliberating on the Role of the Pan African Parliament in Combating Terrorism, on Monday, 17 October, 2016 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

President Nkodo noted that the discussions were coming at a time when the world was experiencing a surge in terrorist attacks of which the African continent had not been spared.

“Terrorism has become very sophisticated as the continent has witnessed in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia and Uganda,” he said.

He noted that the attacks exposed the weak position of the African continent with regards to strategies of combating terrorism.

“Terrorism is a regional issue that requires coordination between countries with a common perception of what must be done. We have to recognise the underlying factors that predispose countries to instability,” Prof. Morris Ogenga Latigo said, adding that: “it is out of instability that terrorists find fertile ground to blossom.”

Hunadi Mateme (South Africa) said the arms industry was the root cause of terrorism. She said PAP should pronounce itself on who has the right to manufacture arms and that the continent should embrace the African way of life of Ubuntu, if it is to address the scourge of terrorism.

Jacquiline Amongin, the leader of the Uganda delegation said African MPs need to ensure that their governments ratify conventions on terrorism and the Malabo Protocol among others so that together they can rid the continent of such extremism.

The legislators noted that a number of states had not ratified the continental instruments and as a result, their strategies and laws on combating terrorism were not aligned to continental and international conventions.

In 1992, the then OAU Meeting in Dakar passed a resolution for Cooperation and Coordination among African states in the fight against terrorism.  The 1998 attacks in Kenya and Tanzania gave impetus to the 1999 OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism.

Following the September 2001 bombings in the United States, the UN was prompted to come up with an instrument, the UN Security Council Resolution 1373, to address terrorism internationally.

The OAU convention eventually came into force in 2002 after being ratified by 30 member states.

The Third Ordinary Session of PAP is sitting from 10 – 19 October 2016. Uganda’s delegation to the continental body includes Jacquiline Amongin (NRM, Ngora), who is the leader of the delegation; Prof. Ogenga Latigo (FDC, Agago North); Anifa Bangirana Kawooya (NRM, Ssembabule); Felix Okot Ogong (NRM, Dokolo South) and Babirye Kadogo (Independent, Buyende).

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Atheists in Kenya are demanding that the word ‘God’ in the National Anthem be expunged.

They argued that having the word ‘God’ in the first stanza of the anthem does not promote the spirit of inclusivity since “not all Kenyans believe in God”.

They argued that Kenya is a secular state and therefore singing the national anthem with the word God is in contravention of the Constitution.

“As non-believers, we feel that the National Anthem is not representative of us, and goes against the spirit of the Kenyan Constitution. Removing ‘God’ from the National Anthem will make it inclusive,” Harrison Mumia, President of Atheists in Kenya, said in a statement.

The National Anthem starts with ‘Oh, God of all creation’ and is recited as a national prayer for prosperity, love and unity.

It is a song taught to every child in each school and is considered to be the unifying factor in the country.

The anthem is sang in numerous occasions for instance before the opening of any official function.

Nonetheless, Atheists in Kenya complained saying they feel left out when the anthem is recited.

“Atheists want to feel proud when we sing or listen to the national anthem. This pride must arise from a sense of unity with shared values and ideals. The word ‘God’ disenfranchises atheists from this unified ideal,” Mr Mumia said.

He said the petition will be presented to Parliament, which ironically has its own prayer that mentions God severally.

“Almighty God, who in Your wisdom and goodness have appointed the offices of leaders and parliaments for the welfare of society and the just government of the people, we beseech You to behold with Your abundant favour, us Your servants, whom You have been pleased to call to the performance of important trusts in this Republic,” the Parliamentary prayer reads in part.

The group has in the past engaged in bouts with the government from the issue of its registration to admitting members.

It was registered in February 18, only for the certificate to be suspended by Attorney-General Githu Muigai in May following opposition from religious groups.

In a statement then, Prof Muigai said the organisation’s fate will be determined by the Supreme Court.

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Ethiopia has restricted foreign diplomats’ travel in new provisions of a state of emergency as part of its response to an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests.

New restrictions published in local media state that foreign dipmlomats are forbidden from travelling more than 40km outside the capital, Addis Ababa, ‘for their own security’.

“But we also expect an opening of the political space for the opposition as stated by the president in front of the parliament. This is not what seems to be happening,” the diplomat added.”This is a state of emergency and we expect repressive measures,” a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity on Monday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is following developments in Ethiopia “with concern”, his spokesman said.

The UN chief urged Ethiopian authorities to uphold human rights and called for calm and ‘inclusive dialogue to resolve all grievances’.

The new measures include a 6pm-to-6am curfew around factories, farms and government institutions, which have come under attack from protesters in recent weeks.

They also include a 50km ‘red zone’ adjacent to the country’s borders in which it is illegal to carry firearms. The areas around several key roads have also been declared red zones.

Security forces are banned from going on holiday or resigning from their jobs.Political parties are ‘banned from giving press statements that incite violence’ and religious leaders are forbidden from making political statements.

The measures also make it illegal to watch television stations set up by the diaspora, such as Ethiopian Satellite Television and the US-based Oromia Media Network.

Posting links from these organisations’ websites on to social media has also been declared a ‘criminal activity’.

Cellphone internet access has been cut for almost three weeks in most parts of the country, including the capital.

“There is a pressing concern that the Ethiopian authorities will need even less of a pretext to prevent foreign journalists from doing their work during the state of emergency,” said Will Davison, head of the Foreign Press Association, an informal gathering of foreign correspondents in Ethiopia.

The death toll from unrest and clashes between police and demonstrators over the past year or more runs into several hundred, according to opposition and rights group estimates. At least 500 people have been killed by security forces since anti-government protests began in November, New York-based Human Rights Watch group said in August.

The government says such figures are inflated and has denied that violence from the security forces is systemic. In August, it rejected a United Nations request to send in observers, saying it alone was responsible for the security of its citizens.

The anti-government demonstrations started in November among the Oromo, Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group, and later spread to the Amhara, the second most populous group.

Though they initially began over land rights, they later broadened into calls for more political, economic and cultural rights.

Both groups say that a multi-ethnic ruling coalition and the security forces are dominated by the Tigray ethnic group, which makes up only about 6 percent of the population.

The government, though, blames rebel groups and foreign-based dissidents for stoking the violence.

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South Sudan’s sacked Vice-President Riek Machar – who fled the country in August – has vowed to return, saying his credibility is intact.

Speaking from South Africa, Mr Machar told the BBC that his rebel faction could still negotiate a peace deal with President Salva Kiir.

His statement comes despite last week’s heavy fighting in the city of Malakal.

Mr Machar, who first fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, is now being treated in Johannesburg.

In July, Mr Machar’s bodyguards and President Salva Kiir’s presidential guards fought each other, sparking days of violence.

Hundreds of people died and more than 100,000 fled across the border.

The fighting erupted less than a year after a peace deal was signed to form a unity government and end the civil war.

Speaking to the BBC’s HARDtalk programme, Mr Machar said: “I’m going to return to South Sudan.”

“Because President Salva Kiir doesn’t want democratic and transparent and fair elections to be conducted, he attacked us, he has restarted the war.

“But I am hoping that wise leaders in the region and in Africa and the rest of the world will throw up a political process which will bring about peace again, and the resuscitation of the peace agreement, and the reconstitution of the transitional government of national unity.”

Mr Machar also denied that claims that he was a warmonger, saying that his troops were simply defending themselves against government attacks.

President Kiir’s officials accuse Mr Machar’s forces of starting the attacks.

Both sides in the bitter conflict have been accused of perpetrating atrocities.

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