News
The Africa Liberal Network held a very successful General Assembly meeting in Victoria, Seychelles from 4-5 December. The meeting was hosted by the Seychelles National Party with financial support from the Liberal Democrats via their Westminster Foundation for Democracy Programme.
Father Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Seychelles National Party, delivered the opening address, and was subsequently interviewed by the press alongside the ALN President, Dr Lamine Bâ. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP, also addressed the delegates by means of video message. The keynote address was delivered by Judge Akua Kuenyehia, former Vice-President of the International Criminal Court.
The delegates welcomed seven new parties to the network, bringing the membership to twenty-four. The new member parties are as follows:
– Burundi – ADR: Alliance Démocratique pour le Renouveau
– Democratic Republic of Congo – ARC: Alliance pour le Renouveau du Congo
– Democratic Republic of Congo – UREC: Union Pour la Reconstruction du Congo
– Guinea – PUL: Parti de l’Unité et de la Liberté
– Mali – PCR: Parti Citoyen pour le Renouveau
– Senegal – PLC/DJ: Parti pour la Liberté et la Citoyenneté / Défar Jikoyi
– Sudan – UDLP: United Democratic Liberal Party
The General Assembly also planned the network’s strategy for 2010 and approved the gender policy document developed by representatives of ALN member parties in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire earlier this year.
The delegates adopted a number of resolutions on the following topics:
– The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change
– The Ratification of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court
– The need for Good Governance in Africa
– The 28 October 2009 elections in Mozambique
– The delayed elections in Côte d’Ivoire
– The political situation in the Republic of Guinea (Conakry)
– The recent resolution of the political impasse in Zanzibar
– The need for serious and credible political reforms in Tanzania ahead of the 2010 elections
– Gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
– A vote of thanks to Seychelles National Party for organising the meeting and to the the Liberal Democrats’ Westminster Foundation for Democracy Programme for their continued financial support.