By Kebba AF Touray
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) has tasked member states to allocate more resources to combat drug and substance abuse, and its illicit trafficking in Africa.
The continental parliament also tasked member states to give due consideration to the negative impact of the drug menace on the lives of children and youth.
“It further mandates Pan-African Parliamentarians to ensure that national budgets allocate sufficient resources for youth and community engagement in drug prevention programs, and the mobilization of educational, traditional and religious institutions in drug use prevention, treatment, and care initiatives,” he said.
PAP made these calls in its report which was adopted at its just concluded session held in Midrand, South Africa, from 21st June to 5th July 2024. The said report was also tabled before the Gambian parliament by a member of the delegation to the PanAfrican parliament, Hon. Suwaibou Touray, the Member for Wuli East.
This particular call to task member states was made specifically in PAP’s Resolution 12, relating to drug and substance abuse, as an impediment to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa. Hon. Touray said the continental parliament in coming up with the resolution considered Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union which established the Pan-African Parliament to ensure the “full participation of the African people in the development and economic integration of the continent.” He went further to say that PAP also considered Article 3 of the Protocol to the treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament, and Rule 4 (a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan African Parliament. He said the protocol and cited the rule that “empowers the PAP to facilitate regional cooperation, development, and promotion of “collective self-reliance and economic recovery”, as well as the implementation of the policies, objectives, and programs” of the African Union.” He continued to say that PAP further considered Article 28 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and Articles 16 and 17 of the African Youth Charter.
“These articles commit the Member States to take all appropriate measures to protect the child and youth, inter-alia, from the use of narcotics and the illicit use of psychotropic substances, and to prevent the use of children in the production and trafficking of such substances,” he said. PAP, he said, noted with concern that drugs and substance abuse has risen exponentially with a corresponding increase in the number of people with drug use disorders and co-morbidities including young people.
This, he said, is the resulting growth in markets for drugs including those produced locally, in addition to Africa being a major transit area for trafficked drugs of which significant amounts remain within the local market.
Hon. Touray said PAP also noted the increased number of young people estimated to have used illicit drugs in Africa and said with projected population growth, Africa’s drug use prevalence is likely to increase by 40% in 2030, due to the exponential demographic factors in the continent, noting that PAP observes the phenomenon threatens the health, socio-economic wellbeing and security of people on the continent and can seriously transform continental integration as envisioned in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. He said the continental parliament recalls the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention (2019- 2025) which he said is to improve the health, security, and socio-economic well-being of the people of Africa.
Hon. Touray indicated that PAP acknowledged the efforts by the African Union Member States to curb illicit drug trafficking and drug use on the continent, especially for children and the youth.
In his view, PAP appreciates the presentation of the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development of the African Union Commission on Scourge of Drug and Substance Abuse as an Impediment to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa. He added that the parliament also advocates for establishing and strengthening national drug use epidemiology sentinel surveillance systems in all Member States.
Hon. Touray disclosed that PAP calls for the promotion by Member States, of a balanced and integrated approach to drug control by providing a solid framework to address both supply and demand reduction, as well as ensuring the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes.
He said PAP calls on all national parliaments to mobilize and ensure that African Governments develop robust policies and support systems to address substance abuse among the youth, including the provision of adequate counseling services, rehabilitation centers, and educational programs to discourage stigma and exclusion.
The parliament, he reported, also challenged the Pan-African Parliament Youth Caucus to identify potential gaps in national legislation concerning drug control and substance abuse and to propose a model legal instrument to guide a harmonized drug and illicit substance control in Africa.
