AKEL MP Aristos Damianou and Head of the Cypriot delegation at the 66th World Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Accra, Ghana

 

5 October 2023

During the deliberations of the 66th World Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), held in Ghana, the head of the Cypriot delegation, AKEL MP Aristos Damianou, participated yesterday afternoon in a debate on the role of the Commonwealth Charter in the protection of human rights. In his intervention, A.Damianou noted that the ten-year milestone of the Charter is an opportunity to constructively assess the impact of the Charter within the Commonwealth network of peoples and to consider ways to further enhance its reach and influence. Despite the progress made, A.Damianou said, many challenges to democracy and human and civil rights remain on a global scale, such as restrictions on freedom of expression, control over the mass media and the obstruction of free elections.

The issue of gender equality also remains a challenge, the Cypriot MP said. Although women’s participation in the labour force has increased, inequalities still exist, including the issue of access to education, leadership roles and protection from violence. Efforts must be intensified to ensure that all Commonwealth member states adopt a comprehensive legislative framework to protect women and girls from domestic violence, harassment and sexual assault, as well as from practices that constitute forms of modern slavery such as forced labour and forced marriage. A.Damianou stressed that the Charter is not an exhaustive list of rights and recognising that there is still a long way to go for all member countries to fully embrace these ideals and values.

The debate concluded with the majority adoption of a recommendation to the Conference General Assembly reaffirming the commitment of the Association’s members to protect the human rights of all citizens through the implementation of the Commonwealth Charter and underlining the obligation of parliaments to uphold these rights by unequivocally rejecting all forms of discrimination, including those based on gender, race, colour, sexual orientation and political and other beliefs.

 

In addition, A.Damianou participated in a discussion on the constitutional principle of the Separation of Powers, where he stressed that the principle of the Separation of Powers runs through the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, has been tested over the years and is considered necessary because it maintains the so-called institutional checks and balances. However, it needs to be updated to include the possibility of exercising parliamentary control over institutions and officials, the need for which did not exist in 1960.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the Head of the Cypriot delegation held contacts with the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Association, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, as well as the Speaker of the Parliament of Malawi Catherine Gotani Hara.