By CHILA NAMAIKO –
THE  Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) committee on human rights of parliamentarians is hopeful that Government will take the Public Order Act (POA) Bill to Parliament for amendments in the forthcoming session of the House.
Committee member Margaret Nellen, however, said there were no contentious matters during the IPU assembly that could have warranted the committee to adopt decisions regarding the POA in Zambia.
Ms Nellen, who is a member of Parliament in Switzerland, was speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday at the close of the assembly at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
She said the committee was confident that the relevant Government ministry would take the POA Bill to Parliament for amendments.
“We didn’t adopt any decisions on Zambia, but the committee is working on older cases concerning the POA and its use during elections in recent years.
“With the  upcoming elections here in Zambia in August, the committee on the human rights of parliamentarians is confident that the Government and Parliament, with the help of all the concerned parties, will amend the law in time so that the right to assemble peacefully is respected fully for everyone,” she said.
She said the committee, however, would not impose sanctions if Zambia failed to amend the POA because the committee had no powers to do so as it was not an enforcing agent.
Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini said at a separate media briefing that he was confident the POA Bill would be taken to Parliament in the next sitting of the House.
IPU president Saber Chowdhury described the just-ended assembly as a success, and praised the Government for its warm reception for the delegates who travelled from various parts of the world.
Among other resolutions, the IPU members called for positive action to collectively address unemployment while increasing dialogue, education and youth empowerment measures.
On peace and international security, the members proposed a multi-faceted approach to dismantling terrorist networks and combating hatred.