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"id": 582576,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Kajuju",
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"legal_name": "Florence Kajuju",
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"content": "Wednesday, 29th April 2015 and pursuant to Section 8 of the Treaty Making and Ratification Act, 2012, approves the East African Community (EAC) Peace and Security Protocol and the Mutual Peace and Security Pact. As I move this Report for debate, I wish to give a background. On 17th February 2014, the Leader of the Majority Party tabled a Cabinet Memoranda on Peace and Security Protocol and Mutual Peace and Security Pact in the House for consideration and ratification, pursuant to Article 2 of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Treaty Making and Ratification Act, 2012. The Cabinet Memoranda was subsequently committed to the Departmental Committee on Regional Integration for consideration and report to the House. Once ratified, the protocol and the pact shall become part of our Kenyan laws as provided for in Article 2(6) of the Constitution. It says that any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya shall form part of the laws of Kenya under this Constitution. During the consideration of the Protocol, the Committee held a total of 10 sittings and met with various stakeholders. Among them was the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government and State Law Office. All those stakeholders made various submissions to the Committee which were taken into considerations as at the time of making our decisions in this Report. The East African Community is a regional inter-governmental organization established under Article 2 as I have stated before, and the five partner states include the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Burundi. What is before us today is that we are exercising our mandate under Article 151 of the East African Community Peace and Security Protocol that was drafted as per the establishment of the East African Community. That particular provision empowers the East African Community Partner states to establish protocols that are necessary in the areas of co- operation. Article 5 of the treaty states that the objectives of the Community shall be to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening co-operation among the partner states in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security, legal and judicial affairs for mutual benefit. Further, Article 5(3)(f) of the Treaty states that the Community shall ensure promotion of peace, security and stability within and good neighbourliness among the partner states. Therefore, the objective of the common security policies in the East African Community is to safeguard the common values, the fundamental interest and the independence of the Community, strengthen the security of the Community and its partner states, develop and consolidate democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms which is established under Article 123 of the Protocol. Hon. Deputy Speaker, if I may slightly go into the background of the enactment of the mutual peace and security pact, the northern corridor is an initiative that is aimed at fast-tracking regional development through joint infrastructure, trade, political and economic development for great integration process within the East African Community region. Since the inception, the three partner states, that is, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, have initiated a number of projects in the areas of infrastructure development, free movement of people and goods and the single customs territory among others. These opportunities however come along with a number of challenges and security is one of them. This has, therefore, necessitated the partner states to come up with measures to ensure that there is peace and security in the region, to create a conducive environment for integration efforts, and hence the drafting of the mutual peace and security pact by the partner States of the northern corridor tripartite initiative. This particular pact and protocol came up as a result of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}