HARARE, May 19 (Xinhua) - The Pan African Parliament has deferred to
November the adoption of a resolution on a motion calling upon the House to send
a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe to probe alleged human rights abuses this
year as more time was needed to consider the issue, The Herald said on Saturday.
The continental assembly's bureau said it needed time to study the
Zimbabwean motion together with other recommendations put forward during the
two-week ordinary session that ended on Friday. PAP president Getrude Mongella
of Tanzania told the House that only urgent resolutions had to be adopted.
She said many issues were debated during the session but some of them had
been overtaken by events after having been either discussed by the African Union
executive council or at other continental or regional fora.
Mongella said the continental parliament's bureau must be given time to
cross-check on some of the issues that had been raised during debate before the
resolutions were brought for adoption in the House.
The deferment of the adoption of the resolution on the motion on Zimbabwe
effectively means that the PAP would have to wait until the next ordinary
session in November to resolve on whether the continental parliament should send
a fact-finding mission to the country.
The motion was moved by South Africa's Inkatha Freedom Party Member of
Parliament Suzanne Vos and seconded by Botswana opposition party Boyce Sebetela
last week.
A total of 149 MPs voted in favor of the motion while 20 voted against with
three other legislators abstaining.