By Moses Magadza

Members of Parliament, representatives of the United Nations family, academia, civil society organisations and development partners have adopted a united regional approach to safeguarding human rights.

This happened after the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) convened a landmark two-day Parliamentary Dialogue on Strengthening the Role of Parliament as Champions of Human Rights and Inclusive Family Values.

Held on 30 and 31 July 2026 on the margins of the First Ordinary Session of the Seventh Legislature of the Pan-African Parliament, the Dialogue responded to growing concern over the emergence of an increasingly organised and well-resourced anti-rights movement that is challenging gains made in gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and the protection of women, children and other vulnerable groups across Africa.

The meeting brought together parliamentarians, representatives of the United Nations family, academics, civil society organisations, regional institutions and development partners to develop a coordinated parliamentary response that safeguards hard-won democratic and human rights gains while constructively engaging legitimate cultural, religious and societal concerns.

Opening the Dialogue, Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana, Right Honourable Dithapelo Keorapetse, stressed that the meeting was not about creating ideological divisions but about strengthening Parliament’s ability to respond to emerging threats to human rights through informed democratic engagement.

“We are not gathered here to draw ideological battle lines, nor to create division. We are gathered to strengthen our collective capacity, as Parliamentarians, to recognise emerging challenges to human rights, engage them with rigour, and ensure that Africa’s democratic institutions remain resilient in the face of shifting political currents.”

The Speaker reminded delegates that human rights are deeply rooted in international and African legal traditions. He cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Maputo Protocol as instruments affirming the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of rights.

He applauded the SADC Parliamentary Forum for providing legislative leadership through its pioneering Model Laws on Gender-Based Violence and on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage. He described them as regional legislative tools that have enabled national parliaments to translate regional commitments into domestic legislation.

“Behind every one of these instruments are real people whose lives have changed because Parliament chose progress over complacency,” he observed.

He noted that countless girls had been protected from child marriage, women had gained access to life-saving maternal healthcare, and survivors of violence had received legal protection because Parliament had acted decisively.

At the same time, the Speaker cautioned that progress should never be taken for granted.

He warned that organised anti-rights movements across Africa increasingly employ carefully framed narratives around family values, culture and sovereignty, often advancing incremental legislative proposals that appear innocuous but have the potential to weaken existing human rights protections.

While Parliament should remain open to dialogue on new ideas, he said legislators had a duty to scrutinise whether emerging frameworks strengthened Africa’s existing human rights commitments or created parallel standards capable of undermining them.

The Speaker further argued that human rights and family values should not be viewed as competing concepts.

Drawing on the African philosophy of Ubuntu and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s assertion that “my humanity is bound up in yours,” he urged parliamentarians to demonstrate through legislation and leadership that respect for culture, faith, equality and human dignity can coexist.

Calling for practical outcomes, he urged delegates to leave the Dialogue with a concrete roadmap that would strengthen regional cooperation, establish parliamentary champions across SADC, improve early information sharing on emerging legislative developments and equip Members of Parliament with advocacy tools to defend inclusive, rights-based legislation in their national legislatures.

Organisers of the Dialogue recognised that although Southern Africa has made notable progress in promoting gender equality and protecting vulnerable groups through regional instruments such as the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and SADC PF’s Model Laws, these gains are increasingly being challenged by coordinated anti-rights campaigns operating through parliamentary lobbying, faith-based platforms and cross-border legislative initiatives.

Participants therefore examined not only the origins, funding patterns and strategies employed by anti-rights actors, but also the implications of these developments for existing regional commitments and domestic legislative agendas.

The programme combined expert presentations with working sessions aimed at moving delegates from analysis to action.

The opening session, facilitated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), situated the discussion within Africa’s broader human rights architecture, including the African Charter, the Maputo Protocol, Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Subsequent sessions explored the evolution of the anti-rights movement across Africa, with representatives from IPAS and ISLA unpacking its narratives, funding patterns and legislative strategies.

A multidisciplinary panel comprising representatives from OHCHR, UNFPA, UNDP, Equality Now, ISLA, IPAS and researchers then examined how anti-rights mobilisation is affecting implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and existing human rights instruments across Africa, drawing lessons from East Africa, West Africa and Latin America.

Attention shifted to Parliament itself, where delegates explored how legislative authority, committee oversight, budget scrutiny and parliamentary representation can be used to safeguard human rights commitments.

Members of Parliament also exchanged experiences from their own countries, highlighting how anti-rights narratives are increasingly manifesting in national legislative processes.

The second day focused on developing a regional roadmap.

Working groups examined four strategic pillars: strengthening legislative domestication of regional instruments; reinforcing parliamentary budget oversight; improving public narratives and constituency engagement; and deepening inter-parliamentary cooperation through stronger regional networks and early warning mechanisms.

Delegates identified concrete actions, institutional responsibilities and implementation timeframes, before consolidating their recommendations into a single regional roadmap.

The Dialogue further enabled participants to explore practical mechanisms for establishing a regional network of parliamentary champions, strengthening collaboration between SADC PF, national parliaments, the United Nations family, academia and civil society, developing advocacy messages for parliamentary use, and creating a periodic early-warning bulletin to monitor anti-rights developments across the region.

Closing the Dialogue, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Lesotho, Hon. Ts’epang Ts’ita-Mosena, urged delegates to ensure that the meeting’s outcomes translated into measurable action once participants returned to their respective legislatures.

Reflecting on the discussions, she observed that delegates had confirmed the anti-rights movement to be organised, well-resourced and transnational, often advancing through language capable of masking its broader legislative implications.

She challenged every delegation represented at the Dialogue to build the capacity of Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff to recognise emerging tactics, strengthen research and evidence, establish a regional early-warning mechanism, broaden engagement with civil society, traditional leaders, faith communities and young people, build a genuine network of parliamentary champions, and develop coordinated communication strategies capable of countering misinformation.

She also stressed the importance of finalising and implementing the newly developed roadmap with clearly assigned responsibilities and timelines.

“A roadmap without a deadline is simply a wish,” she cautioned.

The Deputy Speaker reminded delegates that the true measure of success would not be the discussions held in Sandton, but the legislative, oversight and policy changes achieved within national parliaments across the region.

“The future of human rights on this continent will not be decided in this conference room. It will be decided in our Parliaments in the months after we have all gone home and the cameras have left. Let this Dialogue be remembered not for what was said here, but for what changed because of it.”

The Parliamentary Dialogue concluded with the adoption of a regional roadmap intended to strengthen Parliament’s role as a champion of human rights and inclusive family values, deepen cooperation among SADC parliaments and partners, and reinforce the region’s commitment to protecting the rights, dignity and wellbeing of all its citizens.

-Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC Parliamentary Forum.