Pan-African Parliament Begins Committee Sittings Ahead of Seventh Parliament Session
AFRICAN UNITY
The First Committee Sittings and Ordinary Session of the Seventh Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) are underway in Midrand, South Africa, ahead of the official opening ceremony on July 27. Parliamentarians from African Union member states have begun committee deliberations on legislative and policy matters before the plenary session convenes.
The sittings are being held under the African Union's 2026 Theme of the Year, "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063." Permanent Committees are considering reports, draft model laws, and policy frameworks covering water and sanitation, health, trade, justice and human rights, rural economy, agriculture, and gender. Recommendations adopted by the committees will be presented to the full Parliament during the Ordinary Session.
According to PAP officials, the Midrand session aims to strengthen parliamentary oversight, advance legislative harmonization across Africa, and support the domestication of African Union treaties and protocols within member states. The Seventh Parliament is also expected to consider measures to strengthen the legislative role of the Pan-African Parliament and deepen cooperation with national legislatures and Regional Economic Communities in advancing Agenda 2063.
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