A resolution to support the fight against cybercrime and drug trafficking, and other resolutions, were supported by Tonga at a meeting of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) in Brussels, Belgium, this week.

Two Tongan MPs - the Deputy Speaker, Lord Tu‘ilakepa, and People's Representative of Tongatapu 3, Hon Siaosi Sovaleni, represented Tonga’s Parliament.

They attended meetings of the Parliamentary Committees and represented the Pacific together with Samoa to the Bureau of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly.

Lord Tu‘ilakepa said the primary role of the Bureau is to determine the agenda for the 51^st Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly and the ACP-EU Joint Bureau from 9 to 11 October 2018.

 “It is important to be represented at these key Parliamentary meetings to make sure that we have a say in the priorities of these institutions and to be updated on key issues such as EPA, Climate Change and post-Cotonou agreement.”

The Assembly is the ACP Parliament with members from 79 countries. The Joint Bureau members are representatives of ACP and EU countries and one of their key roles is to determine proposals from ACP for consideration by the EU Parliament.

The ACP Assembly passed resolutions to support:

1. The fight against cybercrime and drug trafficking;
2. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development at the heart of economic transformation in ACP countries;
3. Combating the destabilizing effects of wildlife trafficking in ACP countries.

Hon. Sovaleni said that the fight against cybercrime and the use of technology to facilitate drug trafficking and other crimes was a major concern for ACP countries. He added that ACP countries should consider joining the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, commonly known as the Budapest Convention as this is the only international convention specifically addressing cybercrime.

Tonga also supported the resolution to support and develop SME but added that any funding component needed to address building the climate resilience of SMEs, especially when they are vulnerable to extreme weather events such as cyclones and flooding.

The Joint ACP-EU Bureau further supported a joint proposal from Tonga, Samoa and Seychelles on Climate Change given the importance of the upcoming COP24 and the concerns raised by recently released of the report of the IPCC report 'Global Warming of 1.5 °C.

Priorities for Tonga

Lord Tu‘ilakepa said that the areas endorsed by the Assembly were priorities for Tonga. He also noted that during the meetings, members raised the need to enhance the role of Parliamentarians in development of ACP countries. They also raised concerns about the poor information sharing with national parliaments.

The meeting also endorsed the upcoming 36^th Session of the Joint ACP-EU Assembly to be held in Cotonou, Benin, from late November to early December 2018.

Tonga’s Parliamentary delegation will continue on to Geneva to the 139^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting from 14-18 October 2018.

The countries in the EU and the ACP represent more than half of all UN member countries and unite over 1.5 billion people. The current partnership, governed by the Cotonou agreement, is one of the longest-standing and most comprehensive framework for cooperation between the EU and developing countries. The current agreement expires in 2020.