Translated from Portuguese. The Portuguese version prevails. Ler em português
In her capacity as President of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CJCA), Laurinda Monteiro Cardoso, President of the Constitutional Court of Angola, closed the 1st Joint Conference between the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions and the CJCA, held in Bali, Republic of Indonesia, on the sidelines of the 5th WORLD CONGRESS ON CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE.
ADDRESS
Honourable President of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia.
Honourable President of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC).
Honourable Presidents of the Constitutional Jurisdictions that are members of the AACC and the CJCA.
Your Excellency, President Emeritus and Special Representative of the Venice Commission.
Honourable Justices of the Constitutional Jurisdictions that are members of the AACC and the CJCA
Distinguished members of the delegations present, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Excellencies,
We have come to the end of the first, and long-awaited, AACC-CJCA Joint Conference.
Allow me, first of all, to express, on behalf of the Association over which I preside, which today brings together 47 African constitutional courts and councils, our gratitude to the Constitutional Court of Indonesia and to the AACC for holding this Conference, which will go down in history and will certainly give fresh impetus to the relationship between our two regional groups.
As was clearly emphasised here, Asian-African cooperation already has landmark historical milestones – the Bandung Declaration of 24 April 1955, from which resulted the Asian-African Conference held in that city of the Republic of Indonesia, the country that is once again hosting this Conference, stands as a bulwark of this cooperation. The Bandung Declaration clearly sets out the commitment of the signatory States to promote world peace and cooperation, as well as their support for the fundamental principles of Human Rights set out in the Charter of the United Nations, and the upholding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We agree with the point debated in the course of this session, according to which matters relating to human rights must respect the principles and socio-cultural realities of each society. However, while this is an undeniable truth, it is no less true that respect for fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, as well as for human rights in general, MUST be the natural limit of any and every power existing in any society.
Another point we noted was the emphasis placed on respect for the principle of equality, and we therefore take this opportunity to express our request: that every effort be made to mitigate and eliminate gender-based discrimination.
We are convinced that the exchange of information, ideas and experiences that took place at this Conference between our member Constitutional Jurisdictions from two vast continents, characterised by great cultural diversity but sharing a common past of subjection to colonialism, has been productive and will contribute to strengthening our institutions and enriching our decisions, as guardians of human rights and of the Constitutions of our respective countries.
That being so, we cannot fail to congratulate the speakers on the quality of their presentations, as well as the moderators and the entire working team of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia and of the AACC on the excellent work done in organising this Conference.
The undeniable potential for exchange between the AACC and the CJCA has thus been demonstrated, and it is therefore imperative to continue strengthening relations between the two groups through the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 9 August 2017.
A great challenge now rests in the hands of the CJCA, which is responsible for organising the next Joint Conference; this will require the collaboration of all its members, in addition to the General Secretariat, to ensure that it is held successfully, following the example of this first Conference.
In conclusion, we reiterate our thanks to all the members of the delegations and to the General Secretariats of the AACC and the CJCA for your presence and active participation in the proceedings.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!