Parliament
When a Ugandan legislator was elected to head global youth body
LR – Hon. Francis Mwijukye and Hon. Mourine Osoru at the conference
At the beginning of April, 2017, Hon. Mourine Osoru, one of Uganda’s youthful and vibrant legislators received international recognition when she was elected President of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Hon. Osoru, the Arua District Woman Member of Parliament, beat competition from Russia and Zambia to attain the challenging position that will require her to raise the concerns and profile of young people in the world across all IPU discussions.
The legislator was part of the Ugandan delegation that attended the 136th IPU Meeting that was in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 1-5 April 2017.
Osoru described her ascension to the presidency of the youth body as an opportunity to amplify youth issues worldwide.
“I am going to use my position as President to tackle youth challenges such as unemployment and poverty, which sometimes predispose young people to being radicalized into terrorism as we have seen in some parts of the world,” Osoru said after the election.
The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga hailed the election of Osoru when she said:
“I congratulate her and the youth of Uganda, the people of Arua and the NRM government for making it possible for her to be here.”
As the President of the youth forum, Osuro is tasked with ensuring that youth voices are heard in the global political and decision making fora and that they actively participate in matters that affect them.
In her capacity as President, Osoru will steer a board composed of 12 persons from each of the six geo-political groups. The President of the youth forum is elected every two years.
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