Tayebwa Urges Stronger Multilateralism to Combat Global Security Challenges

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has emphasized the urgent need for enhanced multilateral cooperation, dialogue, and collective action to effectively counter rising global security challenges. Speaking while chairing a joint parliamentary assembly of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, Tayebwa highlighted how conflicts, organized crime, and geopolitical tensions continue to severely undermine international stability and development.

Tayebwa, who serves as president of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly and co-president of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, stressed that security and development are deeply intertwined. He noted that instability frequently disrupts public services and diverts vital resources away from national development goals. Furthermore, he advocated for partnerships that strengthen international law and grant smaller states and developing nations a meaningful voice in global institutions.

Highlighting Uganda’s humanitarian efforts, Tayebwa pointed out that the country currently hosts over two million refugees fleeing conflicts in neighboring nations like Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. Despite this open-door commitment, he voiced concern that Uganda receives only a fraction of the necessary funding, forcing the government to redirect national development resources toward humanitarian support.

Other leaders at the summit also weighed in on global governance. Sheema Municipality MP Dicksons Kateshumbwa called for urgent reforms in global financial systems to improve debt sustainability and combat economic vulnerability, which often leaves youth susceptible to recruitment into foreign conflicts. Meanwhile, former UN envoy Mohamed Saleh Annadif and Zimbabwean delegate Lt. Gen. Michael Reuben Nyambuya stressed the importance of preserving the United Nations and ensuring Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific are treated as equal global actors rather than geopolitical pawns.

Read the full story on the Nile Post.