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26th Meeting of the Executive Committee
Introduction
The ParlAmericas Executive Committee held its 26th meeting in Asunción, Paraguay, at the Crowne Plaza on September 7, 2011. The meeting was chaired by ParlAmericas Interim President Randy Hoback, Member of Parliament of Canada, who also served as the North American representative. Other participants included:
·Senator Adriana González Carillo, representing North America ·Victor Juliao, Member of the National Assembly of Panama, representing Central America ·Germán Alcides Blanco Alvarez, Member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, representing South America ·Senator Alberto Grillón Conigliaro of Paraguay, representing South America and the host country of the 8th Plenary Assembly ·Linda Machuca Moscoso, Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador, President of the Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas ·Canadian Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, as former president of ParlAmericas ·Brazilian Deputy Luiz Carlos Hauly, as former president of ParlAmericas
The main objectives of this Executive Meeting were to:
·provide an update on recent Executive Committee activities; ·provide an update on the ParlAmericas work plan; ·finalize preparations for the 8th Plenary Assembly; and ·approve the resolution to officially replace the name Inter-parliamentary Forum of the Americas by ParlAmericas
Opening of the meeting
The ParlAmericas President welcomed the participants to this 26th meeting of the Executive Committee. He regretted the absence of Haitian Senator Edmonde Supplice Beauzile for logistical reasons, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia, Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin, who was unavailable for travel to Paraguay. He then presented the meeting agenda, which was approved, and then preceded with a report on recent Executive Committee activities.
Update by the Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas
The floor was given to Assemblywoman Linda Machuca Moscoso, President of the Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas, so she could report to the Executive Committee on the recent activities of the Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas. Ms. Machuca Moscoso provided a detailed account of the workshop “The Political Leadership of Women: Action Plan for the Americas,” which took place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from June 30 to July 1, 2011. Ms. Machuca Moscoso said that the workshop was attended by more than 70 legislators from 15 countries of the Americas. The issues discussed ranged from migration, the challenges of gender equality, leadership and the situation of female politicians in the Caribbean.
Report by the Director General of ParlAmericas
Gina Hill began by informing the Executive Committee that the new ParlAmericas website will be operational in late September. Ms. Hill also provided an overview of the activities of the ParlAmericas technical secretariat.
Update on ParlAmericas finances
Viviane Rossini presented the projected actual revenues and expenditures for the period from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011. The organization anticipated generating $122,000 in revenues in addition to the $684,200 contribution from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), for a total of $806,200. Regarding expenditures, the organization anticipated spending $119,740, in addition to $610,894 from the CIDA contribution, for a total of $730,634. Given current projections, ParlAmericas therefore anticipated a budget surplus of $75,566.
The ParlAmericas President said that although the organization would be able to fund itself for the next two or three years, it should find new funding sources to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Legal name change of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas
Further to the decision made at the 7th Plenary Assembly in November 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico, to change the name of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas, the Executive Committee approved a special resolution to change the corporate name and to approve the application for the issuance of supplementary letters patent in order to confirm the proposed amendments to the corporate articles of letters patent. Under this resolution, the corporation’s new name became “ParlAmericas.”
Update on the Preparations of the 8th Plenary Assembly
The floor was given to Senator Alberto Grillón Conigliaro of Paraguay, the country hosting the 8th Plenary Assembly. The Senator summarized the upcoming activities over the following days as well as provided a list of the delegates and countries registered for the Assembly.
The ParlAmericas President confirmed the selection of parliamentarians chairing the working groups during the Plenary Assembly. It was therefore determined that Deputy Germán Alcides Blanco Alvarez of Colombia would chair Working Group 1 on the role of human rights and development in citizen security. Senator Rogelio Rueda of Mexico would chair Working Group 2 on transnational aspects of citizen security. Then Senator Edmonde Supplice Beauzile of Haiti would chair Working Group 3 on multidimensional approaches to citizen security. It was also confirmed that the Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas would be chaired by Linda Machuca Moscoso, Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador.
The President reminded the different chairs of the rules of procedures they had to follow to ensure good conduct of the working sessions.
Draft resolutions to be presented at the Plenary Assembly
The Executive Committee debated a resolution amending the ParlAmericas governance structure, which provided for the creation of a Board of Directors representing a greater number of countries, a president elected by this Board of Directors, the creation of two vice-president positions and a secretary-treasurer position, a limited executive committee made up of the president, two vice-presidents and the secretary-treasurer, along with the creation of five standing committees.
The President explained that these changes were further to the recommendations of the strategic plan prepared by the Executive Committee with a view to ensuring the organization’s sustainability and growth for future years.
The Executive Committee also discussed the resolution regarding the vacant position on the Executive Committee for Central America and the procedural rules for Executive Committee elections. It was agreed that these resolutions would be submitted for approval at the opening session of the 8th Plenary Assembly on September 8, 2011.
Procedural rules of elections
The ParlAmericas President informed the Members that six positions of Representatives at the Executive Committee were due to expire at the 8th Plenary Assembly: Mexico as the representative of North America; Panama as the representative of Central America; Saint Lucia as the representative of the Caribbean; Paraguay as the representative of South America, Ecuador as the representative of the Group of Women Parliamentarians, and the second position reserved for Central America, currently vacant. The term of the ParlAmericas President was also due to expire at the 8th Plenary Assembly. That said, the President indicated that if the resolution on ParlAmericas governance were adopted, new positions on the Board of Directors would be created. The President also noted that if the resolution were adopted, the president would be chosen among the members of the new Board of Directors going forward and not elected during the Plenary Assembly.
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