Report

The Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association has the honour to present its report on the Meetings of the Standing Committee and the Secretaries of Delegation, held in Memphis, U.S.A. March 27-28, 2010.  Canada was represented by Mr. Leon Benoit, M.P., Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, Senator Jane Cordy and Mr. James Latimer, Association Secretary.

SECRETARIES OF DELEGATION MEETING

The Secretaries of Delegation met on Saturday, March 27^th, and the meeting was chaired by Ms. Melissa Adamson, Secretary of the American Delegation.  Topics discussed were as follows:

·         Overview of the programme of the meetings in Memphis

·         Consideration of the Draft Agenda of the Standing Committee meeting

·         Discussion regarding preparation of the Spring Session in Riga, Latvia, from 28 May to 1 June 2010

o   Draft Programme

o   Programme for Accompanying Persons

o   General Information

·         Discussion regarding preparation of the 56^th Annual Session in Warsaw, Poland from 12 to 16 November 2010

o   Draft Programme

·         Discussion regarding preparation of future sessions and meetings

o   Standing Committee meeting in the Azores, Portugal, 1 to 3 April 2011

o   Spring Session in Varna, Bulgaria, 27 – 31 May 2011

o   Annual Session in Bucharest, Romania, 7-11 October 2011

o   Meetings in 2012 and 2013

·         Discussion regarding the liaison between Delegations and the International Secretariat

·         Other business.

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

The Standing Committee met later that day, Saturday, March 27^th, 2010 and continued on Sunday, March 28^th.  The meeting was chaired by John Tanner, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Representative from the United States.

The draft agenda was adopted.

The summary of the Standing Committee meeting in Edinburgh was adopted.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES IN 2010

The Secretary General, David Hobbs, discussed the proposed changes to the calendar and asked for comment.  The Committee agreed that:

·         If insufficient places were available on the forthcoming visit to Afghanistan, Standing Committee participants would be selected by lot

·         The Economics and Security Committee should move ahead with its proposed visit to Ethiopia; and

·         Separate visits for the Defence and Security and Civil Dimension of Security Committees to the Balkan region should be organized rather than the originally planned joint visit.  However, the officers of the relevant Sub-Committee would be invited to participate in both visits.

THE ASSEMBLY’S PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL ELECTION MONITORING MISSION IN UKRAINE FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON 17 JANUARY AND 7 FEBRUARY 2010

After some discussion, it was agreed that the NATO PA will continue to participate in election observation missions when invited by countries of particular importance to NATO and when the Standing Committee decides that such participation is warranted.  Election monitoring will remain an exceptional and not a routine activity.

RELATIONS WITH NON-MEMBER PARLIAMENTS AND SUMMARY OF THE STATUS OF NON-MEMBER DELEGATIONS

The Secretary General explained that two parliamentary assemblies had expressed interest in establishing contacts with the NATO PA.  The Committee decided that the Secretary General should explore relations with both the Turkic Parliamentary Assembly and the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.

PARTICIPATION OF THE DELEGATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN ASSEMBLY ACTIVITIES

The Secretary General recounted how the Standing Committee had previously voted to restrict the activities of the Russian delegation to the NATO PA because of the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. The question before the Standing Committee was if recent changes in the international environment and the actions of the Russian Federation warranted a relaxation or elimination of those restrictions. 

After a lengthy discussion, the Committee decided to vote on whether or not to take action now on the issue.  The Committee decided in favour of doing so.  Following that vote, the Committee decided to readmit Russian parliamentarians to Rose-Roth Seminars but to leave the remaining restrictions in place.

RELATIONS WITH BELARUS

The Committee considered the Assembly’s relationship with the parliament of Belarus.  Belarus had Associate Member status until 1997 when it was suspended because of the undemocratic nature of the regime.  The question before the Committee was if the modest changes in the behaviour of the regime warranted a change in the Assembly’s policy. 

The Committee agreed that the Political Committee should invite a speaker to discuss the political situation in Belarus at its meeting in Warsaw and then produce a report on Belarus in 2011.

THE ASSEMBLY’S CONSIDERATION OF SECURITY AND GENDER

The Assembly has held side-events at recent sessions to discuss the role of women in combat environments and other issues related to security and gender.  At the Annual Session in Edinburgh, the issue was given a place of prominence in the plenary.  The question before the Standing Committee was how the Assembly should continue to address this issue in the future. 

It was agreed that there should be a resolution produced by the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security commemorating the 10^th anniversary of the passage of UNSC resolution 1325, which calls on member states to factor women’s issues into the consideration of military deployments and to ensure the protection of women in combat environments.  As much of the effect of this resolution depends on its implementation by the member states, the resolution should call on member states to effectively implement the provisions of UNSC resolution 1325.

CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ASSEMBLY REFORM

The Treasurer and Chair of the Working Group, Pierre Claude Nolin, Senator (Canada) introduced the latest report of the Working Group. After discussion, the Committee decided to refer certain issues back to the Working Group for further study before the Standing Committee could take a decision.

It was agreed that the Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum be limited to members only with no exceptions.

GUIDES FOR ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

The Standing Committee appreciated the work so far on the guidelines for Assembly officers and directed the International Secretariat to continue developing them.

COMMENTS OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO AND CHAIRMAN OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL ON THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED IN 2009 BY THE NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

The Secretary General called the attention of the Committee to the comments of the Secretary General of NATO on the policy recommendations of the NATO PA.

FINANCE

The Secretary General presented matters arising from the 2009 budget. The Treasurer made comments, and discussion arose.  The Standing Committee adopted the financial documents.

FUTURE SESSIONS AND MEETINGS

Vaira Paegle (Latvia) outlined the programme for the Riga Session.

Marek Opiola (Poland) discussed the upcoming session in Warsaw. 

MISCELLANEOUS

The Secretary General led a discussion regarding the format of the February meetings in Brussels.

The Secretary General asked the Committee if the staff could be credited by name for the mission reports that they write.  The Committee agreed with this proposal.

Other matters were discussed, and where certain decisions could not be taken, the matters were referred back to the Working Group for further consideration.

CONSIDERATION OF THE ASSEMBLY’S CONTRIBUTION TO A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT

Sven Mikser (Estonia) Special Rapporteur for the Assembly Contribution to the New Strategic Concept outlined the main points in the document.  He noted that he was scheduled to present the final version to the Secretary General of NATO on 13 April.  After consideration of the draft and after subsequent amendments, the document, as amended was adopted.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Mr. Leon Benoit, M.P. Chair Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (NATO PA)