ParlAmericas is an independent network made up of
national legislatures that are also members of the Organization of American
States (OAS). ParlAmericas members are committed to promoting parliamentary
participation in the inter-American system and developing inter-parliamentary
dialogue on issues of importance to the hemisphere. ParlAmericas seeks to
encourage the sharing of experiences and best practices amongst its members,
and works to strengthen the role of legislatures in democratic development and promote
harmonization of legislation and hemispheric integration as instruments of
sustainable and harmonious development in the region.
ParlAmericas was constituted at the Inaugural
Meeting hosted by the Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa, in 2001. The organization
is made up of three main bodies, namely: the Plenary Assembly, the Board of
Directors and the Technical Secretariat. The Plenary Assembly, which meets
annually, provides a platform for parliamentarians from the Americas to discuss
various themes of common interest to the hemisphere. Topics addressed during
the Plenary Assembly are developed and planned by the board of directors, which
establishes the agenda of the Plenary Assembly. In addition to these
activities, members of the board are responsible for monitoring projects that
have been assigned to them by the Assembly. Members may also participate on
one of five standing committees; these have mandates which cover a number of
topics considered of interest to the board. The board is headed by a Chair, who
is elected every two years. Both the board and the Chair receive support from
the Technical Secretariat.
Canada has been strongly involved in ParlAmericas
since its inception. On 10 September 2011, Mr. Randy Hoback, member from
Prince Albert, was elected President of ParlAmericas. Mr. Hoback has also
served as the head of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas since April 2010. He
became the second Canadian president of ParlAmericas, following Senator Céline
Hervieux-Payette, who held this position from 2001 to 2006. In addition, the
ParlAmericas Technical Secretariat is incorporated in Canada and is based in
Ottawa. Canada is also in charge of maintaining the ParlAmericas website. This
site, upgraded and re-launched in the fall of 2011, plays a key role in the
organization’s activities, allowing parliamentarians and the general public to
access up-to-date resources created by ParlAmericas on a wide range of issues
held in common interest by countries of the hemisphere.
32nd meeting of the Board of directors
A.Introduction
The ParlAmericas Board
of Directors held its 32nd meeting in San José, Costa Rica, at the
Hilton Hotel Cariari on 20 and 24 August 2013. The meeting was chaired by Mr.
German Alcides Blanco Alvarez, member of the Chamber of Representatives of
Columbia. Other participants were:
·Dr. Jennifer Simons, Vice‑President of the
Group of Women Parliamentarians, and Speaker of the National Assembly of the
Parliament of Suriname, representing South America;
·Senator Michael L. MacDonald (Canada), representing
North America;
·Senator Miguel Abdon Saguier (Paraguay),
representing South America;
·Ms. Maria Jeannette Ruiz Delgado, member of the
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, representing Central America;
·Mr. Ignacio Urrutia Bonilla, member of the Chamber
of Deputies of the National Congress of Chile, representing South America;
·Ms. Adriana Gonzalez Carillo, member of the
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, representing North America;
·Mr. Hugh Buchannan, member of Parliament of
Jamaica, representing the Caribbean.
The main objectives of this board of
director’s meeting were:
·To receive an update from board of directors
members and Secretariat staff concerning recent ParlAmericas activities;
·To review and consider the following issues:
2013-2014 ParlAmericas workshop proposals, ParlAmericas fund guidelines,
ParlAmericas board composition, and ParlAmericas bank signing authorities;
·To receive an overview of ParlAmericas strategic
plans and priorities, and ParlAmericas’ work plan; and
·To determine the location and date of the 33rd
board of directors meeting and the 11th Plenary Assembly.
B.Opening of the Meeting
Mr. Blanco opened the session by welcoming the
meeting’s participants and thanking Ms. Ruiz’s work as host. He passed along
the regrets of Mr. Hoback and Mr. Victor Juliao who were both unable to attend
the meeting as well as the Plenary Assembly. Mr. Blanco also noted the
resignation of Ms. Linda Machuco Mascoso from the board as well as from her
role as President of the Group of Women Parliamentarians; her achievements in
the latter role were then roundly recognized by the board. Mr. Blanco also
welcomed and thanked the ParlAmericas Technical Secretariat staff.
Ms. Ruiz also welcomed members of the board. Her
comments concerned the prospective large enrolment of delegates in this year’s
Plenary Assembly (as many as 86 delegates from 24 countries), while also
highlighting Costa Rica’s achievements in respect of citizen security,
democratic stability, and the environment.
Mr. Blanco then presented
the Agenda of the meeting, which was approved. The board proceeded with the
approval of the report of the 31st meeting of the board of directors
in Paramaribo, Suriname.
C.President’s Report
In Mr. Hoback’s absence, Mr. Blanco provided board
members with an update of Mr. Hoback’s activities for the period of May to
August 2013. These included a meeting in Ottawa with the Canadian Minister of
Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs) on 18 May 2013. At the
meeting, a discussion was held in which Mr. Hoback provided the Minister with
an overview of the recent activities of ParlAmericas and preparations for the
10th Plenary Assembly.
On 21 to 24 May 2013, Mr. Hoback accompanied
Canada’s Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper on his visit to Peru and
Columbia.
On 30 May 2013, Mr. Hoback hosted a luncheon in
honour of a delegation of Chilean parliamentarians who accompanied President Sebastián
Piñera on his state visit to Canada. That evening, Mr. Hoback attended a state
dinner hosted by Canada’s Governor General His Excellency Mr. David Johnston in
honour of President Piñera.
On 11 June 2013, Mr. Hoback met with the incoming
ambassador of Cuba to Canada, His Excellency Mr. Julio Garmendía Peña. During
the meeting, Mr. Hoback briefed the ambassador about the work accomplished by
ParlAmericas in order to acquaint him with the organization.
On 13 June 2013, Mr. Hoback held a similar meeting
with the incoming ambassador of Mexico to Canada, His Excellency Mr. Francisco
Suárez in order to greet the ambassador and brief him about the work
accomplished by ParlAmericas and the purpose of the organization.
D.Technical Secretariat Report
The Director General of ParlAmericas, Dr. Gina
Hill, provided the board with a report on the activities of the Technical Secretariat.
These included, among other things:
·Preparation of Workshop report entitled
“Parliaments and Extractive Industries”;
·Discussion with the Organization of American
States (OAS) regarding a joint project in Central America;
·Preparations for the 10th Plenary
Assembly, including researching and securing experts;
·Preparations for the Group of Women
Parliamentarians gathering in Paramaribo, Suriname, and the drafting the
gathering’s report;
·Website maintenance and content updates; and
·Financial and administrative management duties.
E.Capacity-Building Workshop
According to the work plan approved by CIDA and
the board of directors of ParlAmericas, ParlAmericas had committed to carrying
out one capacity-building activity prior to the end of March 2014. Over
the last three years, it was noted that in deciding the subject of this type of
activity, the Technical Secretariat had relied on the information provided by a
needs assessment questionnaire that had been conducted to gather input from 116
parliamentarians and/or staff in all 35 ParlAmericas member countries. It was
found through this questionnaire that the greatest interest for a
capacity-building course resided in the topic of “Budgetary cycles analysis,
approval and oversight.”
The Secretariat, as such recommended that, given
the high level of interest in this topic and ParlAmericas’ interest in
increasing the participation among Caribbean members, that a workshop on budget
oversight be held in this region. Dr. Hill also noted that World Bank had expressed
interest in collaborating as a partner in the workshop. The board discussed
the matter concurring in the recommendation.
F.Acceptance of Fund Guidelines
In May 2013, the board of directors approved a
funding strategy for ParlAmericas. Resulting from this decision was the need
to develop a set of fund guidelines, which would be used in the evaluation of
any fund sources. The Technical Secretariat provided the board with copies of a
proposed set of guidelines for its consideration. In the discussion concerning
these guidelines, certain issues arose such as the need for transparency in the
receipt of outside donor funding, the importance of independence of the
organization from any donor, and the manner in which some or all donations
could, upon their receipt, be communicated to the board. Following the
discussion, the board approved of the fund guidelines as proposed by the
Technical Secretariat and these were made effective immediately.
G.Composition of Board Members
Following a resolution passed at the board of
directors meeting in May 2013, Mr. Michel Rathier, Consultant and Associate
Member, developed a proposal to modify the composition of the board. The
proposal entailed expanding the number of seats on the board from its current
format of North America (three seats; three countries), the Caribbean (three
seats; 13 countries), Central America (three seats; seven countries), and South
America (three seats; 12 countries) to add one additional seat in both the
Caribbean and South American sub-regions to bring their totals to four seats on
the board, while retaining the seat present numbers for North America and
Central America.
The proposal noted
that its purpose was to ensure that member parliaments would be more fairly
represented while maintaining balance between regions. Reallocating seats
between sub-regions was considered inappropriate as it would require taking
away a seat from one sub-region to reallocate it to another, which would likely
encounter opposition while also violating the principles that inspired the
original board composition. A discussion ensued in which the merits of the
proposal were weighed. Board members provided their views as to the perceived
interest in participation in ParlAmericas and in its board on the part of sub-regions,
along with considerations for eligibility to board membership of parliaments
such as being in good standing in respect of membership fees paid to the
organization. The board resolved to evaluate the matter further and return to
the topic at a subsequent board meeting.
H.Items Related to the Conduct of the 10th Plenary Assembly
The final agenda for the 10th Plenary
Assembly was reviewed and adopted. During the review, Ms. Ruiz provided the
board members with information concerning Costa Rica and the history of its
national legislature. The rules and procedures for the working groups were
discussed, along with the role of the moderators of the working groups. It was
noted that the number of working groups had been reduced from four last year
(three working groups plus the Group of Women Parliamentarians gathering) to
three this year (two working groups plus the Group of Women Parliamentarians
gathering) in an effort to, among other things, encourage greater participation
across all the working groups.
Further, a review of forthcoming board of
directors’ vacancies was conducted, along with the procedure for filling these
vacancies.
I.Arms Trade Treaty
Ms. Ruiz proposed to the board that it resolve to
recommend to the Plenary Assembly that a motion be passed which recognized the
importance of the Arms Trade Treaty recently approved by the United Nations.
This proposal was widely agreed to among the board members.
J.Board of Directors Meeting on 24 August 2013
The board of directors met immediately following the
official closing of the 10th Plenary Assembly to discuss the
remaining items on its agenda. Mr. Blanco welcomed the members of the board,
and as there were a large number of new members, the ratification process for
their nomination to the board was reviewed. Discussions ensued on a number of
items, including: the new ParlAmericas regulations which come into force in
October 2013, board of directors committees, the code of conduct for members of
the board, the strategic plan of priorities as approved by the board in May
2013, and other general inquiries.
Joint OAS/Parlamericas Workshop
On 21 August 2013,
an all-day workshop entitled “Legislative Activity and New Alternatives in the
Fight Against Drugs,” was held at the hotel in San José, Costa Rica. The
primary audience for this workshop was Central American legislators, although
members of the ParlAmericas board of directors were invited to participate.
The workshop featured a series of presentations from experts from the OAS,
legislators from the Americas and officials from different countries. The
discussions generally surrounded the importance of parliamentarians as
decision-makers capable of creating political agreement, and engaging in
dialogue to inspire change, in the context of the challenges posed by the
rampant influence of drugs and narco-cartels in the Americas. The purpose of
the discussions was to enrich the abilities, as legislators, of the
participants, as well as to broaden the knowledge of parliamentarians on the
issue of narcotics.
10th Plenary
assembly of parlamericas
A.Introduction
The 10th Plenary Assembly of
ParlAmericas was held in San José, Costa Rica from 21 to 24 August 2013. During the Assembly, two working
groups were offered, with each group discussing a separate theme. These themes
were: natural resources development; and food security. A further working
group organized by the Group of Women Parliamentarians was also offered on the
topic of connecting women’s rights to food security. The Plenary Assembly was
attended by 86 parliamentarians from 24 countries, which represented each of
ParlAmericas’ sub-regions (North America, Central America, the Caribbean and
South America). Canada was represented by four
parliamentarians:
·Mr. Earl Dreeshen, member from Red Deer and Head
of the Delegation;
·Senator Michael MacDonald (Nova Scotia),
Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section, board of directors;
·Mr. François Pilon, member from Laval–Les îles; and
·Ms. Lise St. Denis, member from St.
Maurice–Champlain.
B.Official Inauguration and Welcome Reception
On 21 August 2013, delegates were transported from
the hotel to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica for the Official
Inauguration and Welcome Reception. Welcoming remarks were provided by
speakers who included the Hon. Luis Fernando Mendoza Jiménez, Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica; Ms. Maria Jeannette Ruiz Delgado; Mr.
German Alcides Blanco Alvarez; and Mr. Randy Hoback, President of ParlAmericas,
who, although absent, gave his remarks via a recorded video.
Ms. Ruiz provided the delegates with an overview
of the structure of the government of Costa Rica, along with information
concerning the format and agenda of the 10th Plenary Assembly. Mr.
Hoback noted that this year’s Plenary Assembly marked a milestone for the organization,
provided comments on its continued evolution, and underlined the relevance and
importance of the work of ParlAmericas as an open, equitable and ethical
inter-parliamentary organization. Mr. Blanco commented that the large turnout
at this year’s assembly was indicative of the success ParlAmericas was
achieving as an attractive forum for parliamentarians seeking to discuss issues
of mutual importance in the hemisphere. Speaker Jimenez provided the delegates
with wide-ranging comments on a number of topics including the importance of
the Plenary Assembly’s workshop topics (food security, natural resource
development, and the relationship and access to both for women in particular),
development of social or human capital, democratic institutions, and the
environment.
C.Meeting with the Canadian Ambassador to Costa Rica
On 22 August 2013, the Canadian delegation met
with Ms. Wendy Drukier, Ambassador of Canada to Costa Rica, along with members
of the Embassy, for a working breakfast at the hotel in San José, Costa Rica.
The strong and productive bilateral relationship
between Canada and Costa Rica was discussed, including economic and trade
matters. Other issues of note which arose during the discussion included: the
forthcoming presidential election in Costa Rica; domestic security and safety;
free trade zones located within the country and their role; issues of interest
related to certain neighbouring countries; and general miscellaneous issues of
note in Costa Rica.
D.First Session of the Plenary Assembly
The first session of the 10th Plenary
Assembly began with the election of Ms. Ruiz as President for the Plenary
Assembly. In her opening remarks, Ms. Ruiz offered delegates a warm welcome
and underlined the importance of the topics to be discussed by the working
groups, noting that full and equal participation of all delegates would produce
optimal recommendations.
The regulations for the conduct of the Plenary
Assembly, along with the agenda, were reviewed and accepted.
In Mr. Hoback’s absence, Mr. Blanco, read the
annual report of the President of ParlAmericas for 2012-2013. Highlights of
this report included a two-day regional workshop for parliamentarians on the
topic of Parliaments and extractive industries held in Bogota, Columbia. It was
attended by 17 parliamentarians from seven countries. The workshop itself was
facilitated by Revenue Watch, a non-profit policy institute. It was noted that
the report and recommendations produced by this workshop was available on the
ParlAmericas website. Mr. Hoback’s report also noted that, following the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the OAS, that organization and
ParlAmericas had been exploring opportunities to collaborate on programing
initiatives for parliamentarians. The report also contained information
concerning the Group of Women Parliamentarians Gathering held in Suriname,
along with the 30th and 31st Board of Directors
Meetings. Lastly, Mr. Hoback’s report discussed operations and finances,
noting that the project funding currently provided for by the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) was set to expire in December 2014 and
that new funding sources were being sought to maintain the organization’s
activities. In that respect, the importance of each member country paying its
association dues was underscored.
Ms. Ruiz presented the resolutions and
recommendations proposed by the board of directors at the meeting held on 20
August 2013 to the Plenary Assembly. A resolution to communicate the
importance of the Arms Trade Treaty recently approved by the United Nations was
passed by the assembly. The nomination process for vacant positions on the
board of directors was explained to the assembly by Dr. Gina Hill. Lastly, the
working groups for the 10th Plenary Assembly were established and
the chairs of these groups were approved by the assembly.
E.Keynote Address
Dr. Ricardo Rapallo, a Food Security Officer at the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations made a presentation to the
assembly concerning food security in the hemisphere. He began by outlining the
problem of hunger and malnutrition which affects approximately 49 million
people in Latin and South America. High among the concerns related
malnutrition was its effect on brain development of infants. A correlation
also existed between the higher levels of education of a mother and lower
levels of malnutrition of her children. Dr. Rapallo then noted that obesity
also represented a hemispheric health problem. Obesity was, in his view, related
to diets high in processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. It was explained to
the assembly that the problem of food security was a complex one, involving not
only access to safe and nutritious food, but was also tied in with access to
drinking water, health care, the environment and political stability. Dr.
Rapallo concluded by raising the role that parliamentarians can play to ensure
greater food security for citizens, as many aspects of the issue remained in
the domain of public policy.
F.Working Group Sessions
On 22 and 23 August 2013, parliamentarians were
invited to attend and contribute to one of two concurrent working groups,
according to their areas of interest. The first group looked at natural
resources development in the Americas. The second group focused on food
security. In addition to these two groups, the Group of Women Parliamentarians
met twice to discuss connecting women’s rights to food security. A summary of
the discussions that took place in each group is presented below. The resolutions
resulting from the working group sessions are also presented in Appendix A of
this report.
The working group on natural resources development
was chaired by Mr. Ignacio Urrutia Bonilla, member of the Chamber of Deputies
of the National Congress of Chile. Focus points for this working group were:
·energy efficiency and renewable energy
resources;
·regional management and sustainable livelihoods;
·land use dynamics and biodiversity; and
·natural resources policy and governance.
The working group’s
discussions were facilitated by Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez (Costa Rica) and by
Ms. Gleyse Peiter (Brazil). Mr. Rodriguez made a presentation to the working
group about how changes to Costa Rica’s environmental approach in the 1990s led
to a number of economic and quality of life benefits for the country. Formerly
the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, Mr. Rodriguez noted that
during the period from the 1940s to the 1990s, Costa Rica had depleted much of
the country’s forest cover. The forest was viewed as non-productive and
policies existed which encouraged de-forestation (forest was removed and crops
were planted in its place). A change occurred in the 1990s when the national
departments of mines, energy and waters were brought together with the
department of the environment. An eco-service market was created whereby a tax
on fuels of 3.6% was introduced and the money raised was transferred to owners
of forest. The benefit to Costa Rica has been increased forest cover, carbon
sequestration, bio-diversity and eco-tourism (the most valuable industry in
Costa Rica’s economy). This policy also provided monetary assistance to
aboriginal groups who, though only constituting 1% of Costa Rica’s population,
are the country’s largest land owners.
Ms. Peiter’s presentation provided the working
group with information on how climate change disproportionately affected
vulnerable populations. She noted that while the potential effects of climate
change remained uncertain, it nevertheless made sense to take preventive action
as a precaution in order to mitigate such effects. Her presentation covered a
number of points, namely that: decreases in food yields led to volatility in
the price of food while also hurting small farmers; the present level of global
human population created a host of challenges that would require adaptations on
the part of humans; climate change and immigration were increasingly linked;
and that national legislatures had an important role to play to ensure secure
access to food and potable water to their citizens.
The working group on food security was chaired by Mr.
Hugh Buchannan, member of Parliament of Jamaica. Its objectives were to:
·problems, progress, limitations and innovations
in the area of food safety;
·foodborne diseases and public health in the
region;
·national plans of action in emergency
situations; and
·successful experiences in anti-hunger programs.
Leading the discussion of this working group were
two subject-matter specialists: Ms. Xaviera Cabada Barron (Mexico) and Dr. Hugo
Melgar-Quinonez (Canada). Ms. Cabada described the food security situation in
Mexico, noting that 70% of the country’s population suffered from some form of
food insecurity. 70% of Mexico’s adult population was either overweight or
obese (14 million Mexicans suffer from Type 2 diabetes) while more than 1.5
million children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Her
presentation set out that an important cause of the obesity problem in Mexico
was soft drink and processed food consumption, which had risen drastically
between 1984 and 1998, while the consumption of meat, milk and fruits and
vegetables all declined precipitously during that same period. Ms. Cabada
provided the working group with a number of suggestions to change unhealthy eating
patterns including healthy food choices at schools, better labelling on food
products, a prohibition on targeting children with advertisements, and greater
support toward agriculture and availability of healthy foods. Dr.
Melgar-Quinonez’s presentation began by setting out the international
conventions related to food security. At a United Nations world food summit in
1996, food security was defined as physical and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food for all people at all times. His presentation also
touched on food security measurement methods and discussed trends in terms of
the various aspects of food security around the world, including hunger in
developing nations, dietary analysis, obesity, and early childhood development.
Dr. Melgar-Quinonez concluded by noting that food security remained a complex
and multidimensional phenomenon, and stressed the importance of shared
integrated food security analysis in order to best formulate policies and
evaluate their impact.
The Working Group of the Group of Women
Parliamentariansmet twice in conjunction with the 10th Plenary
Assembly, drawing a high level of participation on the part of delegates. The
group “Connecting women’s rights to food security” was presided over by Dr. Jennifer
Simons, Vice‑President of the Group of Women Parliamentarians, and
Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Suriname. Its points of
focus were:
·gender dimensions of natural resources
management;
·strategic gender-based analysis and planning in
resource development;
·women and sustainable food security; and
·Identifying potential government policies to
protect women and support them in an economic downturn.
Participants in this Working Group heard a
presentation from Dr. Cristina Tirado (Brazil) and from Ms. Guadalupe Valdez,
member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic. Dr. Tirado’s
presentation discussed strategies to enhance women’s leadership to address food
security, safety and nutrition in the context of global climate change. She
provided information on the potential effects of projected climate change on
health; crop, livestock and forestry production; and water and temperature
stresses. Dr. Tirado noted that climate change will disproportionately affect
the most vulnerable populations, in particular the women. She indicated the
price of basic food staples would continue to rise, leading to further
malnutrition issues, especially for children. Dr. Tirado also discussed the
various forms of discrimination encountered by women, including being
disadvantaged in inheritance and ownership of land and property; having limited
access to capital and education; and being paid lower salaries for identical
work as men. Strategies to ameliorate the position of women in disadvantaged
situations included outreach and education, school feeding programs, access to
social protection and safety nets, as well as equal access to resources. Ms.
Valdez’s presentation focussed on women’s rights to food security as a
parliamentary issue. She noted that the issue of inequality in politics
between the genders was a consequence of inequality within society, families
and cultures in general. Clear political commitments were required to
recognize the rights of women, to break down the barriers which act to
marginalize women, and to foster greater participation of women in
decision-making processes. Ms. Valdez indicated that approaches to ensuring
women’s rights to food security needed to be multisectoral, focussed not only
on food production but also on access to education, social services, and
employment, while remaining mindful of environmental impacts and of sustainable
development.
G.Second Session of the Plenary Assembly
The second session of the 10th Plenary
Assembly began with an announcement of the new countries selected, by
acclamation, to fill positions on the board of directors. Positions on the
board are allotted to each of the four ParlAmericas sub-regions, namely North
America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. The countries
selected to fill positions on the board were:
·Mexico, representing North America;
·Dominican Republic and Bahamas, representing the
Caribbean; and
·Costa Rica and Guatemala, representing Central
America
Elections were then held
using secret ballots to select Brazil and Argentina as the countries to
represent South America on the board. Also, a vote was held for the position
of 2nd Vice President and President of the Group of Women
Parliamentarians, which Dr. Simons won.
The session continued with the presentation of the
recommendations by the chairs of each working group (see Appendix A). These
recommendations were fully received and adopted by the Assembly, without
amendments.
Delegates from Chile also offered to be hosts of
the 11th Plenary Assembly, scheduled for late summer 2014.
Closing remarks were offered by Mr. Blanco, in
which he offered his thanks to the chairs of the working groups for their
focused and efficient efforts; to the subject-matter experts; to the delegates;
to the staff and Technical Secretariat; and to the translators. He noted that
the event had been a success, with one of the largest turnouts ever, if not the
largest.
Respectfully submitted,
Mr. Earl Dreeshen, M.P.
Head of Delegation
Canadian Section of ParlAmericas
