PAM Vice President, Hon. Tayseer Quba’a (Palestine) and PAM Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, Amb. Gerhard Putman-Cramer, represented the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean at the 130th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in Geneva on 16-20 March, 2014. PAM Vice-President delivered a political address to the Assembly.
More than 715 parliamentarians from 141 countries participated in the debate dedicated to efforts to make the world free from nuclear weapons. With more than 17,000 nuclear weapons believed to exist in the world and many on launch standby, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation remain an urgent priority in making the world a safer place. “Security and arms control in general are also high on PAM’s agenda for the Mediterranean region”, President Quba’a commented in line with the main topic chosen by the IPU for this Assembly.
PAM’s Permanent Observer in Geneva, also took the opportunity to thank, on behalf of the Assembly, the outgoing IPU Secretary General, H.E. Anders B. Johnsson, whose experience and guidance were instrumental in the setting up of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean at the end of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM) experience within the IPU, and also in the following years. PAM also confirmed its full support to the new Secretary General, H.E. Martin Chungong, with whom the close relations between the two organizations will be further strengthened.
Hon. Quba’a and Amb. Putman-Cramer
MEDIA INFORMATION: 15/2014
issued on 20.03.2014
Address by Hon. Tayseer Quba’a
PAM Vice-President
on the occasion of the 130th IPU Assembly
17th – 20th March 2014, Geneva, Switzerland
Mr. President, Hon. Colleagues, Excellencies, distinguished Guests,
On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, I wish to take this opportunity to convey to President Radi and the entire Inter-Parliamentary Union the greetings from our Assembly, and recall the historical links between us.
Our Assembly has been very active in recent years in addressing the key challenges related to the democratic transitions, which our region is experiencing.
We are fully committed to facilitate the rapid solution of the Syrian crisis, where millions of innocents are risking their lives every day.
A few months ago, a PAM delegation visited Damascus to convey key messages from the United Nations Secretary General and the European Union. Our delegates succeeded in supporting, with the help of the Syrian Parliament, a number of requests by the UN for them to be able to work more efficiently in the war-torn country. At the eve of the Geneva II Conference, at the request of Mr. Brahimi, we also organized a number of bilateral meetings between the Syrian Parliament delegation and MPs from Arab countries attending our Plenary Session in Marseille, to ensure inter-parliamentary dialogue in support of the peace process.
Parliamentary diplomacy and democracy are at the core of our work, and, more recently, our delegates also undertook additional visits to Amman, Ramallah, Jerusalem, New York and, last week, Cairo, to promote peace, stability, respect for international law, democratic transitions and human rights, as well as fighting terrorism. PAM missions to Moscow and Tripoli will take place in the coming days.
A major challenge for our region remains unemployment. We have engaged very seriously with institutions such as the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank on socio-economic issues, which are critical to stabilization and progress, such as Job Creation and Fight to Corruption, in addition to enhanced Education for all.
These are the areas on which we wish to build further our cooperation with the IPU.
Thank you very much for your attention and wish you a successful conference.