Parliaments will have to play a central role in the implementation of the future Sustainable Development goals, with policies and plans drawn up through participatory and inclusive processes. This is the vision to which nearly 120 national parliamentary delegations from around the world have committed themselves at the end of the 128th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly held between 22-27 March 2013, in Quito, Ecuador. The main theme addressed by the IPU Assembly was “From unrelenting growth to purposeful development – Buen Vivir”, and it was chosen as a contribution to the global reflection on the post 2015 development agenda and the future Sustainable Development Goals.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) was among the leading regional parliamentary organizations participating at the Assembly. PAM was represented by Secretary General, Ambassador Sergio Piazzi.
Participation, transparency and accountability were once again declared as key pillars of democracy and of the way democracy applies to the functioning of governments at all levels – global, national and local – and in response to citizens’ needs.
PAM’s core issues and values of peace, stability and solidarity were at the centre of the debate on the well-being, in all its dimensions, of the global community. Job creation, youth employment, public-private partnerships, green energy, climate change, gender inequality, education, health and culture were also among the key issues highlighted as factors leading to greater economic and social growth.
To this effect, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) will organize, in cooperation with the United Nations Trade and Productive Capacity Cluster, the high-level inter-governmental conference “Harnessing Trade for Growth in the Mediterranean”. The event will take place on 30-31 May 2013 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and UNCTAD.
The main objective of the conference is to define specific policies and operational instruments to stimulate growth in the region, and to adopt tailored recommendations in support of SMEs, infrastructures, investments and job creation in the Mediterranean. It will gather over 200 parliamentarians, representatives of governments, entrepreneurs, investment promotion agencies and academics from the whole Mediterranean basin and from all UN member states, together with experts of the major international and regional financial institutions active in the area.
PAM’s Strategic and Action Plan for the next 5 years is focusing on these issues and through its network of parliamentary dialogue, PAM will continue to strengthen its position as the Centre of Excellence where all the stakeholders can count on a consolidated platform to debate and exchange ideas, projects and best practices. PAM’s commitment encompasses the most urgent challenges in the political, economic and social spheres of the Mediterranean region and through its cooperation and collaboration agreements with the major international and regional institutions, it manages to keep high on the agenda of the region the requirements and aspirations of the citizens, from North to South.
PAM has always believed that the participation of all citizens in the decisions that affect the personal, social and environmental context is a key dimension of the well-being principles considered as core values by the IPU Assembly in view of the Sustainable Development Goals after 2015. “The citizen remains the main focus of PAM’s actions and our successes and failures can only be measured through the concrete impact that we leave in the everyday life of the populations of the Mediterranean”, Dr. Piazzi commented.
The internal conflict in Syria was also among the major international issues discussed during the Assembly. Proposals for an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population were amply debated. On this issue PAM has been highly operational and has put its parliamentary network at the full disposal of UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoys for Syria, H.E. Kofi Annan and H.E. Lakhdar Brahimi respectively. With regards to the Middle East in general PAM will also organize in the coming weeks a High level mission to the region with visits to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman and Beirut. A number of bilateral meetings were held in Quito between PAM and the delegation of Syria, led by H.E. Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, Speaker of the parliament.
PAM Secretary General was also engaged in a number of bilateral meetings withother delegations from PAM member parliaments attending the Quito Meeting. The economic crisis and the democratic processes in the region were discussed in view of PAM’s commitment towards the achievement and the consolidation of stability in the Mediterranean.