The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, represented by PAM Honorary President, Senator Francesco Amoruso and by PAM vice-President Bilal Kassem, took part at the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), held in St. Petersburg on 14-18 October 2017.
PAM has established very close relations with the IPU, and jointly with the Parliament of Malta, in mid-November they are organising an international conference in Malta on “Promoting better regional cooperation towards smart and humane migration across
the Mediterranean”.
On the margins of the Conference, Sen. Amoruso and Hon. Bilal had a bilateral meeting with the delegation from the Parliament of Syria. The discussions covered, inter alia, the outcome of the latest PAM high level mission to the Middle East and the forthcoming second phase of the mission which will include Egypt, Lebanon and possibly Syria, according to the situation on the ground.
Senator Francesco Amoruso took the floor at the IPU Assembly and underscored that PAM is convinced that inter religious and intercultural dialogue, together with the acceptance of common fundamental values, like democracy, the respect of human dignity and the rule of law, are the best instruments available to fight the threats of extremism and violence.
“Religious authorities play a pivotal role in the promotion of peaceful coexistence and integration in respect of the national laws of the host country”, the PAM Honorary President said.
It is important to remember that a true dialogue among cultures can only take place only if human rights and fundamental liberties, including freedom of speech, of religion and conscience are protected and safeguarded
Parliamentarians have the responsibility and the duty to adopt laws necessary to fight hatred, discrimination and intolerance. Such legal provisions should conform to international obligations in matters of human rights and asylum. To this effect PAM regularly organises seminars for its parliamentarians, with the assistance of the UN Agencies for human rights and refugees, the Alliance for Civilisations in Geneva, the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg, aimed at strengthening the Assembly’s potential to act constructively.
Furthermore, PAM is truly committed as a matter of priority, to promote more investments dedicated to youths and education, and in offering them, opportunities for socio-economic progress in order to be better equipped to face their current and future challenges, including lack of jobs and the possible radicalisation which may derive.
In his final comment Sen. Amoruso said: “There can be no peace without tolerance, and there can be no tolerance without dialogue and mutual respect”.