PAM Secretary General, Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, met with Heads of Missions and high level representatives of embassies and international organizations, members and partners of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, at the PAM Secretariat in Malta, on 6 October 2017.
The briefing focused on the outcome of the recent PAM high-level missions to the Middle East and to New York, on the occasion of the General Debate of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. PAM’s future activities were also highlighted.
The Secretary General presented an overview of PAM’s activities in the field of Counter-Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Radicalization, Mass Migrations, Regional Economic Cooperation, Dialogue among Civilizations, and Human rights, which represent the current priorities for the Assembly.
With reference to Counter Terrorism, the Secretary General underlined the model cooperation that the Assembly enjoys with the UN Security Council CTED and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system. In this context, he informed the participants of the joint PAM/IPA CIS high-level conference, which will take place in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, on 28-29 November 2017. The event will address the gaps, lack of common terminology and of interoperability among national systems, identified at the recent PAM conference held at the Senate in Rome.
Moreover, in the course of the latest mission to New York, the PAM delegation met with the newly appointed UN Under-Secretary General for the Counter Terrorism Office, Amb. Vladimir Voronkov, who is responsible for establishing a new coordination mechanism within the UN system in order to ensure a coherent approach.
With reference to the Mission to the Middle East, Amb. Sergio Piazzi, emphasized the outcome of the mission, particularly the result of consultations with senior Palestinian and Israeli officials, both parliamentarians and politicians, about the opportunity for a direct dialogue, under the auspices of PAM. For this purpose, the Secretary General is in contact with both sides, as well as the US Administration and the UN.
With reference to Syria and Libya, the Secretary General referred to the discussions held in New York with the UN Department of Political Affairs, and the Regional Bureau for Arab States of UNDP. In particular, on Libya, PAM has been requested to play the role of a clearinghouse and facilitation in relation to the strengthening of the capacity of parliamentary institutions in the country. The Assembly confirmed its full support for the work of the UN Special Envoy for Libya Mr. Ghassan Salamé. About Syria, the PAM Secretary General referred that soon there will be a meeting with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura.
With reference to Migrations, in mid-November, PAM, IPU and the Parliament of Malta, will organize a conference on mass population movements from Africa to Europe. The outcome of this meeting will represent a parliamentary input into the ongoing discussions for a UN Global Compact on Migration and Refugees. Particular attention was given to the cooperation program between PAM and the Pan-African Parliament launched a year ago, in order to associate the national Parliaments of the relevant countries of the South to the discussions. Moreover, in New York the PAM delegation was briefed by the Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel about the UN integrated strategy for Sahel and its five key pillars (security, governance, development, resilience, and regional cooperation), including the work of the G5 Sahel Group.
On Trade Facilitation and Investments, the PAM Secretary General spoke of the joint PAM/WTO parliamentary conference, which took place on 8-9 October, in Rabat, Morocco, and the intention of holding a similar event for the Western Balkans in 2018, following discussions between the PAM SG and the President of the UNGA.
On Climate Change, the Secretary General underlined PAM’s commitment through dedicated events, as well as reports and resolution. Particular attention was given to the PAM proposals and recommendations, such as the introduction of a carbon added tax (CAT), and the need to mitigate future emissions, to increase the absorption capacity of the natural environment and to adapt to climate change. In addition, the Secretary General referred to PAM’s participation and contribution to the forthcoming Conference of Parties (COP) in Bonn and the Parliamentary MEDCOP, which will be organized by PAM in Ouarzarzate, Morocco, in the next future in order to gather all Mediterranean stakeholders, including civil society.