On 3 June 2021, the 3rd Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) on Dialogue among Civilizations and Human Rights, held its high-level debate on the opening day of the 15th PAM Plenary Session. The event was chaired by Committee President, Hon. Yana Chiara Ehm (Italy).
As a key priority, the Committee discussed and expressed grave concern about the current surge in domestic violence, mainly affecting women and girls. Hon. Sandrine Mörch (France), the PAM Rapporteur on the issue, informed the Assembly of the worrying trends showing a spike in domestic violence, exacerbated by the pandemic. MPs engaged in a productive debate sharing national experiences on the issue, including through the emergence of IT applications. The Rapporteur recommended for all PAM Members States to apply the Istanbul Convention as a tool for legislative action on this issue. This is correct only for MS that are OSCE members, for the others PAM members , members of the African Union it’s the Maputo Protocol, we can’t call for Algeria to apply the Istanbul Convention for example. I suggest to write “The Rapporteur recommended for all PAM Member States to apply the existing legislative tools i.e. the Maputo Protocol and the Istanbul Convention where applicable”.
The Assembly also examined the impact of the emerging use of artificial intelligence on human rights. PAM Rapporteur, Hon. Marianne Amir Azer (Egypt), presented a detailed report, and in a set of recommendations, called on PAM Parliaments to engage in the development of harmonized regional legislative approach to AI. This would help regulate the use of this technology for the benefit of people and ensure full respect of human rights principles.
The meeting benefited from keynote speeches from Mr. Leendert Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and Mr. Vicente Miguel Garcés Ramón, President of the Mediterranean Citizen’s Assembly Foundation (MCAF). Their contributions highlighted the importance of synergy in the efforts among parliamentarians, local governments, and civil society to address common challenges.
A dynamic debate, with interventions from Croatia, the UAE, Palestine, Portugal and Greece, among many others, also raised additional key priorities for the Committee, including the plight of migrants and refugees, who continue to die tragically in the Mediterranean Sea, the importance of education, as an investment into future generations, and the push for gender equality across Mediterranean societies.