PAM President, Hon. Pedro Roque and Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi, participated at the 139th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union which took place in Geneva on 14-18 October 2018. The theme of the General Debate was dedicated to “Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in the age of innovation and technological change”.
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean in his speech to the Assembly referred to the rapid progress of technological and scientific innovation which is posing both challenges and opportunities in all spheres including security, sustainable development, energy, water, and food sectors. “To enact timely and effective legislation, parliamentarians should engage in multi-lateral international platforms to exchange ideas and best practices with experts and other stakeholders”, PAM President Roque added.
In terms of peace and security, law enforcement can also benefit from proactively using cyberspace and new technologies to better track and prosecute terrorists, their supporters, and financiers. In this regard, it is the duty of MPs to respond with timely legislation, and to ensure it is harmonious with that of other countries and is in line with international instruments, such as the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to facilitate international cooperation among law enforcement, and interoperability of legal terminology. For this reason, PAM works closely with the key UN agencies mandated to counter terrorism and transnational and cyber crime, in order to harmonize national legislations to ensure the effectiveness of the international efforts to combat these evolving threats.
Hon. Roque recalled that scientific and technological progress is ultimately rooted in research and education, and PAM considers this as a top priority. For this reason the Assembly has created the PAM Academic Platform.
The Platform is a mechanism, which gathers academics and different experts together with parliamentarians, to provide MPs with the state of the art information on key issues, including scientific and technological progress. On the other hand, the Platform provides Academia and the productive sector with direct access to decision makers.
PAM also participated in an event for the Heads of international parliaments to brainstorm and further explore modalities to enhance inter-parliamentary cooperation. It was agreed that PAM will assist the IPU in defining a matrix of suggested follow-up actions. On PAM’s side, the areas of excellence identified include Migrations, Counter Terrorism, Confidence building, Humanitarian access and Protection of civilians, Human Rights, Electoral Observation missions, Academia and the Private Sector, and cooperation with Financial institutions on job creation, investments and trade facilitation.
On the side-lines of the conference, the PAM delegation also had a number of meetings with delegations of Portugal, Italy, San Marino, France, Morocco, Monaco, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar and those of OSCE PA and the OHCHR.
In conclusion, PAM urged fellow parliamentarians to closely follow technological progress, to invest into science and education, and to engage in multi-lateral dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders, so one can seize the benefits of progress and innovation to improve the lives of the people of the Euro-Mediterranean region.