President of Parliament Hon. Drs. Rodolphe Samuel will be leading a delegation of faction leaders to the 9th Plenary Assembly of ParlAmericas that runs from August 30 to September 1, in Panama City.
The delegation who will be observers at the Assembly, departs the country on Tuesday, and comprises of Acting Faction Leader of the United Peoples (UP) party and Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Drs. Gracita Arrindell, National Alliance Faction Leader MP Hon. George Pantophlet and Independent MP Hon. Romain Laville.
ParlAmericas is Parliamentarians for the Americas. It is an independent network composed of national legislatures of 35 states from North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.
This year’s Plenary Assembly will discuss the following four key issues: the impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Americas; the Economic Crisis and its Effects on Women in the Region; Weak Rule of the Law, as a Threat to Citizen Security; and Climate Change and the Environment.
Members of ParlAmericas are committed to promoting parliamentary participation in the Inter-American system. They are also engaged in developing inter-parliamentary dialogue on relevant hemispheric issues.
ParlAmericas objectives are to contribute to the development of inter-parliamentary dialogue in dealing with issues on the hemispheric agenda; to increase the sharing of experiences, dialogue, and inter-parliamentary cooperation on issues of common interest to member states.
To help strengthen the role of the legislative branch in democracy, and in the promotion and defence of democracy and human rights; to promote the harmonization of legislation, and development of legislation among member states; and to contribute to the process of integration as one of the most appropriate instruments for sustainable and harmonious development in the hemisphere.
The process to establish ParlAmericas started in 2000 and was formalized later as the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas which up until September 2011 was called as the aforementioned, and thereafter it became known as ParlAmericas.