WASHINGTON, CMC – The Speaker of the St. Lucia Parliament, Claudius J. Francis, Wednesday urged member countries of the Organisation of American States (OAS) to support the efforts aimed at promoting inclusive economic growth by boosting the care economy, combating climate change and strengthening democracies by promoting transparency and public integrity.
Addressing the OAS Permanent Council, Francis, who is also a member of the ParlAmericas Board of Directors, said there had been constructed in a collaborative spirit that seeks to bring together a variety of state and non-state actors under the premise of working together to advance the transformations demanded by the citizens of the Americas and the Caribbean.
“As legislators, we know that our forums, and their outcome documents, can support this objective and common purpose,” he said in his virtual address.
Francis said that this year, ParlAmericas would dedicate its efforts to working on issues including migration, the fight against disinformation, and computational propaganda and how this affects democracies.
He said the issue of food sovereignty and food insecurity, the compounding effect of the climate crises, and the current global context “that is exacerbating our ability as countries to ensure the basic needs of our citizens are met” will also be addressed.
“All pressing challenges within our hemisphere which form part of your agenda for political discussions and technical work here at the OAS, and which have likewise been identified as top priorities by our parliamentary membership,” Francis said, adding that the presence of the. ParlAmericas “is to reaffirm before you our will to be proactive partners in the construction of a better future for the people of the Americas and the Caribbean.
“In a global climate of uncertainty and polarisation, it is more necessary than ever that the ties that bind us together are reinforced, that the channels of dialogue are open so that we can transform our common aspirations into concrete actions,” Francis said.
Francis told the OAS Permanent Council, which Dr. Francisco Guerrero also attended, Secretary for Strengthening Democracy at the Organization of American States and an ex officio member of the ParlAmericas Board of Directors, said the organization’s work over the past year provides the possibilities for strengthening necessary collaborations at the highest level in the Inter-American System.
“As part of our founding mandate to be the vehicle for parliamentary participation in the Inter-American system, ParlAmericas has been facilitating parliamentary engagement in the Summits of the Americas process,” he said, noting that since its formal inauguration in 2001, ParlAmericas has facilitated the participation of parliamentarians in each of the Summits after that.
He said the Ninth Summit of the Americas marked an important milestone in the organization’s history as the Heads of State and Government “reaffirmed our role as an integral part of the Summit’s process through a mandate to that end.
“Our membership welcomed such recognition as an opportunity to better articulate our work with the actions agreed upon at the highest level in the Inter-American System to address common challenges in a coordinated manner.”
He said that the thematic priorities addressed in the inter-parliamentary meeting spaces that ParlAmericas has convened over the past year “are a testament to our commitment to align and contribute to the far-reaching efforts made by different bodies in the Inter-American system to overcome structural problems in our countries.”
He highlighted the ParlAmericas declarations adopted by parliamentarians from the Americas and the Caribbean in these inter-parliamentary gatherings, saying “they demonstrate the willingness of hundreds of legislators from the hemisphere to contribute in a substantive way to addressing some of the most complex problems facing the hemisphere.
He said these declarations present legislative commitments related to various issues broadly categorized under three thematic pillars: democracy and good governance, climate change and sustainable development, and gender equality and inclusion.
“ParlAmericas declarations are the result of pluralistic dialogues that capture – in addition to the perspectives of lawmakers – the voices of specialists, representatives of multilateral organizations, civil society, and youth from across the hemisphere,” Francis added.
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