The Speaker of the St. Lucia Parliament, Claudius J. Francis, Wednesday, urged member countries of the Organization 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 these have 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 this year, ParlAmericas will dedicate its efforts to working on issues including migration, the fight against disinformation and computational propaganda and how this is affecting 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 own 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 with the purpose of reaffirming 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 polarization, 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 was also attended by Dr. Francisco Guerrero, 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 thereafter.
He said the ninth Summit of the Americas marked an important milestone in the history of the organization 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.
CMC
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