Nimish Kumar, The Parliament Journal.
ParlAmericas commemorated its 19 th Plenary Assembly, convening parliamentarians from the Americas and the Caribbean to exchange perspectives and reflections on parliamentary diplomacy.
The event was organised in response to a request for training by women parliamentarians in order to support their work to achieve inclusive and effective outcomes for their constituents and the continued implementation of the National Policy for Gender Equality (2011). The event also builds on efforts underway in the Parliament of Jamaica to establish a bi-cameral women’s caucus.
The meeting opened with statements by the Honourable Olivia Grange, OJ, CD, MP, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport and Deputy Leader of the House and Ms. Tonni Brodber, Representative, UN Women Multi-Country Office-Caribbean. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Rosina Wiltshire, Gender and Development Specialist, to provide grounding for the discussions and inspiration on the crucial role of women parliamentarians in advancing gender equality.
Throughout the retreat, discussions were held on promoting women’s political participation, gender equality concepts in relation to legislative work, and ongoing gender equality initiatives in Jamaica supported by presentations by Mrs. Alicia Bowen-McCulskie, Programme Coordinator, Spotlight Initiative Jamaica and Mrs. Sharon Coburn Robinson, Principal Director, Bureau of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport. Dialogue also focused on opportunities for collaboration among women parliamentarians on priority issues that transcend politics such as gender-based violence including family violence and capacity building on applying a gender perspective in legislative work. The retreat ended with a presentation on gender-sensitive approaches to legislative review led by UN Women MCO-Caribbean with support from ParlAmericas.
The decision-makers in attendance reached consensus on the importance of trust and a commitment to honest communication and collaborative advocacy on issues specific to women and children in the legislative space; learning more about and prioritizing people-centred approaches in legislative work; and to hosting a follow-up meeting by March 2023.
This activity was made possible with the support of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative and the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada. For more information about our work, see our respective websites and social media: ParlAmericas (website and Twitter); UN Women Caribbean (website and Twitter); and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport (website and Twitter).
Throughout the meeting, participants analyzed the relevance of parliamentary diplomacy as an instrument in the context of current global issues and the role of ParlAmericas as the hemispheric entity with a mandate to promote parliamentary participation in the inter-American system. These discussions were prefaced by the keynote address, “Strengthening multilateralism in the Americas and the Caribbean,” delivered by former Vice-President of the Republic of Costa Rica Epsy Campbell.
Parliamentarians reasserted the importance of continuing to work collaboratively, as well as from an intersectional and intercultural perspective, on issues of regional importance, such as gender equality, sustainable development, migration, social justice, transparency and integrity, and the promotion and protection of human rights.
Senator Blanca Ovelar (Paraguay), President of ParlAmericas, emphasized that “by practicing parliamentary diplomacy through ParlAmericas, we reaffirm the value of parliamentary work and endorse the democratic convictions that unite us and upon which the inter-American system has been built.” In turn, Member of the National Assembly Wilma Andrade (Ecuador), Vice-President for South America of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network and moderator of the dialogue session, noted that “multilateralism, regional integration, and globalization demand an increasingly active participation of parliaments in international affairs as trustees of the people’s will.”
During the Plenary Assembly, certain positions on the ParlAmericas Board of Directors were re-elected, with Senator Blanca Ovelar (Paraguay) resuming the presidency and the Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George (Trinidad and Tobago), Speaker of the House of Representatives, resuming the vice-presidency. Sub-regional representatives were also elected: Canada and Mexico for North America; Costa Rica and Nicaragua for Central America; Colombia, Guyana, and Suriname for South America; and Barbados and Jamaica for the Caribbean. In addition, Member of the Chamber of Deputies Daniela Cicardini (Chile) announced that the National Congress of Chile will host the 7 thGathering of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network in 2023.
The 19 th Plenary Assembly concluded with closing remarks from the host, Honourable Representative Jezmi Barraza (Colombia), Vice-President for South America of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality, who noted, “we have satisfactorily concluded these demanding days.” She also referred to the important debates that had taken place on the care economy: “The gathering was an exercise in participatory governance and a seed was planted in each of us to work on the restructuring of the regulatory public policy frameworks in each of our countries.” https://www.parlamericas.org/en/news/2022.aspx