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| Report on the 12th meeting of the Executive Committee IntroductionThe 12th meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Form of the Americas (FIPA) took place on May 18, 2005, in the precinct of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, at the kind invitation of Deputy Luiz-Carlos Hauly. The meeting preceded the opening of the deliberations of FIPA’s Fourth Plenary Assembly in Brasilia, May 19-21, 2005. Seven of the nine members of the Executive Committee attended, as can be seen from the list of participants in Appendix 1. The meeting’s main objectives were to update the Committee members on the preparations for the Fourth Plenary Assembly and to define the way the Assembly's working groups would operate. Call to order and approval of the agendaDeputy Luiz-Carlos Hauly welcomed the participants and then ceded to the floor to Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, Chair of the Executive Committee. After reviewing and approving the agenda, the members began their deliberations. Report on the preparations for the Fourth Plenary AssemblyDeputy Hauly updated the members on the preparations for the Fourth Plenary, noting that almost 90 parliamentarians from some 15 countries had registered. He also told the Committee that Foreign Minister Celso Amorim had accepted an invitation to make a presentation on the progress on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata. Operation of the working groups and other questions related to the Plenary AssemblyThe Committee then reviewed the program for each of the working groups. Working Group on the FTAAThe Chair of the Executive Committee announced that in the absence the Chair of the FTAA Working Group, Canadian MP Don Boudria, Senator James Kelleher of Canada, would lead the group's first session. Working Group on TerrorismSenator Silvia Hernández of Mexico, chair of the Working Group on Terrorism, discussed her group’s preparations, telling the Committee about the participation of experts from the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Committee on Terrorism and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). She reminded the members that the UNODC had put together a Legislative Guide to the Universal Anti-Terrorism Conventions and Protocols for the use of parliamentarians. The representatives from Honduras and Argentina and the President of FIPA told the Committee about the progress accomplished in their respective countries regarding legislation against terrorism. Working Group on Foreign DebtDeputy Luis Molinari Romero, in charge of coordinating the work of the foreign debt group, said that its discussions would tackle the impact of the debt problem on the quality of democracy and the role of parliaments. Honduran Deputy Jack Arévalo and Brazilian Deputy João Paulo Gomes da Silva (who attended the meeting as a special guest) spoke about the harmful consequences of economic crises on citizens’ confidence of in the democratic system. Senator Hervieux-Payette said it was important that a framework be defined for states in a condition of bankruptcy so that they could arrive at a more transparent and fairer system for their citizens. Senator Alejandro Velázquez of Paraguay approved the approach taken by his Argentinian colleague and observed that the problem of corruption should also figure in the discussions. Fourth Summit of the AmericasThe Chair of the Executive Committee noted that the Fourth Plenary was preceding the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata (November 4 and 5) and that the themes of debt and the FTAA were closely linked to the Summit’s theme: “Creating jobs to fight poverty and strengthen democratic governance”. She said she was determined that FIPA would be represented at the Summit in Mar del Plata, despite the difficulty of obtaining official recognition from the FTAA authorities. Other questions related to the Plenary AssemblyThe Chair reminded the members that elections were held to replace half the Committee's regional representatives at the last session. She also said that Mr Bruce Fox, of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, would be speaking to each of the working groups to invite parliamentarians to participate in the Government Procurement Conference of the Americas, scheduled for Atlanta at the end of October 2005. Administrative mattersThe Chair informed the Committee of the forthcoming conclusion of negotiations with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CIDA’s financial assistance would be in addition to contributions from member parliaments, and would ensure that FIPA’s Technical Secretariat could function for two years. In particular, the funding would be used to hire a part-time communications officer. The representative of Argentina pointed out that it was important to diversify FIPA’s sources of funding and to make optimal use of the available resources. Other businessThe Executive Committee concluded its meeting by discussing upcoming projects for the Forum. The Argentinian delegate put forward the idea of creating a permanent training network within FIPA to help enhance the efficiency of parliamentarians’ work. The network could offer parliamentarians training at the sub-regional level in such areas as trade negotiations, public services and fiscal and budgetary policy. The representative of Mexico supported the proposal, which would enable FIPA to stand out by offering parliamentarians a concrete way of improving the quality of their work. The Chair proposed that this idea be examined at the next meeting of the Executive Committee which, in the meantime, would make it possible to study the progress of the training project on trade proposed in collaboration with Carleton University's Centre for Trade Policy and Law. She also took the opportunity inform Committee members about the mission to Haiti, proposed by the Women Parliamentarians of the Americas’ group, to lend support to the democratic process by encouraging women’s participation in elections. The Chair declared the 12th meeting of the Executive Committee adjourned. AppendixAppendix 1: List of participantsMEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President of FIPA North America Central America South America Host country of the Plenary FIPA TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT OTHER PARTICIPANTS
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