FIPA - Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas

Report of the 9th Meeting of the Executive Committee
Valparaíso, Chile
March 31, 2004

1. Introduction
The ninth meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) took place in the National Congress of Chile in Valparaíso on March 31, 2004.

Eight parliamentarians representing six of the nine member countries on the Executive Committee attended the meeting, as listed in Annex 1.

The main objectives of this meeting were to learn about preparations for the Third Plenary Assembly, to establish how the working groups of the Assembly would operate, to consider resolutions to present to the plenary and to discuss other matters raised by the members.

2. Opening of the Meeting
The President of FIPA, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette of Canada, welcomed the parliamentarians attending and introduced Congressman Luis A. Molinari as the new representative of Argentina.

The President then reviewed the proposed working agenda and, once it was approved by the Committee members, the deliberations began.

3. Preparations for the Plenary Assembly
As representative of the host country, Senator Sergio Romero of Chile presented a report on preparations for the 3rd Plenary Assembly which would begin the next day. He said that the logistic arrangements for the meeting had been completed.

Senator Romero also explained the schedule for the meeting in detail and reported on the participants registered to date.

4. Operation of Working Groups of the Plenary Assembly
Committee members discussed the objectives of the working groups and reviewed the proposed rules of procedure for the operation of these groups.

The Committee also appointed chairs for the working groups as follows:
The group on taxation issues would be chaired by Brazilian Congressman Luiz-Carlos Hauly;
the group on the FTAA would be chaired by Canadian Member of Parliament Don Boudria; and the special group on terrorism would be chaired by Mexican Senator Raymundo Cárdenas.

5. Consideration of Committee Resolutions
Committee members discussed and approved the resolution to be presented for approval to the Plenary Assembly regarding the official incorporation of FIPA member legislatures and how the Forum would be financed.

The members also tasked the technical secretariat with drafting a resolution to reaffirm the commitment of FIPA to democratic values in the Americas and to reject interference into the affairs of parliamentarians exercising their duties.

6. Situation in Haiti
The members of the Executive Committee expressed their concern with the events in Haiti and the political situation in that country.

The President of FIPA reported on the communication from the Speaker of the Senate of Haiti on the restrictions imposed by the executive in his country which prevented Haitian parliamentarians from participating in the Third Plenary Assembly of FIPA. On this point, the Committee members rejected the government's interference with the functions of legislators in the performance of their duties and emphasized the importance of respecting the principle of the separation of powers of the branches of government.

Finally, the parliamentarians present confirmed Haiti's place on the Executive Committee of FIPA and asked the President to inform the Speaker of the Senate of Haiti of this decision.

7. Annexes

7.1 Annex 1 - Participants

Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette (CANADA)
President of FIPA

Mateo Barney (CANADA)
Secretary of the Executive Committee

NORTH AMERICA
Don Boudria, M.P. (CANADA)

CENTRAL AMERICA
Mario Calderón (COSTA RICA)
Carlos S. Nájera (GUATEMALA)

CARIBBEAN

SOUTH AMERICA
Luiz-Carlos Hauly (BRAZIL)
Luis A. Molinari (ARGENTINA)

HOST COUNTRY OF THE PLENARY ASSEMBLY
Senator Sergio Romero (CHILE)
Waldo Mora (CHILE)

OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Roberto Bustos (SENATE-CHILE)
Estela Cárdenas (SENATE-MEXICO)
Sabra Ripley (FIPA-CANADA)



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