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| 3rd Executive Committee Meeting The Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) held its third meeting in Mexico City on March 13, 2002. Participants from five countries attended the meeting, representing the four sub-regions of the Americas. (The list of participants is given in Annex 1). The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere and was marked by the spirit of cooperation. Opening Address The meeting was opened by Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, Interim President of FIPA, who thanked the representatives of the host country for their work in preparation for the Plenary, and for the hospitality demonstrated by their parliament. Senator Hervieux-Payette welcomed the new member of the Committee, Mr. Carlos Santiago Najera of Guatemala, and presented the working agenda for the meeting Report on Progress in Preparations for the Plenary The delegate from Mexico, Senator Silvia Hernández, asked the coordinator of the event, Mrs. María Amparo Canto, report to the Committee on the latest progress in preparations for the meeting. Mrs. Canto noted that as of that moment 83 delegates from 21 countries had confirmed their attendance, in addition to the 15 members of the Mexican delegation. She also reported that the logistics for the meeting had been completed; that the press would play an active role in the event, and that the working sessions of the Plenary will be broadcast live on Mexico’s Congressional Channel. With respect to the participation of the United States delegation, Madam President of the Forum, together with the representative from Mexico, informed the Committee of the promotional efforts being carried out in Washington, explaining that despite the expressions of enthusiasm and desire to attend by the various members of Congress, pressing matters prevented their absence during the week of the Plenary Meeting. Senator Hernández was nevertheless able to confirm that a delegate from the United States Congress would be participating in Working Group I by means of videoconference. In addition, she noted that a letter from Senator Thomas Daschle would be read to the Plenary in which he expresses his interest in the Forum and regret at being unable to attend the Meeting. Adoption of the Working Agenda for the Plenary The Executive Committee reviewed and approved the latest version of the timetable and working agenda for the Meeting, and decided to submit these to the Assembly for adoption. Confirmation of the Working Groups The Executive Committee discussed the membership of the working groups and appointed the respective chairpersons as shown below: Working Group I: Legal instruments dealing with security The Committee also agreed that the reports containing the conclusions and recommendations of each working group should be drafted in a single language. Afterwards, they would be sent for translation into all four languages for distribution during the Plenary. Special observer status for the Andean Parliament and the Confederación Parlamentaria de las Américas – COPA In accordance with the procedures established in FIPA’s Regulations, the Executive Committee took up requests for special observer status from the Andean Parliament and the COPA, deciding to recommend their approval by the Plenary. Motion in support of the parliamentary declaration initiative for the Development Finance Conference to be held in Monterrey. The Executive Committee decided to draw up a statement of support for the parliamentary initiative to prepare and submit a declaration at the Development Finance Conference in Monterrey. The drafting of this motion was entrusted to the representative from Canada, John Godfrey, and the representative from Argentina, Marcelo Stubrin. It was also decided to send a representative to the International Meeting of Parliamentarians which will take place on March 16th in Mexico City, for personal delivery of the FIPA message. Motions to be Presented to the Plenary The Committee examined and approved the motions to be presented for consideration by the Plenary Meeting. The procedure to be followed for the consideration of private motions submitted by delegates at the Plenary Meeting was also discussed. It was decided that all such motions must be taken up in advance in the working groups or approved by the Executive Committee before being presented to the Plenary. The Executive Committee recommended that this procedure be enacted by means of an addition to the FIPA Regulations, and decided to present a motion to this effect for consideration by the Plenary Meeting. Other Business The President reported to the Committee on her discussions with members of the Haitian community in Canada who requested that the Forum take up the status of Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. Given the limited time available in the working agenda, the Committee decided that this topic should be considered by the working group dealing with immigration matters. The President then reported on the progress of the “Virtual Parliament of the Americas” project, noting for the Committee’s benefit the interest that the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas has expressed in that project, and the participation of Bellanet International and the Parliamentary Centre in the project’s technical direction. Concerning a site for the next Plenary, the President indicated that Panama’s National Assembly had expressed interest and promised to discuss the matter with that country’s delegation to confirm its intention to host the 2003 Meeting.
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