The next Plenary Meeting of the FIPA will be held in Mexico City, March 13 - 16, 2002. For the Second Plenary, the concern currently invading the political atmosphere - not precisely terrorism but security - will be the guiding theme. Three working groups will consider different aspects of the main theme and work on recommendations to address common problems. "FIPA must give specific tasks to the legislators, so that it may become a contributor to legislative development and not only a forum where people go to talk", said Mexican Senator Silvia Hernandez, member of the Executive Committee of the FIPA.

The first working group will focus on organized crime, considering topics such as terrorism, arms-trafficking, drug-trafficking and money laundering. The second working group will focus on migration, considering border security systems, social and economic aspects of the phenomenon, and possible solutions. The third group will examine the existing legal instruments in the hemisphere relating to security, particularly those pending of ratification, and will make recommendations to the text of the Inter-American Convention on Terrorism that is being discussed by the governments of the Americas.

A special FTAA conference will provide an update on the progress of the FTAA negotiations by a representative of the Summit of the Americas, as well as a presentation of the document under negotiation by the governments.

Invitations have been sent to the Congresses and Parliaments of the Americas, and participation is expected to be high, as FIPA forges an essential role for legislators in the hemisphere.