Press Releases

Speaker of the House, Hon. Raphael G.C Trotman, is in Lima, Peru to attend the First Meeting of Legislative Presidents of Organization of American States (OAS) member countries to be held during the 17th and 18th of July of 2014.

With every new day it becomes more indispensable for the Parliaments of the Americas to respond to their stakeholders’ demands for economic development, social inclusion and competitiveness. This meeting is, therefore, bringing together, for the first time since the OAS was created, the heads of Congresses and Houses of Assembly member states, and will provide, an excellent opportunity to bring legislators closer together to allow for a fruitful exchange of experiences.
In this sense, one of the main objectives established is to build a common regional agenda on specific topics and to foster the institutional capacities necessary for the correct engagement of the legislative institutions and integrating Parliaments of the continent in modernization programs.  The meeting is expected to allow for articulating coherently the different efforts on legislative support and improvement carried out by the different agencies of cooperation.

The meeting will see participants discussing the following topics:
• Enhancing Contact with the Citizens: A Fundamental Challenge for the Legislative Institutions in the 21st century.
• Transparency and Accountability in Parliamentarian Activity: Are there Open Parliaments?
• The Parliament as a Key Player in the Collaborative Dialogue for Sustainable Economic Development, Climate Change and Social Inclusion
• The Role of Women in Political Representation: Achievements, Challenges and Realities.
These topics are intended to serve as the content of the Meeting, and also as a reference to the possible political accords that will bring legitimacy to the actions that stem from it. Additionally, these topics are at the forefront of the discussions related to political representation, governance, political dialogue and democracy. They are also coherent with other regional efforts directed towards the strengthening of parliaments.

Another intention under this initiative is to promote, through the institutionalization of a space for exchange and parliamentarian diplomacy, greater coherency and coordination in the joint actions of regional organizations and national parliaments. The Section for the Support of Representative Institutions of the Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions of the Secretariat for Political Affairs of the OAS has committed its support towards attaining the previous goal, which would lead to actively integrating the actions of the different regional parliamentary forums and regional parliaments not only with each other, but also with those of other regions and with the civil society organizations that monitor legislative activity.