Interparliamentary Activities and Reports
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Results: 821 - 830 of 912
July 22, 2020
Extraordinary Meeting of the Committee on the Middle East Questions
By videoconference
Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU)
The MEQ was formed in 1987 by the IPU Governing Council to follow the peace process in the region. It is comprised of 14 members with experience or keen interest relating to the Middle East, and each member of the committee is elected by the Governing Council of the IPU for a period of 4 years. Members of the Committee encourage contact between parliamentarians from all sides of the Israeli and Palestinian parliaments, neighbouring countries and members of the Quartet of peace mediators (United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia) and strives to strengthen ties between parliamentarians of the region. Though the Committee meets in private, it prepares and submits reports to the IPU’s Governing Council.
July 22, 2020
Gender-Responsiveness and Disaster Resilience During the COVID-19 Crisis
By videoconference
Canadian Section of ParlAmericas (CPAM)
Gale Rigobert, St. Lucia’s Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, welcomed everyone to the meeting, following which Tonni Brodber, Acting Head of Office at the UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean, Andy Daniel, Speaker of St. Lucia’s House of Assembly, and Elizabeth Cabezas, President of ParlAmericas and a member of Ecuador’s National Assembly, provided opening remarks. Ms. Rigobert also moderated a session during which presentations on the topic of gender inequality in disaster and crisis situations were made by: Angie Dazé, Senior Policy Advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD); Kyana Bowen, Programme Officer at the UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean; and Elizabeth Riley, Acting Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
Ms. Dazé explained that gender interacts with other factors – including age, disability, ethnicity and sexual orientation – to influence people's vulnerability to climate change and disasters. She outlined three components of a gender-responsive approach to building climate and disaster resilience: a recognition of gender differences in needs and capacities for managing climate and disaster risks; gender-equitable participation and influence in planning and decision-making processes; and gender-equitable access to financial servicese. Finally, Ms. Dazé presented some of the IISD's work relating to gender-responsiveness, climate change and disaster risk management.
Ms. Bowen described some ways in which disaster-preparedness planning and response can be gender-transformative, leading to lasting changes in gender norms. She noted that, when compared to most other parts of the world, the Caribbean is subject to more natural hazards, such as hurricanes, floods, sea level changes, drought and earthquakes. Ms. Bowen also discussed the ways in which planning for such hazards can be gender-transformative at the home, community, national and regional levels. Finally, she summarized some of the UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms. Riley outlined various types of hazards that are common in the Caribbean region, including earthquakes, storm surges, flooding and volcanic eruptions. She underscored that the number of Atlantic hurricanes in 2020 is already higher than normal, and that – with the additional challenges resulting from the pandemic – countries face a complex, multi-hazard scenario that will make disaster response more difficult. Ms. Riley explained that, as an agency of the Caribbean Community, CDEMA supports countries in their efforts to mobilize and coordinate disaster relief, among other things. She described the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean region, and highlighted a rise in the intensity of tropical storms and the damage they cause. Ms. Riley also emphasized the importance of resilience, and stated that CDEMA considers gender to be a cross-cutting theme in all of its work. Finally, she commented on the number of cases of COVID-19 in the region and discussed ways in which the Caribbean could deal with hurricane season in the context of the pandemic.
Following the presentations, several participants spoke briefly about some resources that parliamentarians may wish to use when addressing issues of gender equality, climate change and disaster risk reduction. Jack Hardcastle, Program Assistant at the Secretariat to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), noted a climate change toolkit designed specifically for small island states that the CPA has published.
Speaker Daniel presented two publications: COVID-19: An Analysis of the Legislative Agenda and the Centering of Gender Equality in Legislative Responses, co-authored by ParlAmericas and Directorio Legislativo; and the Parliamentary Protocol for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, authored by ParlAmericas.
Massimiliano Tozzi, Project Manager at the United Nations Development Programme, commented on the project “Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER).” He said that the project aims to ensure that actions relating to climate change and disaster risk reduction are informed by an analysis of gender inequalities, and are designed to alleviate existing inequalities.
Following a discussion in which participants shared their countries’ best practices regarding gender-responsiveness and disaster resilience, Ms. Brodber and Chester Humphrey, Vice-President (Caribbean) of ParlAmericas’ Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality and President of Grenada’s Senate, gave closing remarks.
July 20 - 24, 2020
CPA Post Election Seminar, House of Assembly of Anguilla
By videoconference
Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CCOM)
July 15, 2020
Joint Interparliamentary Council (ICCI) Meeting -- # 182 -- By videoconference
July 15, 2020
Parliamentary Forum on the occasion of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
By videoconference
Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU)
The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU), led a delegation of parliamentarians composed of the Honourable Peter Boehm, Senator, the Honourable Kim Pate, Senator, Ms. Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Ms. Iqra Khalid, M.P. and Mr. Sven Spengemann, M.P. The delegates heard presentations from experts and discussed the importance of increasing support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with fellow parliamentarians. Speakers emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need to transition to more sustainable and equitable economic models all the more apparent. Mr. McGuinty and Senator Boehm spoke on behalf of the delegation, highlighting the cross-sectional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pursuing the SDGs and the need to translate principles into evidence-based policies that can win the support of constituents.
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