APPENDIX A – RESOLUTIONS OF THE THREE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS

Resolutions of the Working Group on Preparation and Response to Natural Disaster and Emergency Situations

1.FIPA should encourage the parliaments of member nations to make educational programs available to their citizens. Such programs will raise awareness of risks and prepare the procedures to minimize the risks and effects of natural and man-made disasters as well as other emergency situations.

2.FIPA should encourage parliamentarians to ensure a reduced risk of disasters, which should be included in the planning of development programs as a national priority.

3.Parliaments should ensure that construction codes, standards and norms are appropriate in order to deal with the natural and man-made threats in member countries.

4.Revised budgets should take the risk variable into account and guarantee that important buildings such as hospitals and schools comply with the safety standards set out in 2(a).

5.Parliaments should ensure that their governments conduct an environmental impact assessment that includes natural and man-made hazards in development projects.

6.FIPA should encourage the parliaments of member countries to adopt policies that take into account the lessons learned from previous disasters.

7.FIPA should encourage the parliaments of member countries to create monitoring committees to ensure that resources and mechanisms are adopted to respond to technical and decentralized needs in order to meet the demands of the member country.

8.Existing laws on disaster management should be reviewed and re-evaluated to ensure that they refer to disaster risk reduction as well as adaptation to climate change.

Resolutions of the Working Group on Regional Security and Transnational Crime

1.    That the fight against organized transnational crime, especially drug trafficking, requires cooperation between States, which must be developed while respecting their sovereignty as a fundamental principle.

2.    FIPA must recognize that transnational crime is a threat to the nations because it gives rise to other criminal activities, for example: money laundering, weapons trafficking, human trafficking, and organ trafficking, etc.; and we must deal with this with the same commitment.

3.    State authorities must draft codes that professionalize the exercise of a public authority that is competent and transparent, with appropriate monitoring and accountability.

4.    The fight against organized crime and drug trafficking is not only an issue of security, but also of education and health. The nations should make efforts to prevent the use and abuse of drugs. Preventive health and rehabilitation, as well as appropriate education, are key tools that must be reinforced in order to create new generations with responsible and ethical conduct.

5.    Preventive and corrective standards and programs on transnational crimes must be drafted in each of FIPA’s member States to observe successful normative practices that can be proposed or implemented in each.

6.    National State functions – legislation, governance and justice – must be firm, coherent and efficient in the fight against crime in order to achieve regional security, that is to say, the relevant actions to deal with crime.

7.    Corruption is a crime that threatens the security of the nations and feeds transnational crime; governments should therefore fight it head-on, taking all possible measures and actions to eliminate it.

Resolutions of the Working Group on the Participation of Civil Society in the Strengthening of Democracy

1.    As FIPA parliamentarians, we urge our governments to conduct a full diagnosis of the existing barriers to citizen participation, especially in regard to under-represented groups. This should include a survey to show what countries have legislation promoting citizen participation. Once complete, the survey should be made public.

2.    In order to promote democratic participation, societies of the Americas have to create a political environment conducive to participation. Therefore, there is a challenge to develop a civic culture.

3.    Governments and parliaments must promote participation processes, which involve mechanisms of consultation, debate, and decision-making by citizens. In addition, governments need to improve their capacity to deliver those services and policies most urgently required by their citizens.

4.    To encourage the societies’ openness to civic participation, we should reform the education system to include civic education in the curriculum. We should also involve the media, private businesses, organized labour and other significant institutions in this process.

5.    As FIPA parliamentarians, we encourage best practices and full transparency, openness and responsibility among the governments of the Americas. In particular, there should be a focus on developing the appropriate institutional mechanisms specifically designed to achieve these goals.

6.    As FIPA parliamentarians, we urge our governments to implement all possible measures to encourage democratic participation in the Americas, providing considerable support to the poor and underprivileged young people in our hemisphere.

7.    In order to encourage the various sectors of our societies to participate, we should adopt mechanisms for engaging with marginalized groups, including, but not limited to, women, youth, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples/nations, people with disabilities, gays and lesbians, and senior citizens. This participation should not be limited to formal or institutionalized organizations, but rather it must include citizen initiatives and independent social movements.

8.    To ensure participation in all sectors, especially that of poor young people, we must consider the need for more equality and inclusiveness in our societies.

9.    FIPA should sponsor workshops to educate parliamentarians about new information technologies and their political significance, so they can reach young people.

10. FIPA should sponsor workshops on civic engagement and its importance for democracy.

11. As FIPA parliamentarians, we urge each of our parliaments to annually organize a week to discuss citizen participation.

12. As FIPA parliamentarians, we commit to encouraging all governments to create a full spectrum of citizen recourse mechanisms for cases of misuse of power or authority.

13. In order to strengthen citizen participation and support the preservation of peace and democracy in the states of the Americas, FIPA should set up a solidarity commission for timely support to countries that are threatened by democracy.