The
parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), which attended the meeting of the
Parliamentary Network to Fight HIV/AIDS, held in Casablanca, Morocco, on March
27, 2010, and the meeting of the APF Parliamentary Affairs Committee, held in
Marrakech, Morocco, from March 29 to 31, 2010, has the honour to present its
report.
The
delegation was made up of the Honourable Pierre De Bané, Senator and Chair of
the Parliamentary Affairs Committee. François Michaud, Branch Executive
Secretary, accompanied the delegation.
HIV/AIDS
Network
The
following branches were represented at the meeting: Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, France, French Community of Belgium, Gabon, Jersey, Jura, Macedonia,
Mali, Morocco, Niger, Quebec, Switzerland, Syria and Valle d’Aosta.
Mr. Dider
Berberat (Switzerland), Chair of the Parliamentary Network to Fight
HIV/AIDS and Chair of the APF’s Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs
Committee, called the Network to order. He welcomed all the parliamentarians in
attendance, especially the new members. The members of the Network adopted the
agenda and the record of decisions of the meeting of February 23 and 24, 2009,
held in Bamako, Mali.
Professor Hakima
Himmich, Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Ibn Rochd University Hospital
in Casablanca and Chair of the 5th Francophone Conference on HIV/AIDS, outlined
Morocco’s strategy to fight HIV/AIDS and opening remarks before the Network’s
meeting.
Dr. Othman
Mellouk, the international relations representative for the Moroccan
Association for the Fight Against AIDS, gave a presentation on the issue of
intellectual property rights for medication and the impact of these rights on
access to medication.
Dr. Omar
Ndoye (Senegal), member of the Parliamentary Network to Fight Against
HIV/AIDS and the Network coordinator for Senegal, presented an activity report,
which was subsequently adopted.
Dr. Jean-Élie
Malkin, Senior Advisor to Mr. Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director,
gave a presentation on the co-operation agreement between the APF and UNAIDS.
Ms. Nicole
Massoud, Regional Advisor for the UNAIDS Cairo Office’s Program, Follow-up
and Evaluation section, spoke about the characteristics of the HIV pandemic in
countries of La Francophonie. Mr. Patrick Eba, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Advisor for UNAIDS, summarized the legislative and regulatory measures in place
in countries of La Francophonie for at-risk populations and people affected by
HIV.
Dr. Omar
Ndoye introduced an interim report on the exodus of health care
professionals from the south to the north.
Mr. Svend
Robinson, Senior Advisor for Parliamentary Relations and Special
Initiatives with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,
spoke about the Global Fund, noting its objectives, achievements and
expectations.
Ms. Anna
L. Torriente, Senior Legal Officer with the International Labour
Organization (ILO), presented a study of the new statutory instrument under
consideration regarding the rights of people with HIV/AIDS in the world of
work.
Before
concluding its business, the Network adopted a draft resolution to submit to
the Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee pertaining to human
rights; funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS, especially through the Global
Fund; implementing the Cotonou Agreement on access to authentic drugs and not
counterfeit ones; and repealing discriminatory measures that limit the movement
of people with HIV/AIDS.
The
following branches were represented at the meeting: Belgium (French
Community/Wallonia-Brussels), Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada,
Central African Republic, Chad, France, Gabon, Jura, Mauritania, Morocco,
Quebec, Romania, Senegal, Switzerland, Togo and Valle d’Aosta.
The Hon.
Senator Pierre De Bané, Chair of the APF Parliamentary Affairs Committee,
called the Committee to order. He spoke about the tragedy that took place in
Haiti in January 2010 and offered condolences to the Haitian people on behalf
of the Committee, calling for a minute of silence in memory of the earthquake
victims. The Hon. Fatiha Layadi, a Moroccan parliamentarian and the head
organizer for the Marrakech meeting, then said a prayer in Arabic.
Senator De
Bané then enthusiastically thanked the Moroccan Branch, Ms. Layadi
and the entire Moroccan team, who had spared no effort to ensure the meeting
went well. Ms. Layadi warmly welcomed the delegates to Morocco and to
Marrakech, one of Morocco’s most beautiful imperial cities. She emphasized her
country’s dedication to the values of the APF and welcomed the return of the
Mauritania Section.
Matters of
protocol having been dealt with, the Committee unanimously adopted the agenda
and the record of decisions of the Committee’s last meeting, held in July 2009,
in Paris.
Senator De
Bané then presented the Chair’s report and gave the Committee members a
vivid and comprehensive overview of La Francophonie. The members of the
committee listened attentively.
Ms. Layadi
was then invited to give a short presentation on her country. In 10 years,
the political, economic and social reforms undertaken in Morocco have
reinforced the rule of law, making the democratization of the country
irreversible. In 2002, electoral reform made it easier for women to access to
politics, among other things. In 2003, King Mohammed VI created an authority on
equality and reconciliation headed by a former political prisoner. Family law
was also reformed, leading to legal and judicial equality between men and
women. Morocco still faces many challenges, especially those regarding energy
and the environment, and demographics and gender equality.
Senator De
Bané informed the Committee that he attended a conference in early March
hosted by the World Bank Institute and the United Nations Development Programme
to present the APF’s findings from its study of democratic parliaments. His
forthrightness about the internal difficulties the APF experienced when trying
to arrive at a consensus was appreciated. Debate arose on the issue.
Freedom
of the press in La Francophonie
Ms. Sylvie
Roy, Quebec MNA and rapporteur to the Committee, presented a draft report
on freedom of the press in La Francophonie. At the 12th Francophonie
Summit in Quebec City in 2008, heads of state and government undertook to
“guarantee the freedom of the press” and to “ensure greater protection for journalists”.
The report noted that freedom of the press is not guaranteed in all of La
Francophonie, in the north and in the south alike. The report addressed the
protection of and limits to the freedom if the press; media diversity,
neutrality and independence; the training and status of journalists covering
parliamentary activities; and ethics. Extensive debate followed.
Funding
for political parties
Ms. Martine
Bondo, Senator of Gabon and rapporteur to the Committee, presented her
report on the funding of political parties. She began by saying that funding of
politics in general and of political parties in particular has changed
substantially over the last few decades with the introduction of new
communication techniques. In most constitutional democracies, the legislative
assembly has taken steps to promote a strong political system by creating the
possibility for public funding on top of private donations. Senator Bondo’s
report is divided into three sections: defining political parties, funding
sources for political parties and the transparency of funding for political
parties. She concluded by saying that, over the last few years, the majority of
countries in La Francophonie have passed legislation governing the funding of
political parties. She noted that regulating funding for political parties is
one way to promote ethics in politics.
Parliaments
in La Francophonie: a collection of parliamentary procedures and practices
Ms. Michèle
André (France) presented the follow-up report for chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10
of the collection, addressing the various categories of legislation, oversight
mechanisms, institutional communication and interparliamentary relations,
respectively.
Follow-up
on Electoral Observation Missions
Mr. Jean-Claude Maene
(Belgium/French Community/Wallonia-Brussels)
presented a report on Electoral Observation Missions. He noted that the report
took into account the observation, fact-finding and networking missions carried
out by the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) and included the
statements and reports produced by the observers. The report addressed the
process of Electoral Observation Missions and gave details on missions since
July 2009, including the observation mission for the early presidential
election in Guinea-Bissau; the observation mission for the presidential
election in Mauritania in July 2009; the fact-finding and networking mission
for the early presidential election in Gabon in August 2009; and the
fact-finding and networking mission for the presidential election in Togo in
March 2010.
Parliamentary
seminars and training programs
Mr. Louis
Vlavonou (Benin) presented the report. He noted that, while the seminars
had originally been designed to improve the operations of the parliaments
concerned, they must meet the specific needs expressed by the parliaments
requesting them. The goal of these seminars is for veteran parliamentarians to
share their experience with newly elected parliamentarians. On September 25 and
26, 2009, a parliamentary seminar on parliamentary oversight and information
powers in a global context was held at the Salam hotel in Bamako, Mali. On
November 26 and 27, 2009, a parliamentary seminar on parliamentary oversight
and information powers in international matters, the parliamentary public
service and parliamentary communication was held at the Hotel Source du Nil
in Bujumbura, Burundi. As for the training programs, the APF held training for
parliamentary public officials at the École Nationale d’Administration
(ÉNA) in Paris. Public officials from Cambodia, Benin, Chad and Vietnam
attended.
Senator De
Bané then told the Committee about initiatives the Parliament of Canada has
in place for training senior officials. Ms. Mireille Eza, Director of
the APF’s Noria Program, has participated in this training.
The Noria
Program
Ms. Mireille
Eza, Director of the Noria Program (APF General Secretariat), presented the
report. She noted that the program’s main objective was to support the
broadcasting and management of parliamentary information and to reduce the
digital divide by helping partner assemblies computerize and upgrade their
parliamentary information management and their access to parliamentary
information.
Francophone
Youth Parliament (FYP) and National Youth Parliaments (NYP)
Senator Martine
Bondo (Gabon) presented an overview of the 5th Francophone Youth
Parliament, held in July 2009 in Paris. Mr. Bachir Dieye, chargé
de mission for the FYP (APF General Secretariat) gave an overview of FYP
programs and national youth parliaments. He also briefly presented an
evaluation report on the FYP.
Questions
for the OIF General Secretary
Committee
members proposed questions to ask the OIF General Secretary at the next APF
Annual General Assembly, in Dakar in July 2010.
Global
economic and financial crisis
Mr. Alain
Berset (Switzerland) gave an overview of the economic and financial crisis
that has affected the whole world.
The
Committee’s next meeting will take place on July 6, 2010, as part of the
business of the 36th APF Assembly, in Dakar.
Respectfully submitted,
Hon.
Pierre De Bané, P.C., Senator
Member of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la
Francophonie (APF)