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Secretary General of the OAS Participates in First Meeting of Presidents of Legislative Powers in Lima

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, will participate on Friday, July 18 in Lima in the First Inter-American Meeting of Presidents of Legislative Powers, a space for dialogue and exchange aimed at inter-parliamentary cooperation and capacity building to strengthen the ties between the Congresses of the region.

The OAS, through its Section in Support of Representative Institutions (SAIR), belonging to the Secretariat for Political Affairs, will provide technical and specialized accompaniment to the parliamentary forum of countries of the Inter-American System, which convened to discuss issues such as “getting closer to citizens, the generation of credibility and trust toward legislatures;” “transparency, probity, and accountability in parliamentary management: Do we have open parliaments?” “Parliament as a key actor in collaborative dialogue for sustainable economic development, climate change and social inclusion;” and “women’s political participation: achievements and challenges in parliamentary representation.”

The inaugural ceremony will be held at 9:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Friday at the headquarters of the Congress of Peru, and will feature the participation of the Vice President of Peru, Marisol Espinoza; Secretary General Insulza; and the President of the Peruvian Congress, Fredy Otárola.

The workshops that will be held on Friday will include the participation of former Presidents, Ministers, parliamentarians and specialists in issues fo transparency and electronic government from Latin America and Spain. Panelists include the former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla; the Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru, María del Carmen Omonte; and the President of the Senate of Spain, Pío García-Escudero. Hugo de Zela, Chief of Staff of the Secretary General of the OAS, and Peruvian Congressman Josué Manuel Guitérrez will deliver the conclusions and final declaration. Secretary General Insulza and the President of the Peruvian parliament Otárola will speak at the conclusion of the event.

The Section in Support of Representative Institutions will provide support on issues related to the improvement of institutional capacity, attention to global issues of the democratic agenda, and in particular the effort to find points of agreement and consensus on how to meet the new challenges of political representation in the 21st century.

A video of the event is available here.

WHAT: First Meeting of Presidents of Legislative Powers

WHEN: July 18, 2014, beginning at 9:00 local time (14:00 GMT)

WHERE: Congress of the Republic of Peru. Plaza Bolivar, Av. Abancay s/n-Lima, Peru

Reference: AVI-151/14