ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Palazzo Spinola St. George Road St Julians, STJ 3207 Malta Telephone: +356 22 48 42 00 Fax: +356 22 48 42 15 Electronic mail: [email protected] Website address: www.apm.org.mt ANNUAL REPORT 2009 INDEX Message by PAM President Hon. Rudy Salles 1 IVth Annual Plenary Session 3 1st Meeting of the Secretaries General of the Member Assemblies 3 The PAM Bureau 4 The Standing Committees 5 Middle East Fact Finding Mission 6 PAM strengthens relations with the United Nations and the United States of America 7 UNISDR-PAM Parliamentarians international roundtable on Climate Change – COP 15 8 PAM delegation joins Copenhagen Climate Change discussions 8 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the United Nations 9 PAM and the Holy See 9 In the Gulf Region – beyond the Mediterranean 10 Conclusions 10 Financial Report 11 2009 Financial Performance 13 Financial Position at 31st December 2009 14 2009 Cash-flow Statement 15 Annex 1: UN General Assembly Resolution (PAM Observer Status) 18 Annex 2: Malta Declaration of the Commitment by Parliamentarians to COP 15 and 19 Beyond Annex 3: Work Plan & Calendar 2009 21 Annex 4: Overview of PAM outreach activities in 2009 22 Annex 5 : Work Plan & Calendar 2010 27 Message by President Hon. Rudy Salles “This has been yet another intensive year for our organisation. I cannot but not start with the achievement of the Observer Status that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean has been granted to the General Assembly of the United Nations1. Perhaps an unprecedented recognition for a regional inter-state organisation at such an early stage of its endeavours. I am particularly proud of this step forward, a sign of respect by the international community towards the role of PAM in parliamentary diplomacy in the Mediterranean region. It is the result of a steadfast, concerted effort between the Bureau and our Secretary General with the unconditional assistance of a number of friends and supporters, among which Malta, France and Libya through their Permanent Representatives at the UN in New York. “Thank you” is the least we can say, although totally aware of the new responsibilities this status bestows upon us. But I am sure our Mediterranean character, determination, ideals and vision will inspire our future actions and the national parliaments of the member states will surely rise to the occasion collectively within PAM. Equally important is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the League of Arab States, which took place during a visit to our Headquarters by Secretary General H.E. Amr Moussa. PAM‟s advantage is that we have a 360 degree outlook. We are convinced that the seeds of peace, security and stability grow wherever there is a true sense of goodwill, and all parties to our Assembly are men and women who believe in creating the conditions for a better living for their citizens. In Amman, the President of the Euro-mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, H.E. Abdulhadi Majali, Speaker of the Jordanian Parliament and myself, pledged in a joint statement, to join efforts to support international initiatives for a rapid and lasting peace between the peoples of Israel and Palestine. The issue is only one of the regional aspects we consider of common concern to PAM, including the Balkans and Cyprus. I will not give here an exhaustive list of all our 2009 activities, but what follows my humble introduction is absolutely worth reading. I am half way through my term at the helm of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. I would have never imagined how honoured and fulfilled I would have felt to lead, in the role of primus inter pares, my fellow parliamentarians of the region in such a demanding task aimed at building on and consolidate the sterling work of my predecessor, Hon. Abdelwahed Radi, whose balanced and wise contribution we all yearn to continue to count on. I am also grateful to all those parliamentarians, experts, keynote speakers and representatives of the private sector and civil society, who actively participated in our debates at the Standing Committees‟ meetings. I express my full appreciation to those parliamentarians who have 1 Annex 1 – Resolution A/64/124 adopted by the UN GA 1 taken upon them, over and above their national commitments, the onus to research and prepare reports and resolutions that found full approval through adoption at the IV Plenary Session in Istanbul. There we also had the occasion to convene the 1st Meeting of the Secretary Generals of our National Parliaments, an occasion to exchange best practices and experiences, further consolidating PAM‟s parliamentary network. My message for the year 2010 is to continue on the path already initiated in the last 3 years. This can only be achieved through the unreserved commitment by the National Parliaments, the personal involvement of their Presidents and the pro-active participation of the members of their delegations to the activities of PAM, which are the synthesis of all political, social, economic and cultural views of each member state. Our strength is in our operational structure. We have to support our small but by far almost overly dynamic Secretariat, to which we must secure a realistic level of resources in order to carry out a sustainable programme of initiatives at the international level. The Plenary Session of our Assembly, on the other hand, is a concrete expression of the realisation of an ideal and at the same time a tangible “cradle of civilisations” since every single one of us parliamentarians, is the direct representative of the constituents, those who believe in us, those who expect us to be their voices and the leaders who have the power to transform dreams into concrete actions for a better life for us adults and for our children‟s future. We are delivering. I am sure you all concur with me.” 2 IVth Annual Plenary Session Istanbul, Turkey 23-24 October 2009 The Annual Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is the highest moment of the work of the Assembly. The IV Plenary Session of PAM this year was hosted and co-organised by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in the splendid city of Istanbul: a city of wonders offering a unique cultural and historical experience. The proceedings kicked off with the inaugural address by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, H.E. Hon. Mehmet Ali Sahin, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) and PAM President Hon. Rudy Salles (France). A further novelty for the Plenary Session was the participation of six distinguished guest speakers representing different regional parliamentary organisations who addressed the opening session. The Plenary Session was also the occasion to draw the conclusions of the year‟s various discussions. The Presidents of the three Standing Committees summarised the reports and resolutions drawn up by the individual Special Task Forces and Ad Hoc Committees during 2009. The texts were subsequently submitted to the Assembly for their final and unanimous adoption. President Salles concluded the Assembly‟s proceedings by referring to its unprecedented success thanks to the participation of almost all PAM delegations and many of its international partners, to the excellent organization and wonderful hospitality of the Turkish Parliament, and the hard work put in by the PAM Secretary General and the Secretariat staff. 1st Meeting of the Secretaries General of the Member Assemblies Istanbul, Turkey 25th October 2009 The 1st Meeting of the Secretaries General of PAM member assemblies represented another step towards further networking of the legislative arm of Mediterranean parliamentary diplomacy. The objective of the Secretaries General meeting was to exchange experiences, information and to learn about each other‟s best practices, as well as benefit from the vision and knowledge of the participants in developing the communication strategies and working procedures of PAM. Some 15 parliaments were present and this served to lay down the foundation stones for future dialogue. The Meeting far exceeded the expectations and proposed a number of actions on how to improve the communications network between the PAM Secretariat and the SG‟s of the member parliaments. Mr. Alain Delcamp – Secretary General of the French Senate, offered to host the next PAM Secretaries General meeting in Paris. 3 The PAM Bureau The Bureau is the governing body of PAM, comprising eight members equally representing the Northern and Southern geo-political groupings of the region. During 2009, the Bureau met 3 times; in Rome (March), in Lisbon (June) and in Istanbul (October) just before the Annual Plenary Session. Due to other opportunities arising from PAM‟s busy calendar of international activities, the Bureau members also met on another two occasions; during the High Level Mission to the Middle East in May, and during the visit to the United States in September. The PAM Bureau for 2009 is composed as follows: Mr. Rudy Salles, PAM President(France) Mr. Abdel Kader Fedala (Algeria) Mrs. Elisavvet Papadimitriou (Greece) Mr. Francesco Amoruso (Italy) Mr. Suleiman Ghneimat (Jordan) Mr. Mohamed Titna Alaoui Idrissi (Morocco) Mr. Tayseer Quba'a (Palestine) Mr. José Junqueiro (Portugal) Honorary President: Hon. Abdelwahad Radi (Morocco) PAM Roving Ambassador: Mr. Mohammed Abu Al-Enein (Egypt) The 9th Meeting of the Bureau was held on 12th March 2009 and was hosted by the Italian Parliament at Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome, Italy. On that occasion, meetings were held with the Vatican State authorities and in the city of Assisi. The 10th Meeting of the Bureau, on 24 June 2009, moved to São Bento Palace in Lisbon, Portugal. President Salles presented the outcome of the mission to the Middle East, and specifically thanked the Egyptian and Jordanian Parliaments, and personally, Hon.