FIPA/PA/2004/REP/e/vf Original: Spanish Report 3rd Plenary Assembly National Congress of Chile Valparaiso, Chile st rd April 1 – 3 , 2004 Report 3rd Plenary Assembly Vaparaiso, Chile, 1- 3 April 2004 FIPA/PA/2004/REP/e/vf Original: Spanish Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................2 2. Opening Ceremony................................................................................................................2 3. First Session of the Plenary Assembly ..................................................................................3 3.1 Election of the Chair of the 3rd Plenary Meeting ............................................................3 3.2 Report of the FIPA President..........................................................................................3 3.3 Establishment of the Working Groups ............................................................................3 3.4 Other Business ...............................................................................................................4 4. Final Session of the Plenary Assembly .................................................................................4 4.1 Working Group Reports..................................................................................................4 4.1.1 Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas ...............................................5 4.1.2 Working Group 1 – The Fight Against Terrorism.....................................................5 4.1.3 Working Group 2 – The Free Trade Area of the Americas Process........................6 4.1.4 Working Group 3 – Tax Systems in the Americas ......................................................6 4.2 Approval of Executive Committee Resolutions...............................................................7 4.2.1 Resolution 1 – For the Official Inclusion of National Legislatures in FIPA...............7 4.2.2 Resolution 2 – To Reaffirm FIPA’s Commitment to Democratic Values in the Americas................................................................................................................................7 4.3 Election of Members of the Executive Committee for 2004 – 2006................................7 4.4 Election of the President of FIPA....................................................................................8 4.5 Election of a Site for the Next Plenary Assembly ...........................................................8 4.6 Declaration Rejecting Violence Against Parliamentarians..............................................8 4.7 Closing Ceremony ..........................................................................................................8 5. Annexes..............................................................................................................................10 5.1 Annex 1 – Participating Countries and Delegates ........................................................10 5.2 Annex2 – Opening Ceremony Speeches .....................................................................14 5.2.1 Speech of the Speaker of the Chilean Senate ......................................................14 5.2.2 Speech of the President of FIPA ...........................................................................15 5.2.3 Speech of the Speaker of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies................................18 5.2.4 Speech of the President of the Republic of Chile..................................................20 5.3 Annex3 – Presentation on the FTAA by the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs ..........25 5.4 Annex 4 –Agenda for the 3rd Plenary Assembly ...........................................................34 5.5 Annex 5 – Annual Report of the FIPA President ..........................................................36 5.6 Annex 6 – Women Parliamentarians Group: Report and Recommendations ..............41 5.7 Annex 7 –Working Group 1 (Terrorism): Report and Recommendations.....................45 5.8 Annex 8 –Working Group 2 (FTAA): Report and Recommendations...........................52 5.9 Annex 9 – Working Group 3 (Tax Systems): Report and Recommendations ..............65 5.10 Annex 10 – Resolution 1 ..............................................................................................70 5.11 Annex 11 – Resolution 2 ..............................................................................................73 5.12 Annex 12 – Composition of the Executive Committee .................................................74 1 1. Introduction At the kind invitation of the Chilean Congress, the 3rd Plenary Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) was held on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of April 2004 at the National Congress of Chile, in Valparaiso. 100 parliamentarians attended this important event as official delegates from 23 countries of the hemisphere and two regional parliaments (see Annex 1 for a list of participating countries and delegates.) During the meeting, three working groups had the opportunity to discuss the role of parliamentarians in the fight against terrorism, the Free Trade Area of the Americas process, and the harmonization of hemispheric tax systems. The Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas also held its second working session. 2. Opening Ceremony The 3rd Plenary Assembly of FIPA was officially opened with a special ceremony in the Honour Room of the Chilean National Congress on Thursday, April 1st 2004. The Speaker of the Chilean Senate, Senator Hernán Larraín, welcomed participants and underscored his support for parliamentary integration initiatives in the Americas. He then declared the Plenary Assembly officially open. The President of FIPA, Canadian Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, then thanked the hosts of the Assembly for their hospitality and spoke about the importance of FIPA as a mechanism for parliamentary participation in the development of hemispheric multilateralism. The second session of the ceremony, began with words from the Speaker of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, Pablo Lorenzini, who welcomed the delegates once again and emphasized the importance of developing parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue between the hemisphere's legislatures. The President of the Republic of Chile, his Excellency Mr. Ricardo Lagos, then expressed his support for the work of the Assembly, and spoke on each of the themes in the Agenda, emphasizing the need to support integration initiatives in the Americas. (See Annex 2 for the texts of the Opening Ceremony Speeches.) 2 Report 3rd Plenary Assembly Vaparaiso, Chile, 1- 3 April 2004 FIPA/PA/2004/REP/e/vf Original: Spanish Finally, Ms. Soledad Alvear, the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, brought the Opening Ceremony to a close with a presentation on the advances in the negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (see Annex 3 for text of the Minister’s speech.) 3. First Session of the Plenary Assembly The formal work of the 3rd Plenary Assembly began with the consideration of the agenda, which was presented by the FIPA President, Senator Hervieux-Payette, and was unanimously approved by the Plenary Assembly (see Annex 4 for the text of the Plenary Assembly Agenda.) 3.1 Election of the Chair of the 3rd Plenary Meeting Senator Hervieux-Payette presided over the election of the Chair of the 3rd Plenary Assembly. On a motion by the Costa Rican delegation, seconded by the Guatemalan delegation, Chilean Senator Sergio Romero was elected by acclamation. 3.2 Report of the FIPA President Senator Hervieux-Payette presented her annual report, summarizing the work of the Executive Committee and the permanent working groups. Among others items, the President reviewed the results of the first meeting of the Special Working Group on Terrorism, and reported on the participation of the Executive Committee in the VIII FTAA Ministerial Summit in Miami. She also highlighted the efforts currently underway for the parliamentary participation of FIPA in the FTAA process (see Annex 5 for the text of the President’s Report.) 3.3 Establishment of the Working Groups The Chair of the 3rd Plenary Assembly explained the composition and procedural rules of the working groups, which were constituted as follows: Working Group 1 – The Fight Against Terrorism Chair: Senator Raymundo Cárdenas (Mexico) Facilitators: Dr. Rut Diamint (Torcuato Di Tella University & the Wilson Center, Argentina) Lic. Jorge Calderón (Unit for the Promotion of Democracy/OAS) Secretary: Ms. Nora Villavicencio (Committee Secretary, Chilean Senate) Mr. Julián Saona (Committee Secretary, Chilean Senate) 3 Working Group 2 – The Free Trade Area of the Americas Process Chair: Mr. Don Boudria, MP (Canada) Facilitator: Ms. Verónica Silva (UN-ECLAC) Secretary: Ms. Isabel Damilano (Committee Secretary, Chilean Senate) Ms. Mariana George-Nascimento (Committee Secretary, Chilean Senate) Working Group 3 – Tax Systems in the Americas Chair: Deputy Luiz-Carlos Hauly (Brazil) Facilitator: Mr. Juan Cristobal Bonnefoy (UN-ILPES – ECLAC) Secretary: Mr. Javier Rosselot Jaramillo (Committee Secretary, Chilean Chamber of Deputies) Group of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas Chair: Deputy Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina) Facilitator: Ms. Sonia Montaño (Women and Development Unit, UN-ECLAC) Ms. Patricia Silva (SERNAM - National Women's Service of Chile) Secretary: Ms. Ana María Skoknic (Committee Secretary, Chilean Chamber of Deputies) 3.4 Other Business During the first session of the