Description

Dear PGA Friends,

The year 2017 was defined by many achievements by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), the largest non-governmental organization of individual legislators committed to human rights and the Rule of Law, democracy, human security, non-discrimination and gender equality, with more than 1,350 members in 142 Parliaments around the world.

We are delighted to share with you our efforts towards a more equitable, just and peaceful world, with progress in each of our three programmes: International Peace and Security, International Law and Human Rights, and Gender, Equality and Population. PGA successfully completed year two of its 2016-18 strategic plan and gained 136 new PGA member-parliamentarians representing all regions of the world.

The current decade is being characterized by enormous challenges to human rights in almost all corners of the planet: repressive regimes, armed conflict and authoritarian and nationalistic governments are closing the space for political dissent, civil society and citizenship participation, as well as freedom of the media. In 2017, addressing these challenges was not only part of the daily work of our Members, strategically assisted by the PGA staff, but it was also central to the 39th Annual Forum of the organization, which was devoted to the prevention of violent extremism and mass atrocities. Held in Milan, Italy, one of the main findings of the Forum regarded the close connection between these violent threats to democracy and the Rule of Law and the proliferation and growth of extremism and mass violence. The Milan Plan of Action adopted by the Forum represents a blueprint for collective action to address these threats in a coordinated and strategic manner, putting Parliamentarians and their civilian constituencies at the center of global action.

Thank you to all of our PGA friends for your continued encouragement and support of the PGA mission to contribute to the creation of a rules-based international order for a more equitable, safe and democratic world. With your help, we achieved significant results across all of our campaigns to end injustice and oppression around the world. I invite you now to continue learning about our significant achievements in the following  2017 Annual Report.

On behalf of PGA, I am grateful to our invaluable network of parliamentarians and our steadfast partners and look forward to continued success in 2018.

Sincerely,

David Donat Cattin (Ph.D., Law)
Secretary-General, Parliamentarians for Global Action