Montevideo: On May 12, 2014, the Board of the MERCOSUR Parliament received a delegation of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) integrated by Dip. Felipe Michelini, PGA’s Executive Committee member and Convenor of the International Law and Human Rights Program of PGA, and Dip. Berta Sanseverino, President of the National Group of PGA in Uruguay.
In a brief but substantive presentation, coordinated by the Secretary of PGA and the CICC, the PGA members invited the MERCOSUR Parliament to develop activities to cooperate with the ICC in pursuit of common goals such as the defense of democracy, peace and human rights. Michelini encouraged the PARLASUR to work in different areas and activities and offered the technical assistance of PGA. Such areas included:
- Adoption of a Reference Cooperation Law that can be taken in consideration by the national parliaments of the Member States of MERCOSUR to adopt laws that will allow the Cooperation between those countries and the ICC.
- Adoption of a resolution recommending the States Parties of MERCOSUR to implement the Rome Statute, cooperate with the Court as well as to sign Ad hoc agreements with the ICC (providing reference to the PARLATINO Resolution regarding the CPI and Kampala amendments presented by a PGA member Dip. Alfaro Zamora)
- Sign an Agreement for Cooperation and Technical Assistance to the ICC in the fight against impunity.
The Chair of the PARLASUR, PGA member Dip. Ruben Martinez Huelmo (Uruguay) thanked the presentation and ventured a mutual cooperation between the two organizations.