On 19 March 2021, PGA convened its International Council to discuss actions that Parliamentarians can take to address major threats to democracy and human rights and to elect 2021-22 Executive Committee members.
31 Parliamentarians from 30 countries[1] participated, representing the National Groups of PGA from all regions of the world, alongside two expert guests: Baroness Helena Kennedy (UK), PGA Member and Chair of the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, and Prof. Irwin Cotler, Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and former chair of the PGA Canada National Group.
The Chairperson of the PGA International Council, Dip. Tucapel Jimenez (Chile), highlighted the enhanced level of threats and attacks to democracy and human rights in the context of the global pandemic. The President of PGA, Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, MP (Sweden), described the enormous efforts done by PGA Members and Secretariat in ensuring continuity of action under all the PGA Campaigns, making reference to the achievements and challenges detailed in PGA’s Annual Report 2020 - News and Activities (pgaction.org). The President stressed that PGA has managed to advance and develop important partnerships in 2020.
The Council moved to an interactive discussion on the reports on media freedom co-authored by Baroness Kennedy and Prof. Cotler – see IBA - IBAHRI Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom (ibanet.org).
During the debate, Sen. Boris Dittrich (The Netherlands) proposed that a definition of who is a journalist under International Law be developed in order to enhance protection and its enforcement under every legal system. Hon. Naveed Qamar, MP (Pakistan) emphasized the risks of living in “hybrid democracies”, in which violations of civil and political rights would be normalized. Dr. Esther Cuesta, MP (Ecuador) asked that increased attention is given to the phenomenon of misinformation and fake news, especially in connection with the upcoming Presidential elections in Ecuador on 11 April 2021. Sen. Wade Mark (Trinidad and Tobago) raised the issue of powerful economic and financial conglomerates that infiltrate the free media with the aim of influencing public opinion in support of political forces that would side with their special interests. European Parliament Vice-President Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo, MEP (Italy) mentioned the new EU decision on targeted-sanctions (Magnitsky-type sanctions), highlighting the challenge that we all must confront to avoid the perception that “we are strong with the weak, and weak with the strong” when sanctioning attacks on democracy and human rights abuses.
Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP (Malaysia) made a determined appeal against the invasive use of the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, which appears to be the “mantra” of certain Asian powers in respect of gross human rights violations, including those committed in ASEAN countries like Myanmar. Prof. Cotler and all the other participants agreed with the appeal of Hon. Patto that human rights are universal, and States are obligated to use their domestic jurisdiction to protect them, but, if they fail, other States are entitled to denounce their violation and demand relevant remedies in the name of universally accepted values, such as the protection of human dignity. Ms. Dorcas Sibanda, MP (Zimbabwe) underscored that also in her country there are serious abuses of the justice system of Zimbabwe, which is criminalizing the opinions expressed by members of the opposition by defining them as fake news and opinions.
Baroness Kennedy and Prof. Cotler responded to the vibrant debate by relaunching the idea, supported by the new US Administration, that there should be a reinforced multilateral alliance of democracies, which must be expanded and must reflect a strong parliamentary dimension that PGA is best positioned to provide.
The International Council members then moved to discuss and adopt the new “Global Parliamentary Code of Democratic Conduct” (see sidebar). Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria) suggested to ensure that all social media would be clearly covered by PGA’s reaffirmation of the inviolability of the “freedom of the press”, which should include all forms of traditional and new media. Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo highlighted that PGA shall use all available dates marking the protections of democracy worldwide to progressively launch and bring to the attention of Lawmakers this pivotal document, which shall be used also to enlist the commitment to fundamental rights by candidates ahead of a parliamentary election or by newly elected MPs.
President Margareta Cederfelt addressed the concern voiced to PGA by some Members who may not be able to sign on to this global code of democratic conduct because they are exclusively bound to respect the code of ethical conduct of their own Parliament. Ms. Cederfelt stated, on behalf of PGA, that this not a binding document, like the domestic official codes of conduct, but it is a benchmark of good standards of respect of democratic principles and norms as they are already recognized in universally-accepted international instruments on human rights. Therefore, all the Members of the PGA International Council, including the Members of the PGA Board (Executive Committee), voted unanimously to adopt the “Global Parliamentary Code of Democratic Conduct”.
As the PGA governance body entrusted with representative authority on behalf of the PGA Membership, the International Council (IC) moved to elect the new Chairperson of the International Council and Treasurer of the Organization for a term of two years, and unanimously elected Hon. Syed Naveed Qamar, MP (Pakistan) as Chair of the IC and Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria) as Treasurer of PGA.
Given that Ms. Bayr was a Board Member for the period 2020-21, her election freed a position in the Board, which was added to the 6 open positions from Members that had their term end in 2020. The International Council then proceeded to elect unanimously the 7 candidates for the position of Board Members for the 2021-22 term, namely: Sen. Boris Dittrich (The Netherlands), Dep. Levy Nazaré (Deputy-Speaker of São Tomé et Príncipe), Dip. Jorge Luis Cálix Espinal (Honduras), Mr. Mark Pritchard, MP (UK), Dip. Tucapel Jimenez (Chile), Mr. Ali Ehsassi, MP (Canada) and Hon. Valerie Woods (Speaker of Parliament of Belize).
The President of PGA welcomed the new Board Members and thanked those who served in the Board and Council in 2020 and previous years. Ms. Soledad Buendia, MP (Ecuador), who ended her term in Parliament in March 2021, made a passionate statement on the extraordinary solidarity and transnational cooperation that she found within PGA, even at times in which she was forced to leave her Parliament and country and seek refuge in another country. Dip. Tucapel Jimenez welcomed her words with enormous appreciation for her service to all the Campaigns of PGA. The International Council ended with a commitment shared by the outgoing Chairperson with all participating Parliamentarians in renewing their fight for human rights and their efforts to give effect to the PGA vision of a rules based international order for more equitable, safe and democratic world.
[1] 27 Members of the PGA International Council and Executive Committee participated. 4 PGA Members from Argentian, Fiji, South Africa and The United Kingdom also participated as observers.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. David Donat CattinSecretary-General, PGA
Email: donat@pgaction.org
