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Anexo 3 – Discurso Presidente da III Comissão – inglês

Draft Speech for Hon. Pedro Roque

President of the 3rd Standing Committee

PAM 49th Bureau Meeting

Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament

Rome, Italy, 6 June 2023

Mr. President Mayara,

Excellencies, dear colleagues,

It is with pleasure that I wish to inform you of the recent activities of the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue

among Civilizations and Human Rights for the first semester of 2023.

Let me first start by saying that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has far-reaching repercussions. Our region

is not immune and we have seen prices of energy and food commodities soar, leading societies on the verge of

social upheaval yet again. Human rights – and especially children rights – have been totally disregarded. The

illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russia-temporarily occupied territories is

unacceptable. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said a few weeks ago that it amounts to

«genocide». The risk of sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women and children is high. And we must remain

vigilent. Our Commission has continued to follow and participate in important meetings on issues such as

Human Rights, Migration but also Health, Gender Equality, Women empowerment, the rise of Artificial

Intelligence, and dialogue between cultures and religions in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Let me start with our work to promote Dialogue among civilizations and religions.

PAM strongly believes that continuous dialogue between different cultures, religions and societies remains

the key to achieving peace and prosperity within our region. In January, Sen. Lyes Achour and Hon.

Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria) represented the Assembly to the 17th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary

Union of the OIC Member States Conference (PUIC) in Algiers.

In a few days, I will represent the Assembly in Marrakesh, where, under your chairmanship, the IPU

Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, entitled “Working together for our common future”, will take

place. I plan to highlight the role and responsibility of legislators and religious leaders as bridge builders, in

promoting rights and fundamental freedoms for more just and cohesive societies.

Migration

Our region is in crisis mode. The number of attempted sea crossings from Libya and Tunisia has quadrupled

for the first trimester in comparison to last year’s figures. It is a tragedy unfolding before our very eyes. PAM is

committed to fighting trafficking in human beings that exploit poverty and despair. We will continue working with

the OSCE in this matter as was highlighted during our Plenary session in Rabat and PAM attended the OSCE

23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking, in Vienna and online, in Mid-April.

Health

Health remained a major priority for our Committee. In April, UNITE, the parliamentarians’ network for global

health, held a virtual parliamentary information session on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Action

Agenda. Hon. Ayesha Al Mulla (UAE) represented PAM on the occasion.

Human Rights

A human rights definition and understanding leads to more adequate responses to the many facets of

poverty. Global poverty reduction was already slowing down and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reversed three decades of steady progress with the number of people living in