COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE Colombo, Sri Lanka
58th Plenary Session - 11 September 2012
THE CPA: CONTINUING PROGRAMMES TO ENABLE PARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGES AND DEBATE ON GLOBAL ISSUES
Speech by the CPA Secretary-General, Dr William F. Shija
I feel very delighted that this 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference here in Colombo, Sri Lanka, gives me another privilege to address you this afternoon. I join the Chairperson of the Executive Committee, Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP, United Kingdom, House of Commons, and you distinguished delegates, in the expression of immense appreciation and gratitude to the President of the Association and Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa, MP, the Parliament and the Government and people of Sri Lanka, for the wonderful reception, hospitality, and excellent arrangements that have been made for all the delegates to this conference. Mr President and Speaker of Sri Lanka, we thank you very much. (Bhohoma Sthuthi) I believe delegates will join me
in having noted that Sri Lanka now appears to enjoy its peaceful
atmosphere after years of conflict as we can see the indications of social and cultural vibrancy. I am very delighted that the Commonwealth Secretary-General, His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, is able to join us this year and I wholeheartedly welcome you, Your Excellency, and your delegation. I am happy to note that as Commonwealth Secretary-General you continue to support the community of Commonwealth Parliamentarians through a number of programme activities, including attending our conference, in person, or by representation. Although you were unable to be with us for our centennial conference in London last year, I am glad that you were ably represented by your Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba. This year’s conference theme,
“Ensuring a Relevant Commonwealth for the Future” and the scheduled workshops, further reflect on our
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century-old dynamic process to promote parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth and beyond. Simply defined, parliamentary democracy is governance based on majority rule with minority share. When I addressed you last year in London, I recounted how the CPA at 100 had gone through the thick and thin of peaceful and conflict periods; moved on to eliminate discriminatory laws; strengthened voting systems; reformed the administration and funding of parliaments; established new parliamentary structures; and promoted parliamentary international diplomacy. These activities, facilitated by numerous physical and remote communications, were realized through the various programmes we undertake every year. Mr President, many delegates
will recall that just over ten years ago, the CPA established the system of periodic five-year Strategic Plans; the first being for 2002-2006 and the
second being for the period 2007- 2012. It is my expectation that the General Assembly will endorse the third Strategic Plan for the period 2013-2017, here in Colombo, on Friday 14 September, having been approved and recommended by the Executive Committee. To improve the implementation of our next Strategic Plan, we will develop annual Business Plans with indicative and measurable objectives for implementation. In addressing you today, I wish
to emphasize that the delivery of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is a highlight in our programme activities. It is part of the implementation of the current Strategic Plan for 2007-2012. The Conference theme of this 58th conference is meant to enable delegates to reflect on the challenges raised by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) which was formed by Commonwealth Heads Government in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 and