Cuba attends virtual world conference of speakers of parliaments

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 19 (ACN) Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), leads the Cuban delegation to the first part of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, to be held virtually today and tomorrow, by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) with the cooperation of the Austrian Parliament and the United Nations (UN).

More than 150 Presidents of Parliament, other legislators, experts and representatives of the UN have been invited to the meeting with the aim of “mobilizing the international parliamentary community to act in the face of the health, climate and economic crises that the peoples and the planet must face”.
Various events, panels and reports serve as the basis for discussions at a distance that includes the adoption of a final declaration on the parliaments mobilized in favor of a more effective multilateralism in the service of peace and sustainable development.
These forums are called every five years and on this occasion it was agreed to postpone, due to Covid-19, and to hold the second part next year in Vienna, Austria, in its customary face-to-face manner.
The first meetings of this type were organized in New York, but due to the attitude of the United States Government of not granting visas to all presidents, they were forced to transfer the Conferences to Europe.
In the current circumstances, when humanity is threatened, these discriminatory policies become incomprehensible given the manifest lack of solidarity on the part of some states that intensify the blockades and order actions that prevent aid to those in need.
Among the topics to be covered in the interactive debate are: Health, climate and economy; The fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and Science, technology and ethics: new challenges and the need for urgent solutions.
The Cuban delegation also includes Ana Maria Mari Machado, ANPP deputy president, Yolanda Ferrer and José Luis Toledo, who head the International Relations and Constitutional and Legal Affairs commissions, respectively; Jesus Rafael Mora, civil servant; and Loipa Sanchez, ambassador of Cuba in Austria.