Over 850 representatives for landmark conference:

CPA sessions in SL: Endorsement by Commonwealth countries

By Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Depicting the peace dividends recorded after the end of three decades of terrorism in 2009, Sri Lanka has gained a key opportunity to host the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference which will be officially opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre on Tuesday morning. Over 850 representatives from 179 CPA branches from 54 Commonwealth countries will attend this landmark conference.

Hosting the 58th sessions of the CPA in Sri Lanka under the theme ‘Ensuring a relevant Commonwealth for the future’ is a firm endorsement given by the Commonwealth countries on the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the country.

Therefore, the CPA would make a direct impact on projecting the country’s image globally and help the Commonwealth delegates to ascertain first-hand the true situation in Sri Lanka. The most significant factor is that this is the biggest international parley to be held in Sri Lanka after the eradication of LTTE terrorism from Sri Lankan soil in May 2009.

The CPA was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association and its affairs were administered by the United Kingdom Branch.

The original member Branches were Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Evolving with the Commonwealth, the CPA in 1948 adopted its present name, changed its rules to enable all member Branches to participate in the Association’s management and established a separate Secretariat to manage its affairs.

Global political issues and development in the parliamentary system are analysed at the conference debates among leading Members of Parliaments and Legislatures throughout the Commonwealth. These plenary conferences were biennial from 1948 to 1959 and annual since 1961.

The CPA works in the fields of good governance, of democracy and elections, and human rights, while special attention is also paid to gender sensitising through the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and to promoting awareness of Parliamentary democracy among the youth of the Commonwealth.

Parliament democracy

Today’s resurgence of parliament democracy is evident in the growth of the CPA. In the last decade, more than 50 new Parliaments and Legislatures joined or rejoined the CPA.

The CPA in 1989 created the constitutional posts of Patron and Vice-Patron Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth consented to become Patron.

The Vice Patron is normally the Head of State or the Government of the Branch hosting the coming plenary conference.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa became the Vice Patron of the CPA as Sri Lanka was selected to host the 58th sessions of the CPA at its 57th session held in London on July 28, 2011. In addition, the pivotal role played by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa to uphold the dignity and decorum of the Sri Lankan Parliament provided him the opportunity to confer the Presidency of the CPA at its 57th sessions.

The Association comprises Branches formed in Legislatures in Commonwealth countries which subscribe to parliamentary democracy. The Members of the Legislature in which a Branch is formed are entitled to become Members of the Branch. For a Branch to qualify it must be a legislative body, thus both national and state or provincial parliaments as well as the Legislatures of the dependent territories may be Members.

At present the CPA consists of 179 Branches from 54 Commonwealth countries with a total membership approaching 15,000 Parliamentarians. The CPA’s Constitution vests in an Executive Committee the control and management of the activities and the business of the CPA.

The CPA has, since 1981 held Small Branch Conferences for Members from more than 30 jurisdictions with populations of up to a current ceiling of 500,000 people.

Members discuss political problems and the operation of democratic systems in some of the world’s smallest jurisdictions. This annual meeting is held in conjunction with the plenary conference. The official opening of the 32nd Small Branches Conference will be held at Hotel Galadari today at 9.00am under the patronage of Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded by women delegates at the 1989 plenary conference so women at the conference discuss ways to increase female representation in Parliament and work towards the mainstreaming of gender considerations in all CPA activities and programs.

CPA’s mission

The CWP President is nominated annually by the year’s Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference host Branch. The CPA’s mission is to promote the advancement of Parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance.

This mission is achieved through a Strategic Plan which ensures that CPA activities continue to meet the changing needs of today’s Parliamentarians.

Meanwhile, addressing a media briefing held at the Parliamentary complex on Friday to educate the media on the arrangements made by the Government to host the CPA conference, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa said the CPA has opened a very good opportunity to other Commonwealth countries to share our experiences. The Speaker said this would also enable our 225 Parliamentarians to discuss and share their knowledge with parliamentarians of other countries.

This would be the third occasion that a CPA conference is held in Sri Lanka as CPA conferences have been held in Sri Lanka in 1974 and 1995 as well. The Speaker told the media that significant change has been made within the socio-economic sectors of the country at present when compared with the situation which prevailed in the country in 1995. Therefore, the delegates would be able to witness these significant changes with their own eyes.

The CPA conference would be an eye-opener to Commonwealth delegates to ascertain what Sri Lanka really is. The Government has also made arrangements for the delegates to see the prevailing situation in the North. The Speaker said all political parties have extended their fullest cooperation to make this event a success, irrespective of political affiliations.

The main discussions of the CPA, scheduled to be held on Wednesday at the BMICH, would be centred on several key topics such as Empowering future generations through access to health, education and vocational training, The politics of constitution-making, The role of Parliaments in relation to the people, Ensuring adequate parliamentary scrutiny of foreign and Commonwealth affairs, The role of parliamentarians in conflict resolution and peace-building, Engaging political parties to improve gender-responsive governance and Terrorism - the threat to democracy, peace and security.

The program of the CPA conference which commenced on Friday will continue till September 15.