The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) as part of a mission (from 24 to 28 September) at the request of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, organized with the support of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) a parliamentary information and exchange seminar in Port-au-Prince.

On September 24th and 25th, this event brought together about a hundred deputies, senators and parliamentary officials around the theme "Parliament and democracy".

In the presence, among others, of Jean-Claudy Pierre, the new Minister of Planning and the Diplomatic Corps, the seminar was opened by French Deputy Jacques Krabal, Parliamentary Secretary General of the APF, followed by a speech by Gary Bodeau, President of the Chamber of Deputies. The debates were moderated by majority and opposition parliamentarians from the regions : Africa, America and APF Europe, namely Deputy Bassatigui Fofana (Ivory Coast), Deputy Jérôme Lambert, (France) and MP Annie McKitrick (Alberta, Canada). The work enabled parliamentarians from different countries to exchange ideas, compare their concrete experiences and compare practices.

The first day was an opportunity to discuss the relationship between majority and opposition, the status of the parliamentary opposition and the general interest between group discipline and freedom of vote.

The second day was devoted to strengthening the Standing Committees, the information and investigation procedures of the Parliament to control the Government, and the implementation of the Government's responsibility.

The work was closed by Joseph Lambert, President of the Senate and the National Assembly and President of the Haitian section of the APF.

The second part of the mission, which was held over three days (26 to 28 September), identified the needs of the two Houses of the Haitian Parliament, with a delegation of the APF extended to the Secretary General of the National Assembly of Benin, the Secretary General of the National Assembly of Quebec and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons of Canada, designated by the Association of Secretaries General of French speaking parliaments.

To identify these needs, the APF delegation met with the parliamentarians members of the offices as well as the Conference of Presidents, the Secretaries General, the Directors and various staff of the Parliament, the Minujusth, the Regional Office Caribbean Latin America the OIF, the European Union Representation in Haiti, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA International), the Canadian Embassy and the Embassy of France and the French Development Agency (AFD).

In the coming weeks a needs identification report accompanied by a list of actions to strengthen the capacities of parliamentarians, parliamentary officials and both chambers, elaborated with the National Assembly of Haiti, will be transmitted after validation of APF bodies, to the 87 member sections of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and the various international actors working in Haiti for implementation.

HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre