XIV General Assembly of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas and the XIII Annual Meeting of the Parliamentarian Network of Women September 9, 10 and 11, 2015, Guanajuato, Mexico

Parliamentarians and legislators from the Americas declare their commitment to boost the network for a clean air.

Parliamentarians of congresses from fifteen countries of the American continent, met from September 9-11, 2015 in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, to address transcendental issues in matters of democracy, justice, health, social protection, environment and sustainable development.

The meeting that summoned the experts seeks, through a continental network, to curb climate change and, therefore, to procure cleaner air.

The inauguration ceremony, held at the Juárez Theater, one of the most beautiful in Mexico due to its majesticity and for being host to innumerable artistic exhibitions, was attended by the General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS), Dr Luis Almagro Lemes, who spoke on "Opportunities in America in matters of governance, environment, health, security and democracy," as transversal themes in the construction of societies such as ours, which, based on the exercise of democracy and its participation can create commitments of dialogue, respect and willingness to work together in solving problems that are already global.

Work commissions set central themes for 2015 - 2017

It was in the General Auditorium of the University of Guanajuato where the work plans COPA is carrying out were followed up; and in the development of the program, the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace, headed by its Executive President, Dr. William Soto Santiago, had a participation space in the environmental theme.

The gathered Commissions in this XIV General Assembly of COPA covered three fields of action: A first one on Democracy and Peace, where the Secretary of  Political Affairs of the OAS, Dr. Francisco Javier Guerrero, addressed issues such as the role of the media in political campaigns, security in electoral systems and the strengthening of democratic institutions; the second, to discuss Environment and Sustainable Development, a space for dialogue in which Dr. José Mario Molina, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 spoke on Environmental Safety.

The third and final commission on Health and Social Protection, pointed out the challenges in health, center of debate of security of the 21st century; in which Dr. Amalia Ayala Montoya, Consultant of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) had her main participation.

The Global Ambassador of Activists for Peace socializes proposals to contribute to the goals and objectives of Sustainable Development.

The call of the Global Ambassador of the GEAP is to take real and committed actions to safeguard the life and continuity of the species, in harmony with our Mother Earth.

For this, he presents before the congressmen and parliamentarians the proposals that serve as a basis for achieving the full recognition of our Mother Earth as a living being, and therefore, subject of rights. A manifestation that he proposes to emit in a Universal Declaration for the Rights of our Mother Earth.

The proposed central points can be summarized as follows:

FIRST: That the United Nations declare Mother Earth as a living being, recognize its rights, enforces its natural cycles and the exploitation of its resources.

SECOND: To promote the study, classification, prevention and sanction of the crime of Ecocide, in addition to its inclusion in the Rome Statute, as the fifth crime of the International Criminal Court.

In this section he also proposed the study and opinion of the Ecocide Crime Bill, which has already been socialized before the Latin American Parliament.

THIRD: The creation of an international legal entity, that is fast, expeditious and efficient that faces environmental problems with competences that escape national jurisdictions; which he has called: Inter-American Court for the rights of Mother Earth.

"We cannot wait for a global commitment on environmental justice, in which the great powers will agree. If we continue waiting, in the passage of a few years, America may be in the worst situation in terms of environmental damage, which already exist in the rest of the continents of the Planet.

He also announced the creation of its Education Program based on the parameters of the Global Plan of Action (GAP), promoted by the United Nations, and whose purpose is to raise awareness for the peace of Mother Earth.

The COPA Parliamentary Network of Women adopts common positions.

This year, the Parliamentary Network of Women of the Americas focused on issues of violence through political harassment and issues of reconciliation of private life and parliamentary life.

In order to work on these themes, Ambassador emerita Carmen Moreno Toscan, Counselor of the National Commission on Human Rights and Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States (OAS), María del Rocío García Olmedo, Federal Deputy and Secretary of the Equality Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. Maira Melisa Guerra Pulido, Head of the Office of the Technical Unit for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination of the National Electoral Institute (INE). Silvia Mesa Peluffo, Member of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism of the Convention of Belém do Pará (MESECVI) of the Organization of American States (OAS). Marta Martínez, Specialist of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The parliamentarians gathered in this XIV General Assembly of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas pledged in a declaration to work in a network that will unite the congresses of each country for a cleaner air and the need to pay more attention to the challenges of climate change.