Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean

A delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean arrived in Damascus on Tuesday 28 April 2015 to discuss ending the crisis in Syria. Participants discussed the role of Western-backed armed groups in destabilizing the country. They also discussed ways in which the Mediterranean Parliament can support a peaceful solution in Syria. The Parliamentary Assembly is working on a UN resolution to condemn all violent extremism and prevent funding for groups that perpetrate it. Members consider the prolongation of the crisis as very dangerous for the region. This sounds like a concerted approach from an organisation that is able to name some of the problems out loud.

Nashwan Abdullah reports from Damascus for teleSUR. Original publication here: http://multimedia.telesurtv.net/web/telesur/#!en/video/mediterranean-parliament-discusses-peaceful-solution-in-syria

Member states of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM)are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Syria, Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey.

Associate and partner states are: Romania, San Marino, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia and the Holy See.

The organisation was established in 2005.

According to Wikipedia, "The main objective of PAM is to forge political, economic and social cooperation among the member states in order to find common solutions to the challenges facing the region, and to create a space for peace and prosperity for the Mediterranean peoples.

PAM's membership is open exclusively to Mediterranean countries, which are represented on equal footing. This is reflected in the composition of the Bureau and the alternating Presidency. The current President of PAM is Sen. Fayez Al-Tarawneh of Jordan. Each national delegation has five members with equal voting and decision-making powers. Associate Members and Observers do not have voting rights.

PAM conducts the bulk of its work within three standing committees. The standing committees focus on three strategic areas; the first standing committee is dedicated to political and security cooperation, the second is focused on economic, social and environmental issues, while the third standing committee addresses dialogue amongst civilisations and human rights issues. The PAM may also set up ad hoc committees or special task forces for particular topics, such as the Middle East, migration, free trade, terrorism, climate change, and others."

Read more about PAM here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_Assembly_of_the_Mediterranean#Member_states