INVITATION FOR HOUSE SPEAKER PELOSI

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000518 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND H E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON DR SUBJECT: INVITATION FOR HOUSE SPEAKER PELOSI ¶1. This is an action request for WHA/CAR; see para. 3. ¶2. On April 7, the Ambassador met with Congresswoman Minou Tavares Mirabal (PLD-Santo Domingo),Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Committee. Tavares delivered an invitation to the U.S. Congress to participate in the XXXth Annual Forum of the Parliamentarians for Global Action. The Forum is entitled "Reinforcing democratic institutions, accountability, and the rule of law," and will be held concurrently with the Vth Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court. The events are being hosted by the Dominican Republic and will be held October 30-31, 2008. ¶3. Action request: Post requests that WHA/CAR work with the H Bureau to deliver the letter of invitation to House Speaker Pelosi. Post notes that the Forum will be held shortly before the U.S. presidential election. An Embassy translation of the letter follows; the original in Spanish will be sent by e-mail to WHA/CAR. Begin letter: U.S. Embassy Translation (National Shield) National Congress of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, National District 10 March 2008 The Right Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House of Representatives UNITED STATES Honorable Madame Speaker: We have the honor to extend to you a cordial invitation for a delegation from the Congress of the United States to participate in the XXXth Annual Forum of the Parliamentarians for Global Action entitled Reinforcing democratic institutions, accountability, and the rule of law, as well as the Vth Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court, which we will host in Santo Domingo on the 30th and 31st of October of 2008. PGA is a global organization that encompasses more than 1,300 legislators from 118 parliaments, whose objective is promoting peace, democracy, justice, human rights, and sustainable development. The PGA Forum is the point of annual meeting of legislators who wish to address problems of international concern which single countries by themselves cannot resolve. This year the Annual Forum will be organized together with the Vth Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court �00A;(CAP-CPI),the only global forum that brings together legislators from around the world who are concerned with international justice. Since 1989, the members of PGA have promoted the establishing and operating of an independent and universal criminal Court which prevents and punishes the gravest crimes afflicting the conscience of humanity: the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Along this path, PGA has observed the powerful effect of international justice on the strengthening of democratic institutions and accountability. With the objective of increasing this potential and identifying the mechanisms through which legislators can favor the various dimensions of national life based on the principle of equality for all before the law and the struggle against impunity, this event will bring together legislators from around the world, as well as representatives of international agencies, governments, civil society and academia, in order to contribute to this important discussion. The discussions of the Annual Forum and CAP-CPI will be conducted in Spanish, English, French, and Arabic, and will include panels addressing the role of international cooperation and parliamentary action in the building of the state, including the promotion of democratic institutions; in the struggle against impunity; in the promotion of the universality and effectiveness of the International Criminal Court; as well as the preventive impact of criminal justice and its contribution to peace, stability, and democracy. The Congress of the Dominican Republic is a proud partner of this initiative, and hopes to be honored with the participation of a delegation from the Congress of your country in this conference, which is expected to be a step towards parliamentary mobilization that will provide solutions to the complex and multi-dimensional challenges facing democracy, justice and accountability under the Rule of Law. This conference will seek for participants to contribute to an Action Plan that can be transformed into concrete actions to be carried out on the national level when the participants return to their respective congresses. I beg you to notify the Executive Coordinator of the Forum, Mrs. Ana Cecilia Helena in Santo Domingo foropga.sd(at)gmail.com and fax (809) 532-3016, and Mr. Brian Kett (PGA in New York) brian.kett(at)pgaction.org before September 30, 2008, of the confirmation of participation by an ideally multi-party delegation from the United States to the XXXth Annual PGA Forum and the Vth Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for CPI and the Rule of Law. We remain Yours very truly, Reinaldo Pared Perez President of the Senate of the Republic Julio Cesar Valentin President of the Chamber of Deputies (U) This report and additional information can be found on Embassy Santo Domingo's SIPRNET site, http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ FANNIN