Uruguay to advocate rejuvenating seats at Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL   “We will vote on the action plan which concerns, among other things, fostering the presence of young people in Parliaments, something that the Uruguayan Parliament promptly endorsed, the UIP raised it, so we have high expectations,” said Argimón, the president of the General Assembly, at the end of a public event on Monday (22).

Argimón pointed out that in the meeting she held a few days ago with Spanish deputies Ana Pastor (Partido Popular, center-right) and Gloria Elizo (Podemos, left) during their visit to Uruguay, both highlighted the country’s “solid democracy” image abroad.

“Uruguay has a very high degree of democratic adherence, which reflects how all political parties contribute to making democracy increasingly solid,” the vice president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union said.

According to Uruguay’s Senate information, Argimón heads the delegation that comprises senators Germán Coutinho (Partido Colorado, center-right), Jorge Gandini and Carmen Asiaín (Partido Nacional, center-right), and Eduardo Bonomi and Silvia Nane (Frente Amplio, left).

Argimón will present to UIP officials “Uruguay’s interest in hosting a meeting of the UIP Executive Committee” in February 2022, according to the same source.

On Friday, the King of Spain Felipe VI, will preside and speak at the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union official opening ceremony, which will comprise over 170 national parliaments to discuss challenges to democracy.

New tools to assist parliamentary work will be presented at the Assembly, including a handbook on gender-sensitive legislation, developed in cooperation with UN Women; a regional report on sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Africa; and a guide on budgets and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).