The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

Ruwanthi ABEYAKOON

The CPA is an Association of Commonwealth Parliamentarians who, irrespective of gender, race, religion or culture, are united by community of interest, respect for the rule of law and individual rights and freedoms, and by pursuit of the positive ideals of parliamentary democracy.

The Association’s mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance. It seeks to build an informed parliamentary community able to deepen the Commonwealth’s democratic commitment and to further co-operation among its Parliaments and Legislatures. This mission is achieved through a Strategic Plan which ensures CPA activities continue to meet the changing needs of today’s Parliamentarians.

Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Dasanayake. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

CPA programmes provide the sole means of regular consultation among Commonwealth Members, fostering co-operation and understanding and promoting the study of and respect for good parliamentary practice. This role is endorsed by Commonwealth Parliaments and Heads of Government.

Active CPA Branches now exist in 179 national, state, provincial and territorial Parliaments, with a total membership of approximately 17,000 Parliamentarians.

History

The CPA was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association and its affairs were administered by the United Kingdom Branch. The original member Branches were Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Evolving with the Commonwealth, the CPA in 1948 adopted its present name, changed its rules to enable all member Branches to participate in the Association’s management, and established a separate Secretariat to manage its affairs.

Today’s resurgence of parliamentary democracy is evident in the growth of the CPA. In the last decade, more than 50 new Parliaments and Legislatures joined or rejoined the CPA: Cameroon; new devolved Assemblies in Canada, India and the United Kingdom; Maldives; Mozambique; Nigeria and most of its states; Seychelles; South Africa and its provinces; Uganda, and Zanzibar in Tanzania. Pakistan and its provinces, active members until the country’s 1999 military coup, rejoined the CPA in 2004. In late 2003, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth and the CPA.

Fiji Islands returned to the CPA in 2002 and was an active member till its 2006 military coup. Rwanda’s Parliament has voted to join the CPA this year after the nation joined the Commonwealth in 2009.

The CPA in 1989 created the constitutional posts of Patron and Vice-Patron. Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth consented to become Patron. The Vice-Patron is normally the Head of State or Government of the Branch hosting the coming plenary conference. In 2010, Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya, succeeded Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete as Vice-Patron.

Branches and Membership

The Association is composed of Branches formed in Legislatures in Commonwealth countries which subscribe to parliamentary democracy. The Members of the Legislature in which a Branch is formed are entitled to become Members of that Branch. For a Branch to qualify it must be a legislative body, thus both national and state or provincial Parliaments as well as the Legislatures of dependent territories may be members. The Presiding Officers of legislative Chambers are normally the Branch Presidents, while the Leaders of the parliamentary parties are Vice-Presidents. The Clerk or Secretary-General of the Legislature usually acts as the Secretary of the Branch. Every Branch is autonomous and the affairs of most Branches are managed by an Executive Committee, elected annually by Members and usually representative of all main parties or groups. Many Branches require their Members to pay an annual subscription and many permit Members to apply for associate status on ceasing to belong to the Legislature. CPA Branches are currently grouped geographically into nine Commonwealth Regions for representation on the CPA Executive Committee and for the organization of regional conferences and seminars on parliamentary practice and procedure. The Regions are: Africa; Asia; Australia; British Islands and Mediterranean; Canada; Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic; India; Pacific, and South-East Asia.

CPA Sri Lanka Branch

Sri Lanka has been a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) since gaining independence in 1948. Since then, the membership of the CPA has provided many Parliamentarians and members of the Parliamentary Staff of Sri Lanka invaluable opportunities for information sharing, capacity building and skills development, while also enhancing their knowledge of parliamentary practice, procedure and administration.

In fact, the platform provided by the CPA for advocates of democracy all over the world to meet and exchange views and knowledge about Parliamentary Democracy and to form a network of contacts under the aegis of the Association has been instrumental in consolidating our own parliamentary activities from that time to date.

As an active member of the CPA, the Sri Lanka Branch has contributed towards its worthy endeavor of promoting the advancement of Parliamentary Democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance, by hosting several major CPA events such as the Annual CPA Conference in 1974 and 1995 as well as several other Conferences and Workshops during the course of the years.

Branches of the CPA are currently grouped in to nine geographical regions, namely Africa, Asia, Australia, British Islands and Mediterranean, Canada, Caribbean Americas and Atlantic, India, Pacific and South East Asia. The Asia region of the CPA consists of Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while Pakistan also has four Provincial Assemblies which form four branches belonging to the CPA Asia region. Currently, Sri Lanka has been entrusted with the operating of the Regional Secretariat for the Asia Region.

58th CPA conference in Colombo

Sri Lanka is once again privileged in hosting the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference. The conference is now held in Colombo. It brings together around 850 participants including delegates, parliamentary officials and observers representing parliaments and legislative assemblies of Commonwealth Nations, States, Provinces and territories.

The 179 branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association established in 54 countries are represented at the conference. Both local and international policy makers and several other dignitaries participate at this event which is of great importance for all Commonwealth nations. ‘Ensuring a relevant Commonwealth for the future’ is the theme for this year. The Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Dasanayake spoke to Daily News about the importance of this event.

“This is the third occasion Sri Lanka is hosting the annual conference of CPA. The first conference Sri Lanka hosted was in 1974 which was the 20th conference of the CPA and the second was the 41st annual conference in 1995. This shows the commitment Sri Lanka has towards the Commonwealth. From the very beginning Sri Lanka has actively taken part in Commonwealth activities and played an active role in regional grouping. Sri Lanka is also hosting the CPA secretariat in the Asia Region,” he said. “At this year’s conference Speaker of Parliament, Minister Chamal Rajapaksa represents Sri Lanka as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Asia Region, President of the CPA this year and the President of Sri Lanka branch as the Speaker of Parliament,” Dasanayake added.

The inauguration of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference took place on September 11. Prior to the main workshops pre conference meetings such as women parliamentarians meeting, small branches of the CPA meeting, ex-committee meeting and working party meeting are held from September 7 onwards taking into discussion various topics related to all Commonwealth Nations. The CPA will hold its workshops at the BMICH on eight important and relevant topics.

“All these topics are timely. At present Commonwealth represents democracy, democratic institution, rule of law and good governance. CPA is looking at this definition in a broader sense. Sri Lanka suggested the topic ‘Empowering Future Generations through Access to Health and Education and Vocational Training’ as these are the sectors the country has capitalized on.

“Other topics include issues such as Youth Unemployment, Terrorism, Role of Parliamentarians in Conflict Resolution and Peace-building which are relevant to most of the member countries. The participants will share their experiences on these issues. The workshops and discussions are beneficial for all the countries,” Dasanayake said.

“At the same time we are taking this opportunity to provide the parliamentarians and the delegates a window to explore and enjoy the beauty of our nation and culture. They will also witness the massive development projects that are taking place in the country.

“They will get a firsthand experience of the reconciliation that is taking place. There will be four excursions to Kandy, Koggala, Sigiriya and a city tour which will cover all monumental places in Colombo. During the period of the conference we expect the parliamentarians to share their experience and ideas. The conference will also facilitate close networking which in turn will provide a better understanding between the fellow nations. At the end of the conference it is expected that all participants will carry with them memories that they can cherish. It will also help them to clear the doubts and cast aside any bad impressions that they bear in mind about Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka is forging ahead with development work, we will provide maximum exposure to better understand the nation and its people,” he added.

Secretary General said all facilities are provided for the parliamentarians, delegates and other dignitaries to make their stay in the country an enjoyable one. “We will ensure that all aspects will be looked into. We have the fullest cooperation of the Speaker Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody. I have a good team here. There are sixteen sub committees handling various aspects. They are doing an excellent job. Thus I believe this conference will be a success and bring a lot of benefits for the country,” he said.