Sri Lanka’s role

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 4 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 and had the honour of hosting the 3rd CPA Asia Regional Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka from February 10-16, 2011.

The CPA Sri Lanka Branch is honoured and privileged to have been chosen as the host of the 58th CPA Annual Conference from 7th to 15th September 2012. This event, which is the apex of all CPA activities held each year, will bring together approximately 800 Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff from 175 CPA Branches to discuss and share experiences pertaining to the strengthening of Parliamentary democracy throughout the Commonwealth. This will be the third time that Sri Lanka hosts the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference since 1948.

The highlights of the Conference will include the Meeting of the General Assembly of the CPA, Workshops on important and relevant topics, the Executive Committee Meeting, the Meeting of the CPA Working Party, the Conference of Small Branches, the Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) and Society of Clerks-at-the-Table (SOCATT) Meetings.