Genoa, Italy, 5-7 June, 2023 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated in “Across the Sea Mediterranean Conference 2023”, organised under the patronage of, inter alia, the European Parliament, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the University of Genoa. The event gathered youth from across the Euro-Mediterranean region. Hon. Yana Chiara Ehm, PAM Member Emeritus and Former President of the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilisations and Human Rights, represented PAM in the event.
The conference focused on the nexus between Migration, Climate and Gender.
In her address at the opening session, Hon. Ehm highlighted the resurgence of tensions in the PAM region and conflicts in its neighborhood, including in Sudan and in the Sahel. She emphasized the suffering of civilian populations affected by the global food and energy security crisis, resulting from the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and condemned the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
She reported that 180 million people in MENA and the Gulf regions are affected by water stress and that the loss of coastal and agricultural land threatens people's rights to food, health, and housing.
She focused on migration as a central issue for the Euro-Mediterranean region, with 60,000 people who had migrated across the Mediterranean and a high toll of 1,090 dead or missing, for the first quarter of 2023.
Finally, hon. Ehm stressed that women make up less than 23% of Members of Parliaments in the PAM region, much less than the 30% advised by the United Nations. PAM’s long-standing commitment to gender equality materialized with the establishment of the Women Parliamentary Forum last July and she encouraged Youth to be champions for change and promote human rights and women rights every day and in all circumstances.//