Duarte Pacheco, who led the UIP for three years, gave his last speech as president at the organization's 147th general assembly, which took place in recent days in Luanda, capital of Angola, the first time it was held in a country Portuguese-speaking African.
According to the Portuguese deputy, there are global challenges, such as the crisis in the Middle East, that require parliamentarians to have "an urgency in reacting".
"But, as in other conflicts, we see how violence calls for more violence and not peace. There must be an end to hostilities and heightened discussions, which we want to happen between Israel and Palestine, that they can coexist in safety and peace", he stressed.
The flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, appealed Duarte Pacheco, must be guaranteed, as must the release of all hostages.
The deputy also recalled that, in the last two years, there have been "six coups d'état, violence and a lot of terror throughout the Sahel, with 2.5 million people displaced".
According to Duarte Pacheco, the Luanda Declaration adopted on Friday by the IPU "is very clear", in the sense that there are more robust, more inclusive, more transparent institutions that must continue to identify responses and develop legitimate governance, calling for to put into practice what was decided at the 147th general assembly.
"In 2024, the UIP will continue its work in the area of climate change, but, in parallel, we now have a priority for 2024: Peace and security. We understand that without peace nothing can be done, it is impossible to think about sustainable development or gender parity in parliaments, or defending the participation of young people, with a war, because it is at that moment of conflicts when people only think about how to survive a war and not about other matters", he stressed.
The deputy reiterated that peace and security are essential, vital, which is why UIP parliamentarians decided that it will be a priority for next year.
Duarte Pacheco welcomed the election of Tulia Ackson as president of the UIP, declaring himself convinced that "she will be a fantastic president, because she has the strength, competence and professionalism of a woman in Africa".
In turn, the president of the National Assembly of Angola, Carolina Cerqueira, at the end of the event, highlighted the election, for the first time, of an African woman to the presidency of the UIP and the importance of including young people and women.
Carolina Cerqueira highlighted that the intense debates promoted during the assembly that ended on Friday will lead parliamentarians to emphasize the values that "encourage dialogue and tolerance as privileged means of harmonizing differences between peoples and States".
"Parliamentary diplomacy at all levels has never been so urgent and necessary, to sensitize our Governments and the various institutions in favor of peace", she said.
