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OAS Permanent Council Commemorates ParlAmericas 25th Anniversary

February 18, 2026 | Activity

This morning, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) commemorated the 25th anniversary of ParlAmericas during its regular session, in a gesture that reflected the Member States’ recognition of ParlAmericas’ place in the architecture of the inter-American system.

The session, convened by Ambassador Luis Ernesto Vargas, Permanent Representative of Colombia and Chair of the Permanent Council, included this commemoration as a dedicated item on the agenda, within the framework of ParlAmericas’ annual presentation to the Council, established in resolution AG/RES. 3029 (LIV-24).

Remarks were delivered by Senator Iván Flores García of Chile, President of ParlAmericas, and The Honourable Senator Alvina Bertram Reynolds of Saint Lucia, President of the Senate and Vice-President of the organization.

In his remarks, Senator Flores placed the anniversary at a particularly demanding moment for the inter-American system. In a hemisphere marked by growing tensions and heightened expectations for regional cooperation, he underscored that the strength of Inter-American multilateralism lies in the ability of its institutions to uphold shared rules, channel disagreement constructively, and preserve the democratic legitimacy of collective action.

In this context, he affirmed that ParlAmericas contributes a parliamentary dimension to the system that reinforces its political legitimacy. Hemispheric cooperation, he argued, requires spaces capable of sustaining political dialogue, articulating pluralism, and providing democratic continuity to the commitments undertaken by States. In this task, he emphasized, parliamentary diplomacy plays a structural role.

For her part, Senator Reynolds highlighted the inclusive nature of the organization’s inter-parliamentary cooperation model, as a space where parliaments of different sizes, traditions, and political realities come together. From a Caribbean perspective, she emphasized that ParlAmericas ensures that national priorities and experiences — including those of Small Island Developing States — form a substantive part of regional dialogue.

During the session, representatives of Member States congratulated ParlAmericas on its anniversary, expressed support for its work, and highlighted its ability to link commitments made at the inter-American level with national legislative processes. More than a formal gesture, the speeches gave the anniversary a clear political dimension: endorsement of twenty-five years of collective effort to build the inter-parliamentary body of the Inter-American System.

Member States also acknowledged the deepening ties between ParlAmericas and the OAS, in fulfillment of General Assembly mandates, as a meaningful step toward deepening dialogue between branches of government and reinforcing the coherence of hemispheric action.

Echoing these reflections, OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin highlighted the historical significance of ParlAmericas’ creation as an initiative launched within the Organization itself and reaffirmed the General Secretariat’s readiness to continue strengthening coordinated work with the legislative branches of the Americas and the Caribbean through ParlAmericas.

The session also provided an opportunity to extend this coordination to the upcoming ParlAmericas parliamentary delegation to Washington, D.C., in March, whose agenda will include high-level political dialogue with OAS authorities, Permanent Missions, and other key stakeholders.

Twenty-five years after its creation, the commemoration reflected Member States’ broad recognition of the role that ParlAmericas plays in regional political dialogue. Beyond marking an institutional milestone, the anniversary reaffirmed a shared conviction: that the strengthening of hemispheric multilateralism rests, in part, on the parliamentary dimension as one of its essential institutional pillars.