The Speaker of the Micronesian Congress Wesley W. Simina handed over a cheque of US$100,000 to IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong as a practical first step in his parliament’s support for IPU’s work on migration.
The funds, which had been pledged during the recent 133rd IPU Assembly in Geneva, will help support implementation of IPU’s follow-up to a declaration on migration adopted at the Assembly. This will include parliamentary field missions to regions affected by migration and refugee crises.
Presenting the cheque during an IPU-French Parliament organized global parliamentary conference on climate change in Paris, Speaker Simina said that as his people were already facing the possibility of becoming climate refugees, Micronesia could be counted on to help in whichever way it could.
IPU Secretary General Chungong said the Micronesian Parliament’s generous contribution will serve as an example to others that no country is too small to contribute to efforts to protect the rights and dignity of people everywhere. It also showed that parliaments were willing and able to walk the talk when it came to delivering on people’s expectations.
