OTTAWA, July 26, 2021 – Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette announces that the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) unanimously adopted a motion (click on the hyperlink) demanding the immediate release of Ms. Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian, who was sentenced to death in November 2010 for blasphemy. Ms. Bibi is currently being held in a prison cell that has been described as unsanitary and inhumane.

FIPA`s  motion is based on the principles of the  Universal Declaration of Human rights and demands that Pakistan respect this declaration as an active member of the United Nations.

“Pakistan has a moral and legal obligation to respect Ms. Bibi`s human rights, as such we demand that she be released immediately”, said Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, a former president of FIPA.

FIPA`s members are committed to lobby the Pakistani Government until she is released. “It is the human thing to do and we believe there is a solid case for her release”, concluded the Senator.

FIPA is an independent network made up of the national legislatures of those governments who are members of the Organization of American States (OAS). FIPA members are committed to promoting parliamentary participation in the inter-American system and to developing inter-parliamentary dialogue on issues of importance to the hemisphere. FIPA seeks to encourage the sharing of experiences and best practices amongst its members, and works to strengthen the role of legislatures in democratic development and to promote harmonization of legislation and hemispheric integration as instruments of sustainable and harmonious development in the region.