| >>> VERSION FRANÇAISE | ||
| Inter-Parliamentary Union | ||
| Chemin du Pommier 5, C.P. 330, CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex/Geneva, Switzerland |
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(Geneva, 28 September - 1 October 2004)
Contents: 1. Opening of the proceedings The 111th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union opened its proceedings at the Geneva International Conference Centre on the morning of Tuesday, 28 September 2004. The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Sergio Páez Verdugo, welcomed the participants and declared the 111th Assembly officially open. Following the official opening, the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was elected President of the Assembly and the Vice-President of the Executive Committee, Mr. Rudy Salles, was elected Vice-President. 2. Participation Delegations of the parliaments of the following 112 countries took part in the work of the Assembly: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe. The following Associate Members also took part in the Assembly: the Andean Parliament, the European Parliament, the Latin American Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament). Observers included representatives of: (i) Palestine; (ii) United Nations system: United Nations, International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), World Heath Organization (WHO), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO); (iii) African Union, International Organization for Migration (IOM), League of Arab States, African Parliamentary Union (APU), Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU), Assembly of the Western European Union (WEU), European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), Maghreb Consultative Council, Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and the Russian Federation, Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation (PAEAC), Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Members (PUOICM); (iv) Amnesty International, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); and (v) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW); United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Furthermore, a delegation from the Republic of the Maldives participated as an observer with a view to future affiliation. Of a total of 989 delegates who attended the Assembly, 453 were members of national parliaments. The parliamentarians included 28 presiding officers, 26 deputy presiding officers and 130 women parliamentarians (28.7%). 3. Choice of an emergency item (Item 2) When it took up this agenda item, the Assembly had before it a proposal submitted by the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Assembly was informed that the proposals previously submitted by South Africa and Sudan had been officially withdrawn. The President gave the floor to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran to present its proposal entitled The alarming situation in Iraq and the need for parliamentary action to restore peace and security in that country. The President gave the floor on a point of order to the delegation of Canada, which indicated that although it was not opposed to the inclusion of the proposed item, it considered that it was regrettable that the Assembly could not debate the critical humanitarian situation in the Darfur region. Following an intervention by the head of the delegation of Mali, the President, noting that there was no opposition to the inclusion of the item proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, declared the proposal adopted as the emergency item of the 111th Assembly. He invited all geopolitical groups to make proposals for the drafting committee which would prepare a draft resolution for the Assembly. 4. Debates and decisions of the Assembly and its Standing Committees (a) Debate on the emergency item
The alarming situation in Iraq and the need for parliamentary action to contribute to restoring peace and security in that country (Item 8)The debate on the emergency item took place in the morning of Wednesday, 29 September. A total of 35 speakers from 34 parliamentary delegations and one observer took part in the debate, which was opened by the President of the Assembly. He subsequently invited the Vice-President to chair the sitting. Following the decision adopted by the Assembly, the drafting committee met in the afternoon of Wednesday, 29 September, and in the morning of Thursday, 30 September, and prepared a draft resolution. The drafting committee was composed of representatives from Benin, Canada, Egypt, France, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kuwait, Portugal, Republic of Korea and Venezuela. It appointed Mr. M. Al-Fikki (Egypt) as its president and Mrs. V. Mata (Venezuela) as rapporteur. During the sitting of Friday, 1 October, the Assembly adopted the draft resolution unanimously. (b) First Standing Committee on Peace and International Security (i) The role of parliaments in strengthening multilateral regimes for non-proliferation of weapons and for disarmament, in the light of new security challenges (Item 3) The item was considered on 28 and 30 September. The Committee held three sittings, with its President, Mr. E. Menem (Argentina), in the chair. Mr. S. Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, addressed the Committee at the beginning of its first sitting. The Committee had before it a report and a draft resolution prepared by the co-Rapporteurs, Ms. S. Damen-Masri (Jordan) and Mr. J. Wilkinson (United Kingdom), as well as amendments to the draft resolution that had been proposed and submitted within the statutory deadline by the delegations of Algeria, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kenya, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Sudan, Sweden and Syrian Arab Republic. A total of 56 speakers from 47 countries, one associate member and two international organisations took the floor during the debate. Following the debate, the Committee appointed a drafting committee composed of representatives from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Ghana, Greece, India, Israel, Jordan, Russian Federation and Syrian Arab Republic. The drafting committee was also assisted in its work by the co-Rapporteurs. The drafting committee met on 29 and 30 September, in three sittings. At the beginning of its work, it appointed Ms. E. Papadimitriou (Greece) as its president and Mr. M. Salim (India) as rapporteur. The drafting committee examined in detail the draft resolution prepared by the co-Rapporteurs and the proposed amendments, as well as a series of sub-amendments received from another six delegations, and amended the draft resolution accordingly. In the afternoon of 30 September, the First Standing Committee considered the draft resolution. One sub-amendment was proposed to the text and was adopted by the Committee. Two delegations took the floor to express reservations on the proposed resolution. Fourteen delegations also took the floor to express their appreciation for the quality of the resolution or to clarify their positions on a series of questions. At the end of the sitting, the draft resolution was adopted by consensus. In the afternoon of 1 October, the plenary sitting of the Assembly adopted the resolution by consensus. Following the adoption of the resolution, the delegations of Israel and India presented reservations on the resolution. (ii) Choice of subject items for the First Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th AssembliesThe Bureau of the First Standing Committee met on 29 September with the Committee President, Mr. E. Menem, in the chair. It examined a number of proposals submitted by IPU Members for the items to be debated by the First Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th Assemblies. Taking account of the recommendations of the Executive Committee concerning the themes that would be of special interest for the Union from the point of view of its cooperation with the United Nations, the Bureau approved two subject items and a candidature for a co-Rapporteur for the item proposed for the 112th Assembly, which it subsequently submitted to the First Standing Committee. The Committee agreed to propose to the Assembly the inclusion on the agenda of the 112th Assembly of a subject item entitled The role of parliaments in the establishment and functioning of mechanisms to provide for the judgement and sentencing of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and terrorism, with a view to avoiding impunity. For the 113th Assembly, the Committee decided to propose the inclusion of a subject item entitled Concerted action and cooperation by parliament and the media to inform public opinion, specifically in respect of armed conflicts and the fight against terrorism. The items were subsequently approved by the Assembly. (c) Second Standing Committee: Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade (i) The role of parliaments in preserving biodiversity (Item 4)The Committee held two sittings on 29 and 30 September, with its President, Mr. E. Gudfinnsson (Iceland), in the chair. In addition to a report and preliminary draft resolution prepared by the co-Rapporteurs, Ms. S. Mugerwa (Uganda) and Mr. P. Günter (Switzerland), the Committee had before it amendments to the draft resolution submitted by the delegations of Algeria, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, India, Japan, Norway, Romania, Sudan, Sweden, United Kingdom and Venezuela, as well as an information document prepared by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. A total of 47 speakers from 42 countries and 3 international organisations took the floor during the debate. Following the debate, the Standing Committee appointed a drafting committee composed of representatives from Algeria, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Uruguay. The drafting committee met in the afternoon of 29 September and in the morning of the following day. At the beginning of its work, it appointed Mr. A. Meale (United Kingdom) as its president and Mr. M. Kavyeas (Malaysia) as rapporteur. The committee was assisted in its work by Mr. O. Jalbert, Principal Officer of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The drafting committee examined over 100 amendments to the preliminary draft resolution and adopted 57 of them, fully or in part. A number of other amendments were accepted, if not in letter, then in spirit, as many were similar in content to those that were adopted. In the afternoon of 30 September, the Second Standing Committee considered the consolidated draft and adopted three further amendments to it, including two through votes. The draft resolution as a whole was subsequently adopted by the Second Standing Committee by consensus. In the afternoon of 1 October, the draft was submitted to the plenary sitting of the Assembly. Following the unanimous adoption of the resolution, the delegation of Sweden took the floor to draw attention to the fact that the resolution contained a reference to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was likely to enter into force in the near future, following its approval by the Government of the Russian Federation on 30 September 2004. Because the Protocol still must be ratified by the Russian Duma, the Swedish delegation appealed to its Russian counterparts to do everything in their power to secure ratification as quickly as possible. Speaking on behalf of the Assembly, the IPU President chairing the session supported that appeal. (ii) Choice of subject items for the Second Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th AssembliesThe Bureau of the Second Standing Committee met on 30 September with the Committee President, Mr. E. Gudfinnsson, in the chair. It examined 11 proposals submitted by IPU Members for the items to be debated by the Second Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th Assemblies. Taking account of the recommendations of the Executive Committee concerning the themes that would be of special interest for the Union from the point of view of its cooperation with the United Nations, the Bureau approved two subject items and the candidatures of co-Rapporteurs for the item proposed for the 112th Assembly, which it subsequently submitted to the Second Standing Committee. The Committee agreed to propose to the Assembly the inclusion on the agenda of the 112th Assembly of a subject item entitled The role of parliaments in establishing innovative international financing and trading mechanisms to address the problem of debt and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. For the 113th Assembly, the Committee decided to propose the inclusion of a subject item entitled Migration and development. The items were subsequently approved by the Assembly. (d) Third Standing Committee: Democracy and Human Rights (i) Beijing + 10: An evaluation from a parliamentary perspective (Item 5)The item was considered on 28 and 30 September by the Third Standing Committee (Democracy and Human Rights). The Committee held two sittings with its President, Ms. R. Kadaga (Uganda), in the chair. The Committee had before it a report and a draft resolution prepared by the co-Rapporteurs, Ms. M. Mensah-Williams (Namibia) and Mr. J.P. Winkler (Germany), as well as amendments to the draft resolution submitted by the delegations of Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, India, Japan, Norway, Romania, Sweden and United Kingdom. It also had before it two information documents prepared by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). A total of 59 speakers took the floor during the debate, including Ms. C. Hannan, Director of UNDAW, who launched the debate. Following the debate, the Committee appointed a drafting committee composed of representatives from Armenia, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Germany, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Sweden, South Africa and United Kingdom. The drafting committee met on 29 September. At the beginning of its work, it appointed Dame Marion Roe (United Kingdom) as its president and Ms. D.M. Sauri Riancho (Mexico) as rapporteur. The drafting committee examined in detail the draft resolution prepared by the co-Rapporteurs and enhanced it with some of the proposed amendments. On 30 September, the Third Standing Committee considered the consolidated draft resolution and adopted it by consensus. The delegations of India and Cuba expressed reservations over the subheading of the draft resolution relating to human security. The delegation of Chile expressed reservations over operative paragraph 7. On the afternoon of 1 October, the resolution was adopted by consensus by the plenary sitting of the Assembly. Following adoption of the resolution, the delegation of India, while indicating its support, expressed reservations regarding the subheading of the resolution relating to human security. In its view, that was still a nebulous concept which had no internationally accepted definition. (ii) Choice of subject items for the Third Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th AssembliesThe Bureau of the Third Standing Committee met on 29 September with the Committee President, Ms. R. Kadaga, in the chair. It examined a number of proposals submitted by IPU Members for the items to be debated by the Third Standing Committee at the 112th and 113th Assemblies. Taking account of the recommendations of the Executive Committee concerning the themes that would be of special interest for the Union from the point of view of its cooperation with the United Nations, the Bureau approved two subject items for the 112th and 113th Assemblies, which it subsequently submitted to the Third Standing Committee. The Committee agreed to propose to the Assembly the inclusion on the agenda of the 112th Assembly of a subject item entitled The role of parliaments in advocating and enforcing observance of human rights in the strategies for the prevention, management and treatment of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. For the 113th Assembly, the Committee decided to propose the inclusion of a subject item entitled The importance of civil society and its interplay with parliaments and other democratically elected assemblies for the maturing and development of democracy, in order to improve living conditions. The items were subsequently approved by the Assembly
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