IPU TO LAUNCH GUIDE TO DEMOCRATIC PRACTICE IN PARLIAMENT

The third meeting of the IPU panel on Parliaments' Contribution to Democracy convened in Geneva from 23 to 24 January 2006 to review progress on a major new IPU study on the characteristics of a democratic parliament and how these characteristics are implemented worldwide. This study will be illustrated by examples of democratic practice from parliaments around the world. During two days of discussions, parliamentarians, academics scholars and legislative specialists analysed the responses to the challenges facing parliaments in the twenty-first century. Among these challenges are how parliaments are seeking to be more representative, accountable and accessible as well as to be more effective at both the national and international levels. The panel's findings will be presented in the form of a practical guide.

In the words of Professor David Beetham, the panel's rapporteur, "the guide is intended to demonstrate that parliaments are the true cornerstone of democracy". For his part fellow panel member, Mr. Abdewahed Radi, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives stressed that "if democracy is to develop, a culture of democracy must be nurtured".

	SECOND WORLD CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS OF PARLIAMENTS (2005) The Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments took place in New York at United Nations Headquarters in September 2005. Over 140 leaders of parliaments gathered there for three days of debate. Their purpose was to see how parliaments could help to bridge the democracy gap in international relations. This richly illustrated publication offers insights into the events as they played out over the course of the Conference. It looks at the issues underpinning the different items on the Speakers' agenda and describes the panel discussions and other events held alongside the Conference. It also contains a wealth of brief excepts from the statements made by the Speakers and the text of the Declaration adopted at the end of the Conference.

	HUMAN RIGHTS: A HANDBOOK FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS (2005) Published jointly by the IPU and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), this handbook is intended for parliamentarians who want to familiarize themselves with the framework that has been set up since 1945 by the United Nations and regional organizations to protect and promote human rights. It presents the notion of human rights and the core contents of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It specifies the obligations of States to protect and promote human rights, and contains suggestions as to action that parliaments and their members may take to contribute to their realization.

	NATIONALITY AND STATELESSNESS: A HANDBOOK FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS (2005) "Citizenship is man's basic right, for it is nothing less than the right to have rights" (Chief Justice Earl Warren (USA, 1958). Published jointly by the IPU and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the handbook on nationality and statelessness provides parliamentarians with a broad description of the international principles regulating nationality and statelessness. It discusses the rights and obligations of stateless persons as protected under international law, highlights the main causes of statelessness and suggests practical steps parliamentarians can take to help reduce the incidence of statelessness.