Kenya: What next after IPU Meeting in Nairobi?
With yesterday's closing of the 114th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held over the past week in Nairobi, Kenyans cannot help but retindle their formerly dampened sense of optimism about their MPs. Yes, our parliamentarians have, rather justifiably, been accused of having large appetites for public funds. And yes, popular support for Parliament is steadily weakening. But having hosted our parliamentary colleagues from around the world in the landmark Assembly - the sixth of its kind in Africa in 100 years - we can indeed argue that Kenya would not have been chosen if our Parliament was not up to scratch... It should be recalled that a day before the meeting, IPU President Pier Ferdinando Casini had said IPU would lobby the West to institute faire trade terms for Africa. "It's useless to talk about solidarity while keeping the doors closed to goods from Africa. Providing relief aid to the continent is not enough unless genuine efforts are made to address the structural problem..."
AllAfrica.com - The East African Standard - 13 May 2006

MPs plead for speedy aid for drought-ravaged Africa
The world's lawmakers wrapped up a week-long conference in Kenya pleading with the rich nations to speed up delivery of humanitarian assistance for drought-afflicted regions in Africa, where food shortage is threatening millions. In addition, the 114th Inter-Parliamentary Union said it was unacceptable that some people in world were living well while others, notably in Africa, were suffering as result of problems caused by food shortages... "It is not possible that people continue dying when others live well in other countries," IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson told reporters at the final press conference there. "The donors have to respect their commitments and affected countries have to implement policies on sustainable food production, develop infrastructure, measures of good governance and an effective fight against corruption," Johnsson said. In addition to drought-ravaged East African regions, many countries in southern and northern Africa have suffered from severe food shortages for several decades. The problems have been exacerbated by recurrent conflict, grinding poverty, poor governance and international trading policies perceived by critics to be unfair.
Agence France Press (AFP) - 12 May 2006

One hundred years ago, Finnish women became the first women in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament
In elections the following year, 19 female MPs were elected and women have continued to play a central role in the nation's politics ever since. A century on, Finland's woman President Tarja Halonen has just been voted into office for a second term and women's representation in parliament stands at a healthy 38%. Meanwhile, many nations in Europe and across the world trail far behind in terms of gender equality... According to Kareen Jabre of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, women's rights can often be boosted as a result of more widespread political upheaval. She cites the examples of Rwanda, Burundi, Iraq and Afghanistan, where new political constitutions drawn up in post-conflict eras have greatly improved women's political status. Rwanda, where quotas are in place, now tops the global table for female parliamentarians with 49% of seats held by women. But, Ms. Jabre said, "there is still a long way to go in most parts of the world, even where women have had the right to vote and be elected for decades".
BBC News – 1st June 2006

Lack of direction in AIDS fight "a shame" says United Nations
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, said that the lack of direction at the global level in the fight against the disease is "a shame". He added that insufficient funds was one of the reasons behind the inaction to curb AIDS. But "what is shameful", he said, was the lack of direction at all levels, which is a real obstacle to responding to the pandemic. "Africa cannot finance the fight against AIDS on its own, although it must contribute its own share of resources", stated Lewis during a panel discussion held during the IPU Assembly in Nairobi. "The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has recently approved a new set of funding but there is no money for that. The same countries that pledged to increase funds have reneged on their promises", he said.
Spanish Press Agency (EFE) - 10 May 2006

114th IPU Assembly - British delegates to meet Iran MPs
Two members of the British IPU delegation said they had organized a closed-door meeting with delegates from Iran. But Lord Morris of Aberavon and Lord Joplin declined to reveal the agenda, only hinting that the issue of threats by the United States to attack Iran over its controversial nuclear programme was likely to feature in the talks.
The Daily Nation (Kenya) - 11 May 2006