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HOME PAGE -> LATEST NEWS -> NEWS ARCHIVES (NOVEMBER 2006 - JANUARY 2007)
News Archives
(November 2006 - January 2007)
More than 1500 reports on parliamentary elections now available from IPU
3 January 2007. Since 1967, IPU has been reporting on the results of parliamentary elections worldwide. These election archives are now fully available to researchers and students in the PARLINE database on national parliaments. To access the election archives, select a parliamentary chamber and follow the "Archive of past elections results for this chamber" link at the bottom of the page. The archives date back to the very first edition of the Chronicle of Parliamentary Elections, which celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 2007. [ Access the election archives on PARLINE ... ]
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United Nations unanimously adopts new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
13 December 2006. The IPU was among those present at the United Nations Headquarters today for the formal adoption by the General Assembly of the landmark Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is estimated that there are over 650 million people in the world living with disabilities and, as Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted in his message, "too often, those living with disabilities have been seen as objects of embarrassment, and at best, of condescending pity and charity […]. On paper they have enjoyed the same rights as others. In real life, they have often been relegated to the margins and denied the opportunities that others take for granted". The IPU is committed to working closely with the United Nations, with a view to ensuring the prompt ratification and implementation of this major human rights instrument. To this end, the IPU is collaborating with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with the aim of producing a handbook for parliamentarians on the Convention. The guide will seek to highlight relevant provisions, as well as good practices and model legislation in the field.
IPU position statement on green budgets grabs attention at United Nations
12 December 2006. Eight statements were delivered by the IPU to the United Nations General Assembly and its various committees during the fall session that is now drawing to a close. The IPU was able to make its voice heard on a variety of issues, including trade, human rights, the advancement of women, information and communication technologies, small arms, the least developed countries, and United Nations reform. Of particular interest was the IPU statement on green budgets - a topic rarely discussed at the United Nations. Inspired by a resolution on the environment adopted at the 114th Assembly in Nairobi, the statement prompted the UN Chronicle to request an interview that can be viewed online. [ Read the interview ... ]
WTO: Wake-up call for all political decision-makers to oversee government action in the field of international trade
2 December 2006. Over two hundred parliamentarians representing more than 70 countries, gathered in Geneva at the initiative of the IPU and the European Parliament, expressed today their grave concern at the prospect of a real failure of the Doha Round of trade negotiations. They lamented the fact that despite the promise of more flexibility, major parties to the negotiations have shown little of it and the talks in the key areas of agriculture and non-agricultural market access have not progressed since the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. This is a wake-up call for all political decision-makers, not least those of us who, as members of parliament representing the interests of the people, have the duty to oversee government action in the field of international trade and promote fairness of trade liberalization, they said. [ More on the session ... ]
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IPU President: "Political cost of failure of WTO negotiations is the most compelling reason for reaching a deal"
1 December 2006. "We cannot hide that many of us are frustrated by lack of flexibility and by an apparent apathy in the Doha Round of negotiations. The challenge is not technical, it is political. And, if so, the political cost of failure should perhaps be considered as the most compelling reason for reaching a deal", said IPU President, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, in his opening address to the annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Geneva. Addressing some 400 delegates from over 70 countries who specialize in trade issues, President Casini added that since the last WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong last December, "hope and expectation have given way to concern, apprehension and doubt. The Doha Round has been stalled since last July, negotiations are blocked, and the main protagonists have taken a costly time-out". [ See also the text of the press release ... ]
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy to MPs:
"Failure is possible. This is a hypothesis we must try to fight vigorously"
1 December 2006. At a hearing with legislators, WTO Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, said he was convinced of the need to conclude the Doha Round of negotiations. "After spending a year in Geneva, I am more convinced than ever that failure is possible and that there will be consequences for your countries. This is a hypothesis we must try to fight vigorously. I know from experience that your negotiators negotiate and operate within mandates set not only by governments, but also by parliaments. Your role in the negotiations is not limited to the mere tasting of the dish at the end. Many of your constitutional systems are devised in such a way that the end consumer is entitled to pass through the kitchen from time to see to see what is going on there. Your attention should not be caught only at the last minute; it should be caught at the critical moment when things are happening in the kitchen. We are approaching that critical moment and I hope that you will act accordingly to give your governments the necessary margins of flexibility. My message today is very simple: I think this is worth it".
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European Parliament Vice-President:
"Developing and least developed countries would suffer most"
1 December 2006. The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Manuel António dos Santos, said that "trade can be a powerful force for development and can help to reduce poverty. The potential outcome of the negotiations is a source of great optimism, optimism borne out by some of the figures put forward by the World Bank. The developing countries and the least developed countries are those which would suffer most, in the short and medium terms, from a prolonged suspension in the negotiations, since the long-awaited rebalancing of the trade rules in their favour cannot be secured outside the multilateral framework".
New developments at the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
28 November 2006. The Office of the Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Parliament has been officially inaugurated by IPU President Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. José Antonio Ocampo. The office is based in Rome, Italy. On 17 November, Mr. Ocampo and Mr. Casini also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Global Centre which sets out the respective roles of each institution in this partnership. The Global Centre aims to reinforce parliamentary capacity to harness ICT tools and to place them at the service of the institutional process, citizens' access to parliamentary activities and inter-parliamentary cooperation. [ More on the Global Centre on ICT in Parliament ... ]
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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: IPU calls on parliaments to step up action
25 November 2006. The President of the IPU, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, has launched an appeal to all parliaments to step up parliamentary action to combat violence against women. According to Mr. Casini, "acts of violence against women are among the most important obstacles to the advancement of women and are a fundamental violation of their basic human rights. Violence against women is a problem that affects society at large as it hinders human development and is an affront to democratic principles. Addressing and preventing violence against women is a priority for the IPU. We all have a part to play in this endeavour." In its resolution on violence against women, adopted at its 114th Assembly in Nairobi, in May 2006, the IPU urged parliaments to enact and enforce legislation against the perpetrators of practices and acts of violence against women and children, including tough and clear measures to combat recidivism. [ See also the text of the press release ... ]
Assassination of Pierre Gemayel: IPU alarmed by escalating violence in Lebanon
23 November 2006. "I am deeply alarmed by the assassination of the Lebanese Minister of Industry, Mr. Pierre Gemayel. The commitment made by several countries to send troops to consolidate Lebanon’s autonomy as a State is in jeopardy", said the President of the IPU, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini. He added that the difficulties facing the Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr. Fouad Siniora, compounded by this latest bloody attack carried out today – recalling the tragic death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - signal a renewed escalation of violence in Lebanon and risk seeing the efforts of the international community go in vain. Pierre Gemayel was the youngest Lebanese minister and parliamentarian and his assassination comes as a further blow to the international parliamentary community. It is the second assassination in less than a year of a young leader representing the new generation of Lebanese politicians and MPs. The IPU's Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is currently examining the case of Mr. Gibran Tueni, a journalist and member of the National Assembly of Lebanon, who was killed in a car bomb attack on 12 December 2005.
IPU video on parliaments and parliamentary channels broadcast by EBU
21 November 2006. A video B-roll prepared by the IPU was broadcast today at 8 a.m. GMT by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on the occasion of World Television Day. It contains quotes from the panellists present at the Conference on Parliaments, Parliamentary Channels and Public Broadcasters, organized jointly by the IPU, the EBU and the ASGP on 19 October 2006 in Geneva. Excerpts of the conclusions of the Rapporteur, Mr. Erik Fichtelius, are also part of the B-roll. [ To see B-roll quotes and photos (PDF, 223 Kb) ... ]
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World Television Day. Success of parliamentary TV channels proves interest in parliamentary activities
21 November 2006. Is broadcasting of parliamentary activities in the public interest? Yes. Why? Because there is a need to create a direct link between citizens and the media, and by so doing, to close the gap between citizens and parliament, the body that represents citizens in their entirety. Citizens must be kept informed and parliaments must reach out to the people. Those were some of the conclusions of the first ever conference on parliamentary broadcasting convened in October by the IPU, the EBU and the Association ASGP. Public interest and the considerable media coverage of the debates among the three hopefuls to be nominated socialist candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections in France, broadcast by two French parliamentary channels, Public Sénat and La Chaîne Parlementaire, is sufficient proof that a country's political leadership needs to be closer to the people. There is a need to close the gap between citizens and their representatives, at all political levels. The participants at the Geneva Conference therefore stressed the importance of providing more information and increasing coverage of the activities of parliament. The growing interest for broadcasting parliamentary activities and political activities in general should not be perceived as a threat to existing media outlets. Rather, the two are complementary and should foster the growth of news and lend transparency to politics, "because once it is live, nobody can take it away", in the words of the Rapporteur of the Conference, Erik Fichtelius, former Executive Producer and Editor of SVT 24 Direct of Sweden. [ More on the Conference on broadcasting of parliamentary business ... ]
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Parliaments are "crucial to peace-building", says Kofi Annan
14 November 2006. The United Nations Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan has highlighted the crucial role that national institutions such as parliaments play in peace-building. The remarks were made at the opening of the annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations, where parliamentarians from around the world gather to exchange views with United Nations officials and the diplomatic community. IPU is providing technical assistance to
parliaments in many post-conflict countries, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and is exploring ways to work with the UN Peacebuilding Commission to support the parliament in Burundi and Sierra Leone. [ More on the Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations ... ]
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Parliamentarians at the Doha Democracy Conference reaffirm the central role of parliament in the promotion of democracy
7 November 2006. At the Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of the sixth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD), parliamentarians from 66 countries pledged to work for a more effective contribution by parliaments to democracy worldwide. In adopting a Declaration and Plan of Action, the participants undertook to encourage their parliaments to take concrete measures to ensure that they are representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective. Specific recommendations include working towards equitable representation of all sectors of society, promoting women's participation in political processes and encouraging citizens' involvement in the legislative process. A special mechanism was created to follow-up on the recommendations contained in the Plan of Action in the period between the sixth and seventh ICNRD. Meanwhile, representatives of parliaments, governments and civil society adopted a Joint Statement in which they commit to strengthening the tripartite partnership within the ICNRD process. The Government of the State of Qatar has expressed strong commitment to support the follow-up to the Conference. [ More on the Parliamentary Meeting at ICNRD-6 ... ]
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