“The IPU must protect its unique identity”

Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, was elected President of the IPU on 15 October. Dr. Gurirab, who will serve a three-year term of office, was Namibia's Prime Minister from 2002 to 2005 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 2002. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly Constitution Drafting Committee and a founding member of parliament. In 1999, he served as President of the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. He was instrumental in driving forward the UN reform process and presided over the drafting of the historic United Nations Millennium Declaration in 2000.

Q: Mr. President, what will be your priorities?
Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab: The priorities for the IPU for the period 2009-2011 are spelt out in its strategic plan. As I participated in its formulation, there is nothing I want to change. But from a political perspective, I can tell you what I think the IPU should be focusing on. One priority should be for the IPU to take full advantage of the growing partnership with the United Nations. I my acceptance speech, I stressed the point that the IPU is neither a specialized agency nor a Standing Committee of the United Nations; it is a partner. The IPU must protect its unique identity as an organization of national parliaments.

Q: Given your vast experience at the national and international levels, what for you is the specificity of the IPU?
T.-B.G.: The IPU is different from any other international organization. At home, parliaments are the houses of the people. The priority of parliaments is to promote the well-being, security and progress of citizens and communities. We are far more than just members of parliaments. Parliaments depend on different political systems, but those of us who come from a system where cabinet members also sit in parliament. I would like to draw a line between cabinet ministers and deputy ministers on the one hand, and backbenchers whose only responsibility is to work in parliament to promote better living conditions for the people and hold the government to account for laws that are passed and policies formulated by the government. The justification for existing as the IPU through national parliaments is that we must always do things that show our responsibility, our commitment to promote the welfare of the people.

Q: The IPU is also a forum for delegates, sometimes for countries in conflict, to have bilateral meetings. Would you encourage more meetings of that kind?
T.-B.G: This is very much consistent with the ideal of the work of parliament. There are parliaments dominated only by one political party, but parliament is at its best when there is political pluralism, where there are different ideas on how best to promote economic development, health care, education, rural development, and protection of women and children. Multilateralism and dialogue on different ideas is the best way for parliament to be alive and active. I will promote bilateral relations and also promote multilateralism, where we, as Members of the IPU, engage in discussing the global economy, climate change, global warming, environmental protection, human rights and the rights of children. I have a rich background having been associated with the United Nations for so long and having placed much emphasis on public diplomacy, which means that dialogue is the best means to solve problems.

Q: You mentioned the global economy. What can legislators do to try to solve the financial crisis?
T.-B.G.: Each national parliament has a responsibility to sit down with its government. Governments are responsible for economic planning and the budget. Each country should, through its parliament, seek to identify the consequences of the current global economic crisis and the breakdown of financial markets and how they affect our countries. There must be a dialogue. We must hold the government to account. Heads of State, Heads of Government, finance, economy and planning ministers have to come before the parliament and explain the situation to the parliamentarians and therefore to the people. Each country has its peculiarity: there are those with energy or mineral resources and those that depend on tourism, which is the backbone of their national economy. Governments have to come to parliaments and explain how the current economic situation affects the society and with that knowledge, we legislators need to go back to our communities to educate the people about things that they should do to protect their living conditions and the things they should avoid doing. People do not know what is going on in the world and we should be the ones getting that information and bringing it to their attention. It is therefore the responsibility of the IPU, acting together with its Members, to speak as a voice of concern and urge governments, through the United Nations, to do something about the world situation and to prevent a catastrophe of global proportions.

Q: Speaking on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, do you think that human rights are in jeopardy or is the situation improving?
T.-B.G.: In global terms, let me say that we have been doing more as countries and as governments, thanks to the activities carried out by the United Nations, the IPU and other organizations, civil society and individual actors. The human rights situation continues to improve, but there are some countries in which human rights have perhaps gone from bad to worse. The IPU is a leader in holding those countries to account through its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which reports on parliamentarians who have been imprisoned or killed. We keep a watchful eye on the behaviour of governments in IPU Member countries. The issue of human rights is a fundamental concern of governments, and certainly of parliaments and the IPU does its best to keep this issue constantly alive in the view of the public.

Q: How do you view IPU activities to promote gender partnership?
T.-B.G.: The IPU has provided leadership in terms of not only promoting the rights of women but providing a yard stick by which its Members are judged. There is a requirement that each delegation attending IPU meetings must be gender-balanced and that women be included. Not all countries do that, but there is a sanction for those that do not comply. We should continue to promote it by implementing the conventions and protocols that have been internationally endorsed as the basis for action to promote gender equality. The IPU should ensure this and encourage national parliaments and governments to appoint women to decision-making positions and give them a higher political profile in their countries. The participation of women is not an act of charity. It is an obligation for governments to live by the conventions they have signed up to.

Q: The IPU will celebrate 120 years serving democracy and dialogue. What is your assessment of democracy today?
T.-B.G.: In Namibia, we were among the first countries to have celebrated the International Day of Democracy. We marked it on 18 September rather than on the actual Day itself - 15 September - because the Parliament did not resume its session until the 16th. We organized a workshop. I made an announcement in the National Assembly. We invited the President, one prominent religious personality, a civil society spokesperson, a university professor, a spokesperson for a women's organization and I delivered a speech. It is important to discuss issues of democracy at the national and international levels.