PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS CONVENE IN GENEVA TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF FOOD CRISIS, NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

More than 1000 delegates, among them Speakers of national parliaments from some 40 countries^*, will convene at the 119th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), from 13 to 15 October 2008, at the Centre international de Conférences de Genève (CICG).

During three days of intensive political discussions, the participants will debate major issues on the international agenda, such as development and the food crisis, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, climate change and renewable energies, as well as freedom expression and the right to information. They will also debate the United Nations reform.

The Assembly will open on the morning of Monday 13 October with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, in the chair. Legislators may debate an emergency item concerning a major event of international concern.

The same morning, the IPU Governing Council will debate the policy and program of the world organization of parliaments. It will decide on the requests for membership from the parliaments of Comoros, Oman and Sierra Leone. The Council is also scheduled to take the necessary steps to implement its earlier decision to admit the Parliament of Palestine as a Member of the IPU.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Governing Council will elect the new IPU President for a three-year mandate to replace Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini (Italy). To date the following candidatures have been received: Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, and Mr. Agung Laksono, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia.

The IPU Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Middle East Questions, and United Nations Affairs will also meet during the IPU Assembly.

The full programme of the Assembly is available on the IPU's web page.