Mr. Franklin Drilon, former Speaker of the Parliament of the Philippines and current President of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, has expressed alarm at the worsening situation of parliamentarians-elect imprisoned in Myanmar. Two recently had their periods of detention extended for another year on the basis of legal provisions that violate all norms of equity and justice. Three others are being denied urgently needed medical treatment.

In his report to the IPU Governing Council, Mr. Drilon declared that the Myanmar authorities "seem unresponsive to calls for the immediate release of all parliamentarians-elect, or to the wider and persistent call that they engage in genuine dialogue on transition. The Committee believes that this situation will only change with the help of international pressure and calls in particular on the Parliaments of China and India, as neighbouring countries, and ASEAN and the European Union to pursue and strengthen their national, regional and joint initiatives for change in Myanmar".

During its session, the Committee examined the cases of 126 legislators in 18 countries: Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Honduras, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine/Israel, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

Committee on Middle East alarmed at the situation of 40 PLC members
The IPU Governing Council also adopted the report of the Committee on Middle East Questions, which was presented by the Committee President, Mr. Kader Sairaan, of Mongolia.

In its report, the Committee regretted the absence of an Israeli delegation at the 116th IPU Assembly. It said that the Palestinian Parliament in Ramallah was prevented from functioning and expressed alarm "that some 40 of its members were in detention in Israel, including the Speaker [of the Palestinian Legislative Council], Mr. Dweik. Moreover, checkpoints preventing travel between Gaza and the West Bank meant that members from Gaza could only participate" in parliament's debates using videoconferencing.

The Committee agreed that it should play a more active role. It intended to set up a mission to travel to the Middle East region as soon as possible in order to obtain firsthand information on the prevailing crisis.

IPU establishes Committee on United Nations Affairs
In the wake of a meeting between the IPU President, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, and the new United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the IPU has established the Committee on United Nations Affairs, which will meet during the next IPU Assembly (Geneva, October 2007) with a view to strengthening cooperation between the two world organizations. The Committee will examine the different aspects of the IPU/UN relationship and discuss issues relevant to the United Nations, including the Organization’s funding and the uses to which funds are put.

In other developments, the IPU Governing Council accepted the affiliation of the Parliament of Afghanistan and decided to suspend the Parliament of Uzbekistan; the Parliament of Fiji was also suspended.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 147 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer Phone: +41 22 919 41 16 Mobile: +41 79 649 71 45 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org Information and accreditation: Mr. Chrys Kelana, Indonesian Information Officer of the 116th Assembly. Phone: +62 21 831 7515 Mobile: +62 816 77 1912 Fax: +62 21 831 4371 E-mail: chkelana@indosat.net.id