The 116th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which was attended by some 600 parliamentarians (including 150 women) from 111 countries, has endorsed a declaration calling on parliaments to foster increased community understanding of the threat of climate change and the action needed to avert dangerous human interference in the climate system.
The declaration expresses deep concern at the growing body of scientific evidence on the probable adverse impact of climate change. "The developing countries are likely to suffer most because they lack the capacity to cope with natural disasters, and they will continue to pay a heavy toll in casualties and destroyed infrastructure".
The legislators gathered in Nusa Dua urged the 13th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention, which will convene in Bali in December 2007, to formulate a feasible road map for long-term cooperation on the Convention's implementation and to pursue negotiations on the measures required to ensure continuity beyond the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period. They pledged to raise the issue of climate change in parliaments, to ask ministers about their preparation for the Bali meeting and to report back to the IPU.
Building bridges between religions and cultures
The legislators also adopted several resolutions. Under the agenda item "Ensuring respect for and peaceful co-existence between all religious communities and beliefs in a globalized world", the IPU Assembly agreed on a number of concrete recommendations to promote universal values while recognizing the multicultural diversity of societies. It urges parliaments "to take effective measures to combat incitement to, or acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by hatred and intolerance based on culture, religion or belief" and to ensure "that religious and cultural sites are fully respected and protected". In addition, law enforcement officers, military personnel, educators, civil servants and other public officials must "respect different religions and beliefs and not discriminate against persons professing other religions or beliefs"; the requisite education and training must also be provided.
In recognition of the critical role of the media in cultural and religious debates, parliaments also pledged "to take effective measures to protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression and to enact legislation which promotes the ethical responsibility that goes with these freedoms, particularly not to incite hatred, racism, xenophobia, and human rights violations."
Training, education, and safety nets key in the age of global competition
In a second resolution, on "Job creation and employment security in the era of globalization", policy-makers said that globalization will only be fair if pro-active measures are taken to provide all people with an opportunity to find "decent work", as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and with safety nets enabling them to take up other occupations or undergo further training and skills development.
To facilitate such policies, trade unions and employers must work together. The resolution "encourages all social partners, including employers' and employees' organizations, to engage in effective and inclusive social dialogue aimed at identifying policy tools and operational procedures for creating more jobs, reducing unemployment, and improving employability through skills development". It also calls on "corporations to follow the principles of corporate social responsibility" and for more incentives and greater support for the self-employed, small businesses and cooperatives. It also discusses measures to protect women workers or entrepreneurs, people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups from workplace discrimination.
The rules of political life are strengthened
A resolution on "Promoting diversity and equal rights for all through universal democratic and electoral standards" calls on parliaments "to promote, monitor and evaluate the participation of minority groups and vulnerable members of society in the electoral process".
Coming on the 10th anniversary of the IPU's Universal Declaration on Democracy, the resolution also reaffirms all of the principles set out in that declaration. It urges governments "to provide a level playing field and give equal opportunities to all candidates and political parties to take part in the democratic and electoral process and to ensure fair access to the media."
The resolution also calls on parliaments "to prevent interference by foreign governments in other countries' elections and democratic processes, and stresses the responsibility of the international community to ensure respect for the outcome of free and fair elections".
Legislators pledge to fight violence against children
The 116th IPU Assembly also discussed violence against children. A video on the child protection projects visited by an IPU/UNICEF group during a field visit to Nusa Tenggara Barat, on the island of Lombok, was commented by Mrs. Kay Hull, member of the Australian Parliament. "We thank the IPU and UNICEF for the opportunity to be involved and we recommend that more delegates be able to have such meaningful exposure to the many issues of your host countries", she said.
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