Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey will open the event on 16 October together with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the presence of the IPU President Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Speaker of the Swiss National Council (Lower House), Mr. Jean-René Germanier, the President of the Swiss Council of States (Upper House), Mr. Hansheiri Inderkum, and the Mayor of Bern, Mr. Alexander Tschäppât.
Delegates will debate a host of issues of international concern. These include nuclear disarmament, recent events in the Middle East and North Africa, regulation of the financial markets, global governance, access to health care for women and children, and the green economy. The delegates will interact with distinguished personalities, such as Bertrand Piccard (inventor of Solar Impulse), Jorge Sampaio (UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations) and Cheick Sidi Diarra, UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries.
The Bern Assembly offers members of parliament a wealth of opportunities for bilateral talks. Many of the consultations will focus on resolving conflicts in different parts of the world. The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians will report on its work to end violations of the human rights of legislators.
The Assembly will conclude with the election of a new President of the IPU. At present, two candidates have been put forward: Mr. Abdelwahed Radi, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, and Mrs. Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
This is the fourth time in the IPU’s 122-year history that the organization will be holding its statutory Assembly in Bern. The first Assembly in the Swiss capital was held in 1892 and the last one dates back to 1952.
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