The 125th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) decided today to add to its agenda an emergency item entitled The plight of the people of famine-stricken Somalia and relief efforts by IPU Members, presented by the Namibian delegation.
In the morning, the President of the Swiss National Council (Lower House), Mr. Jean-René Germanier, was elected President of the 125th IPU Assembly. With the affiliation of the Parliaments of Equatorial Guinea and Niger in Bern, the world organization of parliaments currently has 159 Member Parliaments.
Some 1400 delegates, including 39 Speakers of Parliament and close to 600 legislators from 129 countries are meeting at the Bernexpo in the Swiss Capital until Wednesday evening.
In addition to the emergency item, the lawmakers will examine other themes: 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.
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