PLACE DU PETIT-SACONNEX
1211 GENEVA 19
| INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION PLACE DU PETIT-SACONNEX 1211 GENEVA 19 |
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Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
The 101st Inter-Parliamentary Conference, held from 10 to 16 April 1999 at the European Parliament, which today became an associate member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), ended its work with the final sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Council (the IPU's governing body), which examined the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians providing information on the situation of 476 MPs (including 404 public cases) in 36 countries. It welcomed in particular the fact that a satisfactory settlement had been found to the cases of 120 MPs in 5 countries. The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (which meets four times yearly to examine cases of MPs who have been subjected to arbitrary treatment during their term) regretted however having to examine a new case in Malaysia, that of Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister, who has just been sentenced to a six-year prison term. In addition, the Committee (composed of five members: Mr. François Autain, France, President; Mr. Hilarion Etong, Cameroon, Vice-President, as well as Mr. François Borel, Switzerland; Mr. Juan Pablo Letelier, Chile, and Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka) remained very concerned about the case of Mr. Lim Guang Eng, another Malaysian MP. The Committee, which had been entrusted with carrying out an on-site mission in November 1998, had not been able to meet with Mr. Lim Guang Eng in prison. The Malaysian delegation had expressed regret in that connection, for which the Committee wished to thank it. Another case before the Committee was that of Professor Alpha Condé, a candidate in the 1998 presidential elections in Guinea. The Committee was very worried about the circumstances of his arrest and the charges brought against him. Moreover, the Committee was concerned by the sentencing of four other MPs from his party, who could well be prevented from standing in the next elections. (For more details on the public cases, the report may be obtained from the IPU Secretariat). At the Brussels Conference, the debates focused on nuclear testing, problems in big cities and writing off the debt of heavily indebted countries. In addition, the 647 MPs from 125 countries, including 132 women (more than 20% of the participants) did not fail to bring up two extremely topical subjects: the situation in Kosovo and Niger. During the closing ceremony of the 101st Inter-Parliamentary Conference, its President, Mr. Raymond Langendries, President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, had the following to say: "the work of the Conference has been fruitful. It has not been possible to take up all of the topics proposed. But this Conference can pride itself on its open debate. As in each of our Parliaments, the majority and the opposition must both be able to speak. This can only deepen parliamentary democracy, even though this is not always easy.(...) The IPU advocates, above and beyond borders, acknowledging and respecting others by providing a forum for debate of ideas which leads to listening and understanding. ... Yet I would be derelict in my duty as President of this Conference if I failed to take up the political concern, which gave rise to an emergency item which, although rejected as worded, was nonetheless in all your thoughts: the situation in Serbia and Kosovo and its repercussions on the region and finally on the international scene. ... What is going on is this region hurts me. It hurts the Serbian people, it hurts the inhabitants of Kosovo a great deal. ... On the eve of the third millennium, the international community no longer has the right to shut its eyes. [It] has a duty to interfere, even on an armed basis, to ensure respect for the rights of persons and peoples." On behalf of parliamentarians, Mr. Langendries denounced and strongly condemned the military putsch in Niger, during which the Head of State had been assassinated and the institutions, including the National Assembly, had been dissolved. He made an "urgent appeal to the country's military authorities to do everything in their power for the restoration, as soon as possible, of democratic institutions, to enable the people of Niger to continue to move towards democracy and good governance". The Inter-Parliamentary Council (the IPU's governing body) will follow the situation in this country between now and its next session, in Berlin, in October 1999. The Committee on Middle East Questions also met during the 101st Conference, with representatives of the Arab countries and Israel in attendance. The parties acknowledged that the peace process was at a standstill; nevertheless, both displayed renewed optimism and, in the framework of a frank and open dialogue, also felt that this process was the only solution. The Committee members welcomed the spirit of co-operation that had prevailed throughout the meeting. They felt that the efforts under way in the region to relaunch the peace process required the political and economic support of the international community. The Group of facilitators for Cyprus likewise met on the occasion of the Brussels Conference and enabled the Greek Cypriot representatives at the Conference and Turkish Cypriot representatives to initiate a dialogue which yielded some concrete proposals for inter-communal contacts. The representatives of the parties to the process on security and co-operation in the Mediterranean (CSCM) likewise met, examining recommendations on arms control, particularly with regard to small arms. The parliamentarians accepted the invitation of the French Parliament to hold the IIIrd CSCM in that country in May 2000.
The Council also had before it the report of the Tri-Partite Meeting
(representatives of Parliaments, Governments and inter-governmental
organisations) on the follow-up of the World Summit for Social
Development, held at UN Headquarters in New York on 30 and 31
March 1999 (see report).
The IPU expressed satisfaction at the co-operation ties it is continuing to develop with the United Nations system and in particular with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, with which it is on the verge of signing co-operation agreements. It may be recalled in this connection that the IPU has already signed similar agreements with the United Nations and some of its specialised agencies such as FAO, UNDP and UNESCO.
Within the framework of co-operation between the UN and IPU, a
Conference of Presiding Officers of Parliament will be held at
UN Headquarters in New York, in September 2000, so that, as was
stated by Mr. Kofi Anan, United Nations Secretary-General, in
a message read out by his representative to the 101st Conference
in Brussels, Mr. Vladimir Petrovsky, "our partnership will
grow ever closer in the 21st century". Mr. Petrovsky, Director-General
of the UN Office in Geneva, added that "with regard to the
promotion of representative democracy, another field in which
the IPU and the UN have reinforced their action, institution-building,
gender issues and human rights are areas where co-operation has
been concretely improved. ... The UN has received considerable
support from the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the provision of
technical assistance to Parliaments".
The 102nd Inter-Parliamentary Conference will take place in Berlin, at the invitation of the German Parliament, from 10 to 16 October 1999. The Conference topics are the following:
Other invitations accepted by the Council:
103rd Conference: Amman (Jordan), April/May 2000 The Inter-Parliamentary Union, the world organisation of Parliaments which was founded in 1889, currently has 138 member Parliaments, including those of Burundi and Liberia, which were affiliated during the Brussels Conference.
Contacts: Mrs Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer in Geneva: Tel. (41 22) 919 41 16 or 919 41 27, fax (41 22) 919 41 60 or 733 31 41, e-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cd@mail.ipu.org or in Brussels: Mr Patrick Peremans, Press attaché of the Belgian Senate. Tel: (322) 501 73 37 or 0477 797901, e-mail pp@senate.be The IPU also has a liaison office with the UN in New York: tel. (1 212) 557.5880, fax (1 212) 557.3954, e-mail: ny-office@mail.ipu.org
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