The 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) decided today to add a new item to its agenda entitled: The role of parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in ensuring an immediate halt to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in conflict areas, and its environmental dimension, in facilitating the Palestinians' right to self-determination - particularly by ending the blockade in Gaza - and in accelerating the creation of a Palestinian State through viable peace processes.
The item was proposed by the delegation of South Africa with the cooperation of Egypt and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In a separate development, the Assembly also decided to prepare a presidential declaration on the urgent need to release all election results in Zimbabwe. The Assembly considers it important to adopt such a declaration, given that the results of the Zimbabwe elections of 29 March 2008 remain outstanding two weeks later. A working group is now being set up to prepare the text of the declaration, which will be submitted to the Assembly for endorsement at the end of the week.
Earlier, the Speaker of the South African National Assembly, Ms. Baleka Mbete, was elected president of the 118th IPU Assembly.
In other developments, the IPU Governing Council decided today to affiliate the Parliaments of Iraq, Mauritania and Timor-Leste.
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