Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 7 July 2000
N° 100

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will hold its 90th session from 10 to 13 July 2000 at IPU Headquarters in Geneva. Established in 1976, the Committee, which meets in camera, is composed of five members of Parliament: Mr. François Autain (France, President), Mr. Hilarion Etong (Cameroon, Vice-President), Mr. Juan Pablo Letelier (Chile), Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe (Sri Lanka) and Mrs. Maria Grazia Daniele Galdi (Italy).

The Committee meets four times a year. It may arrange hearings and can propose on-site missions. Acting as an intermediary between complainants and the authorities of the countries concerned, the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians endeavours to put an end as rapidly as possible to any arbitrary measure affecting MPs, to ensure their protection and, where appropriate, to obtain compensation. At its 90th session, the Committee members will examine 18 public cases concerning 133 parliamentarians in the following 15 countries: Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gambia, Guinea, Honduras, Malaysia, Myanmar, Republic of Moldova, Sri Lanka and Turkey. The Committee will also examine a series of cases dealt with under a confidential procedure. At present, there are a total of 179 parliaments and some 42,000 parliamentarians worldwide.

The agenda for this meeting includes a review of the report on the mission to Guinea (public case), where the IPU delegation was able to meeting parliamentarians, including the former presidential candidate Mr. Alpha Condé. The Committee will also examine the report of the mission to Gambia, whose (confidential) conclusions are to be presented at the meeting of the Council (IPU governing body), due to take place in Jakarta (Indonesia) from 15 to 21 October 2000, on the occasion of the 104th Inter-Parliamentary Conference.

The IPU, established in 1889 and with its headquarters in Geneva, currently has 138 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. It also has a Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York.