The 109th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings will be held from 29 September to 3 October 2003, at the Centre international des conférences de Genève (CICG). "The role of parliaments in assisting multilateral organisations in ensuring peace and security and in building an international coalition for peace" is one of the items on the agenda for some 500 MPs from 120 countries due to gather in Geneva.

The other items are "Global public goods : a new challenge for parliaments" and "The contribution of new information and communication technologies to good governance, the improvement of parliamentary democracy and the management of globalisation".

The 109th Assembly will also have the possibility to discuss requests for inclusion of an emergency item, on Wednesday, 1 October.

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians will hold its 103rd session (in camera) at the IPU Headquarters. The Gender Partnership Group, the Coordination Committee of Women Parliamentarians, the Coordination Committee of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM) and the Committee on Middle East Questions will also meet (in camera) on this occasion.

On Thursday, 2 October, from 9.30 a.m. to 12 noon, a panel discussion entitled "Challenges facing the International Criminal Court" will take place at the CICG (room 4), in the presence of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 145 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has an office as Permanent Observer with the United Nations in New York.
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Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Tel. +4122 919 41 16/27 Fax: +4122 919 41 60, 919 41 97 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org