The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is meeting until Thursday, 1 July, at the IPU's headquarters in the House of Parliaments, in Geneva. During its 106th session, the Committee will examine 47 cases, 25 of which are public, covering human rights issues involving legislators from Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Israel/Palestine, the Syrian Arab Republic, Rwanda, Turkey and Zimbabwe. The public report currently under consideration by the Committee is available at the address below.

At its last meeting held in Mexico City in April 2004, during the 110th Assembly of the IPU, the Committee urged the Congress of Colombia "to play a much more active part in the peace process". Six Colombian legislators are still being held by the Colombian guerrillas. The Committee also called on the Colombian Congress "to establish an independent inquiry commission" in view of the "magnitude and seriousness of the alleged collusion of officials of the Attorney General's Office and the paramilitary".

In Mexico City, the Committee also considered the report of an expert appointed by the IPU to report on the trial of Mr. Marwan Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who is currently in prison in Israel. Representatives of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians have also carried out a mission in Zimbabwe. Established in 1976, the Committee meets in camera four times a year. The following parliamentarians are taking part in the present session: Mr. Mahamane Ousmane (President of the National Assembly of Niger, President of the Committee), Mr. Sabam Sirait, (Indonesia), Mrs. Marie-José Laloye, (Belgium, substitute member for the Twelve Plus Group), Mr. Fernando Margáin (President of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Mexican Senate, substitute member for Latin America), Mrs. Sharon Cartairs (Canada, substitute member for the Twelve Plus Group) and Mrs. Zahia Benarous (Algeria, substitute member for Africa).

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 140 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 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org