Today and tomorrow, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are holding a Conference at the Luxembourg Palace, seat of the French Senate, on parliamentary capacity-building in the field of sustainable development.

Experts and legislators from over 70 countries in every region of the world will discuss the role that parliaments and parliamentarians can play in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and in advancing the agenda for sustainable development. The Conference will include the participation of the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, the Vice-Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Senate, Robert del Picchia, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNITAR Executive Director, Marcel Boisard and the Chair of the Health and Environment Study Group in the French National Assembly, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. The Conference will address major issues such as water, climate change and energy.

The IPU Secretary General has pointed out that "parliaments contribute to ensuring better governance", as they are the main representative institution of the State, and it is thus their duty "to represent the interests of all sectors of society, to take into account such interests in the policies they adopt and to ensure that these policies are effectively implemented".

UNITAR Executive Director has said that "parliamentarians have a key role to play in setting up a more democratic, effective and responsible system of global governance. Parliamentarians must respond to the challenges of sustainable development with a common vision and collective action to build a safer, more fair and more sustainable future, and must prepare for their constituents the better legacy that they deserve. Our initiative will, we hope, give parliamentarians the tools needed to build this better future".

The Conference being held in Paris marks the beginning of a major initiative launched by the IPU and UNITAR to strengthen the capacities of parliaments in the field of sustainable development. It is taking place as parliamentarians are being called upon increasingly to deal with major international questions, including environmental management and sustainable development. To be more effective, they must be aware of the major challenges in this field. With the words of the IPU Secretary General, "the stronger the role of parliaments, the more they play a crucial and effective role in the management of the affairs of society, both nationally and internationally".

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 141 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1965, UNITAR's mandate is to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations through appropriate training and research. It designs and holds approximately 150 programmes, seminars and workshops every year for some 8,000 participants throughout the world.

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Contact for additional information or interviews:

IPU: Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Tel. +41 22 919 41 16/27 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org Mr. Martin Chungong, Director of the Division for the Promotion of Democracy Tel. +41 22 919 41 30 E-mail: mch@mail.ipu.org Ms. Laurence Marzalrs cell phone: +33 6 60 42 00 07 E-mail: lm@mail.ipu.org UNITAR: Ms. Berta Pesti Tel. +41 22 917 85 19 E-mail: berta.pesti@unitar.org internet site: www.unitar.org