The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the organisation of the world’s parliaments, wholeheartedly condemns the killing of the Iraqi parliamentarian Lamia Abed Khadouri.
“This killing is not only a violation of the right to life, but also an attack on the freedom of expression of the Iraqi people and the representatives they have elected” declared the PU President, Chilean Senator Sergio Páez.
“The murder of the Iraqi parliamentarian should be condemned in the firmest possible terms” said the IPU Secretary General, Anders, B. Johnsson. “She was an embodiment of the will, clearly expressed by the Iraqi people, to build a democratic Iraq”.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union is providing support for the constitutional process in Iraq.
In January, the IPU fielded election observers across the world for the out-of-country poll in which expatriate Iraqi citizens voted for the new Transitional National Assembly.
In 2004, the IPU President convened a meeting of the Speakers of the region’s parliaments, which was held in Amman, at the invitation of the parliament of Jordan. The Speakers declared unequivocally that it was for the Iraqi people freely to choose their own institutions, and said that the IPU was ready to assist as required.
The IPU and its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians work for the protection and freedom of expression of parliamentarians all over the world.
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