The Inter-Parliamentary Union strongly condemns the killing by a car bomb of the Lebanese deputy and journalist, Gibran Tueni, along with his driver and his bodyguard, said the President of the IPU, and President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini.

The murder of a representative of the people is all the more serious in that it prevents a parliamentarian from promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms in his country. The IPU underlined that impunity or an admission of powerlessness in the face of such crime is a threat not only to all politicians but also to the entire population of Lebanon.

"We send our condolences to the Lebanese Parliament and to Mr. Tueni's family, as well as to the families of the other victims of the blast", concluded the IPU President.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 143 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.
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