Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 12 March 1997
N° 63

IPU COMMITTEE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PREPARES CONTRIBUTION TO SPECIAL UNGA SESSION

The Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) Committee for Sustainable Development is meeting in Geneva on 13-15 March 1997 to review action taken by the world's parliaments to implement Agenda 21 - the action plan of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.

This five-year evaluation of parliamentary action, based on the results of three surveys conducted by the IPU, will be presented to the Special Session of the UN General Assembly (New York, 23-27 June 1997) devoted to the evaluation of the implementation by countries of Agenda 21.

The six members of the IPU Committee for Sustainable Development taking part in the Committee's meeting at IPU Headquarters in Geneva are: Mr Nelson Chitty La Roche (Vice-President), Member of the Congress of the Republic of Venezuela; Dr Imren Aykut, Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; Mr Charles Caccia, Member of the House of Commons of Canada; Dr Bonaya Adhi Godana, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya; Mr Mohamed Abdul Hamid, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh; and Mr Tawfik Abdou Ismail, Member of the People's Assembly of Egypt.

The Committee will also review the latest situation with regard to financial resources and technology transfer in the implementation of the Agenda 21 commitments, and prepare a political statement on this issue. It will also start preparation of a draft declaration on changing consumption and production patterns, in readiness for the debate at the 97^th Inter-Parliamentary Conference (next IPU general assembly of parliamentarians), in Seoul in April, on the topic of "Measures required to change consumption and production patterns with a view to sustainable development".

Furthermore, the Committee will look at practical ways of carrying out the task of national implementation by parliaments of the results of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, March 1995). Following a Tri-Partite Meeting of Parliamentary, Governmental and Inter-Governmental Representatives, which it organised last September at UN Headquarters in New York, the IPU formulated a series of priority actions and steps to be taken by parliaments for the effective implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the Copenhagen Summit.

Finally, the Committee will look at parliamentary follow-up to the World Food Summit and at possible recommendations for further action by the IPU and its 135 member-parliaments in this domain.