Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 6 July 1999
N° 81

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will hold its 86th session at IPU Headquarters in Geneva, from 7 to 10 July. Created in 1976, the Committee, which meets in camera, is composed of five members elected by the Parliaments of their respective countries. The meeting will be attended by Mr François Autain (France, President), Mr Hilarion Etong (Cameroon), Mr François Borel (Switzerland), Mr Juan Pablo Letelier (Chile) and Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe (Sri Lanka).

The Committee meets four times a year. It holds hearings and can propose on-site missions. Acting as an intermediary between those who have lodged complaints and the authorities of the countries concerned, the Committee can, if asked, ensure the protection of MPs whose rights have been violated. It may also, where appropriate, obtain compensation. At its 86th session, it will examine public and confidential cases concerning 200 parliamentarians in 33 countries. The Committee will more particularly study the cases of Mr Anwar Ibrahim (former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia), Prof. Alpha Condé (a candidate in the 1998 presidential election in Guinea) and Mrs Leila Zana (a Kurdish MP who is has been in prison in Turkey for several years). At present, there are 179 national parliaments in the world (138 of which are affiliated to the IPU) encompassing 41,292 MPs.

Besides the 138 affiliated national parliaments, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (the Geneva-based world organisation of parliaments founded in 1889), has 5 associated regional parliamentary assemblies. The IPU has also a Liaison Office with the UN in New York. Phone: (1 212) 557 58 80, fax: (1 212) 557 39 54, e-mail: ny-office@mail.ipu.org