PLACE DU PETIT-SACONNEX
1211 GENEVA 19, SWITZERLAND
| INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION PLACE DU PETIT-SACONNEX 1211 GENEVA 19, SWITZERLAND |
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Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Thai National Assembly are organising a Parliamentary Meeting, in conjunction with the Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), on 10 and 11 February 2000 on the occasion of UNCTAD X in Bangkok. The inaugural ceremony will take place, on Thursday 10 February at 9 a.m. in the Conference Room n°1 of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP/UNCC). The speakers will be:
More than 150 Members of 50 Parliaments are expected to attend this meeting. According to Mr. Wanmuhamadnoor Matha, Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives and President of the National Assembly, “the Thai National Assembly has been very keen to ensure that the voice of elected representatives of the people is heard loud and clear during UNCTAD X to be held in Bangkok from 12 to 19 February 2000”. The Secretary General of the IPU, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, notes that "UNCTAD X is taking place at a time when trade and development issues are at a crucial juncture. Globalisation clearly offers valuable opportunities for development; yet it also poses some very serious challenges. There is a broad consensus in the world today that sustainable development needs to be people-centred. Trade liberalisation can make an important contribution to economic growth, but sustainable human development depends on economic policies that are consciously designed to promote economic and social rights for all - women as well as men, the poor and marginalized as well as the wealthy. Mechanisms are therefore required to ensure that processes of globalisation are consistent with the aims of sustainable development”. The Bangkok Parliamentary Meeting is open to elected representatives attending UNCTAD X, whether members of national delegations or designated by their parliament to observe the proceedings. Its purpose is not only to discuss important issues of trade and development in the globalised economy but also to add a parliamentary dimension to the intergovernmental negotiating forum through its final document. The IPU, established in 1889 and with its seat in Geneva, has 139 affiliated national parliaments and 5 associated parliamentary assemblies. It provides a parliamentary dimension to the United Nations by encouraging direct participation and involvement by national parliaments and their members in United Nations activities. For example, the IPU will hold a Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments in the UN General Assembly Hall (in New York) in late August 2000 in conjunction with the Millennium Assembly.
Contact in Bangkok: Mrs Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer (UNCC/ESCAP), phone 288.2405 or 288.2429, fax: 288.1038, and Mr. Jakrapob Penkair, phone 934.8512-5, ext. 127, 126. |