Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Havana, 7 April 2001
N° 5

The 105th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, which took place from 1 to 7 April 2001 at the Havana Convention Centre, ended this morning with the last sitting of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the governing body of the world organisation of Parliaments. Among other items, the Council adopted several resolutions proposed by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, including one in which it "firmly believes that the fight against the paramilitary groups is crucial to solving" the cases of murders and kidnapping of Colombian MPs.

In his report presented to the Council, the Vice-President of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Mahinda Samarasinghe (Indonesia) recalled that the murders of the six Colombian MPs concerned have so far gone generally unpunished. The report also mentioned the case of Senator Piedad Córdoba, chairwoman of the Senate Human Rights Committee, who was kidnapped by paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño. After her release, she received death threats and publicly revealed the existence of a plan to kill her. She was finally forced into exile. The report stated that "the Committee is alarmed that no action has been taken against Carlos Castaño although it is public knowledge that he is responsible for the kidnapping".

The report stressed that out of a total of 50 cases submitted to the Committee involving 241 MPs, the Committee examined at this session in Havana 24 public cases of 141 MPs in Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gambia, Guinea, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Republic of Moldova, Sri Lanka and Turkey. With respect to the specific case of Djibouti, the Committee declared that in prosecuting former MPs of Djibouti, "the State violated not only their parliamentary immunity but also their rights to freedom of speech".

The Committe also "deeply regrets that Mr Alpha Condé's situation [former candidate to the Presidency of Guinea] has not changed: he is still in prison and moreover held in virtual isolation..." It calls once again all member Parliaments to do their "utmost to obtain Mr. Condé release as he is held in breach of national and international law". The IPU trial observer mission concluded that Alpha Condé's trial was not a fair one.

IPU MISSION TO THE MIDDLE EAST

This morning the Council also examined the report concerning the Committee on Middle East Questions, with Mr. Yves Tavernier (France) in the Chair. After hearing the Israeli and Palestinian delegations, the Committee expressed its grave concern about the situation in the area. It regretted the halt in the peace process and the escalation of violence, the main victims of which are civilians. The Committee agreed to the proposal made by the two parties that it should visit the area as soon as possible to get a clear picture of the situation and meet leaders at all levels. The Committee also welcomed the invitation by Jordan to include a discussion with its parliamentary authorities.

One important purpose of the Committee's discussion in the region will be to obtain improved freedom of movement for Palestinian legislators and thus allow for an institutional dialogue between members of the Knesset and the Palestine Legislative Council. The Committee looks forward to receiving the co-operation necessary to ensure the success of this undertaking.

NEXT IPU CONFERENCE

The 106th Inter-Parliamentary Conference will take place in Ouagadougou, at the invitation of the Parliament of Burkina Faso, from 9 to 15 September 2001. The subjects of the Conference will be the following :

• Protecting and caring for children, the driving force of future society;
• Urgent action to combat HIV/AIDS and other pandemics which seriously endanger public health, and economic, social and political development and threaten the very survival of many nations.

Established in 1889 and based in Geneva, the IPU, the world organisation of parliaments, has 141 member parliaments and five associated regional parliamentary assemblies. It has a liaison office with the UN in New York.