Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Istanbul/Geneva, 11 April 1996
N° 1

Some 600 members of parliaments will take part in the 95^th Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organization of parliaments, with a current membership of 134 national parliaments, the conference is hosted by the Parliament of Turkey, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). It will take place in the Ciragan Palace, and after five days of debate will end with the adoption of recommendations for action by national parliaments and governments.

The conference will be opened in the presence of the President of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Süleyman Demirel, during an inaugural ceremony in the Istanbul Atatürk Cultural Centre, starting at 11.30 a.m. Other speakers at the opening ceremony will be the President of the TGNA, Dr Mustafa Kalemli (who will also chair the conference), the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council (IPU governing body) and President of the Egyptian People's Assembly, Dr Ahmed Fathy Sorour, and the President of the Turkish IPU Group, Mr Irfan Koksalan. A message from the UN Secretary-General, Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, will also be read out at the opening ceremony.

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr Mesut Yilmaz, will address the conference on 16 April, at 4.30 p.m., during a general debate on the political, economic and social situation in the world. The conference's general debate is an opportunity for MPs to raise in public any subject of particular concern. It will start late on Monday afternoon 15 April, and continue on Tuesday 16 April and Thursday 18 April.

Under the first main subject on the conference's agenda, The protection of minorities as a global issue and a prerequisite for stability, security and peace, MPs will have a unique opportunity to hear views from all parts of the world on the overall question of national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and on specific national aspects and examples, and look at ways to ensure that minority rights are protected. (This subject will be debated on Tuesday 16 April, and a resolution voted on Friday 19 April.)

For the second main subject, Conservation of world fish stocks in order to provide an important source of protein and ensure the continued viability and economic stability of fishing around the world, MPs will look at the problem of fish stocks being damaged by over-fishing and pollution and the lack of international regulations to prevent exploitation and ensure sustainable supply. (This item will be debated on Wednesday 17 April, and a resolution voted on Friday 19 April.)

A supplementary item - a third main topic of discussion - will be chosen on the opening day of the conference, from proposals forwarded by member-parliaments. The proposals deal with a world-wide ban of anti-personnel mines, speeding up a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, fighting terrorism, and rejection by parliaments of increased sanctions against Cuba (the U.S. Helms-Burton Law). (The subject chosen will be debated on Wednesday 17 April and a resolution voted on Friday 19 April.)

Various IPU committees will also meet during the week of the conference, dealing with subjects such as the defense of the human rights of parliamentarians (the cases of 132 MPs who are alleged victims of arbitrary measures in 27 countries, including some cases in Turkey, will be discussed in Istanbul); the situation in Cyprus; Middle East questions; Respect for International Humanitarian Law; and Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean (CSCM).

The Istanbul meeting will also be an opportunity for parliamentarians to confer with their counterparts from other countries on bilateral issues.

The Turkish Minister of State, in charge of women's affairs, Dr Imren Aykut, MP, will chair a meeting of women MPs on the eve of the conference, Sunday 14 April, also in the Ciragan Palace (starting at 9.30 a.m.). The meeting, of some 130 women MPs, will take stock of the IPU's work in promoting women's participation in politics - the IPU believes that democracy will only assume true significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by women and men in the interests of both halves of the population.

The meeting will look in particular at the following items:

• Organized violence against women.
• Follow-up to the IPU's Plan of Action to correct imbalances in the participation of men and women in politics, and to the Beijing Parliamentary Declaration and results of the IVth World Conference on Women.
• Progress on the IPU survey under way on women's participation in the activities of political parties and on how electoral systems and procedures affect women.
• Preparation of the IPU Symposium on "Towards Partnership between Men and Women", in New Delhi, in February 1997.
• Proposals to ensure that the IPU's Statutes and Rules are gender neutral.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact in Istanbul:

Turkish Press Officers: (tel: 00-90-212. 236.26.96, Ext.261)

• Engin Karapinar, Head of Press and Public Relations, TGNA
• Selçuk Bayraktaroglu, Press and Public Relations, TGNA

IPU Press Officer: Robin Newmann (tel: 236.26.95, Ext. 260; fax 227.63.00)