Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Jakarta, 15 October 2000
N° 3

H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of the Republic of Indonesia today opened the 104^th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The inaugural ceremony was held at the Nasuntara Hall in the Parliament Building, Jakarta in the presence of the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mr Akbar Tandjung and the President of the IPU Council, Dr Najma Heptulla, who is also the Vice-President of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of India).

In his address, the Speaker of the host Parliament said "... through this Conference, we as host ... have high hopes that participating delegates may gain maximum benefit from the Conference for their respective national interests. In addition, the 104th IPU Conference is also expected to render improved direction to efforts in finding solutions to the various problems that have become our common concern."

Mr Akbar Tandjung added that "one of the problems that concerns us is the effort to realise a new world order capable to further guarantee global stability and a permanent world peace. The unbalanced world economic system and the debt burden and poverty that are inter-related have become one of the constraints towards realisation of the world order. Meanwhile, negative effects of globalization have deteriorated the situation in many countries that are not ready to cope with such effects, thus further facilitating the emergence of internal conflicts and violations of basic human rights in many countries. For this reason, despite being aware of the basic and complicated problems that cannot be resolved within a short time, still it certainly is our common expectation that the 104th IPU Conference may offer an improved direction for our efforts in seeing a solution. ..."

Turning to the situation in the Middle-East, Speaker Tandjung said that "the new violent situation in the Middle-East has created a grave concern to us. The sufferings and death that we have witnessed, particularly to the innocent children, provokes great concern to all. I hope this conference will help to bring freedom, justice and peace to the Middle-East."

The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council, Dr Najma Heptulla, then took the floor. She declared "... it has been our endeavour to make democracy a tool for peace and stability - a democracy that opens channels of communication between two divergent perspectives. Democracy is not only about government, it is essentially about people, their cultures and traditions. Therefore democracy is also a medium of dialogue between cultures and civilizations. Yet, democracy appears to be fragile in certain regions. It is regrettable, for example, that the cradle of ancient civilizations is being torn by protracted strife. Recent violent eruptions in the Middle East have demoralized all of us who are equal inheritors of those magnificent cultures."

She went on to refer to the most prominent of recent IPU events: the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments. "An event without precedent held in conjunction with the UN Millennium Summit with the participation of some 148 Speakers and Presiding Officers representing 140 countries." "... We met to discuss future challenges before the world at the turn of the millennium. The Conference represented a collective parliamentary consciousness and the concerns of a large majority of humankind. The Declaration adopted at the close of the Conference represents a consensus that international peace and security, democracy, respect for human rights, sustainable development and social progress are all challenges for the third millennium".

The President of the IPU Council added that: "later, while addressing the Millennium Summit [of Heads of State and Government], I focused on the issues discussed at the IPU Conference of the Presiding Officers. I underlined the significance of IPU as the parliamentary arm in the UN's initiatives and made a strong plea for greater co-operation between the two organizations.

Subsequently, the Declaration adopted by the Millennium Summit of Heads of State and Government recognized IPU as the world organization of parliaments. ..."

The Jakarta Conference also received a message from the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, stating that "... one of the main items on your agenda is the prevention of military and other coups against democratically elected governments. Among the most remarkable achievements of the last decade has been a near doubling in the number of democracies across the globe. During the same period, however, we have also witnessed numerous, often violent, challenges to democratic rule. ...

Another main item on your agenda is financing for development. Although the world has made considerable progress in reducing poverty during the last decade, over half the world's population continues to live on less than $2 a day. Parliamentarians can do a great deal to help right this wrong -- by raising awareness, passing legislation and allocating the necessary resources. I also look forward to the IPU's contribution to next year's high-level intergovernmental event on financing for development."

In conclusion, the UN Secretary-General wrote: "it is clear that it cannot be left to Governments alone to find common solutions to global challenges. It is equally plain that parliaments have an indispensable role to play, and I look forward to our continuing partnership to promote our common values. In that spirit, please accept my best wishes for the success of your deliberations."

H.E. the President of Indonesia Mr Abdurrahman Wahid then proceeded to open the Conference. In his speech, he declared: "I think it is recognised that parliaments can convene by themselves and any items can be discussed. This is important because, without that, I think we will not be able to reach peace, to achieve what is decided by all of us. That is the service of humanity. Parliaments are also in a process of democratisation in many places and because of that we should not see any parliament as being at a standstill. You yourselves can see that in Indonesia the process begun more than fifty years ago..." Referring to the situation in the Middle East, the President of Indonesia declared "We have to reach peace, final and everlasting peace in the Holy Land." He added that peace would always require willingness to sacrifice national pride, if necessary. "For the sake of peace, this is justified", he said.

The IPU, founded in 1889 and based in Geneva, currently has 138 member parliaments affiliated and 5 regional parliamentary organisations associated. It also has a Liaison Office with the UN in New York.