IPU logoThe Journal of the IPU
MONTHLY WEB PUBLICATION21 December 2000, Number 16
  Event of the month

Executive Committee meets in New Delhi to discuss tomorrow's IPU

Executive Committee

The Inter-Parliamentary Union has been in existence for 112 years, and the time has come for it to cast off its old identity. At its 232nd session, held in the Parliament of India, the Executive Committee met to discuss ways of achieving that aim. The representatives of the geopolitical groups were also there to make their contribution.

The reform envisaged is no routine matter. It could have a profound bearing on international cooperation. From its earliest days as an association, the IPU has now become the world organisation of parliaments, and the new identity has to be written into its Statutes and reflected in its working procedures. As the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments held at United Nations Headquarters in August/September 2000 (see Journal No. 13) made abundantly clear, it is determined to see that parliaments make the feelings and wishes of the people heard more clearly in the international cooperation process.

Noting the resolve expressed by the United Nations General Assembly on 8 November, which called for "closer cooperation between the UN and national parliaments, through their world organisation, the IPU", this resolution stresses the unique inter-State nature of the IPU and the General Assembly. It requests the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to consult with Member States and IPU, to explore ways in which "a new and strengthened relationship may be established between IPU, the General Assembly and its subsidiary organs". The IPU Executive Committee debated the nature of that future relationship and the requisite practical procedures, the ultimate objective being to bring more democracy to the United Nations system. Its proposals will be put before the next session of the Council, to be held in Havana (Cuba) from 1 to 6 April 2001, under the chairmanship of Dr. N. A. Heptulla.

At this session, the Council will also take up the Executive Committee's proposals to reinforce its Statutes and Rules. It will look at some carefully pondered ideas for structures and mechanisms that are better tailored to the ambitions of the Union: to continue to be the world forum for the representatives of national parliaments, but with greater enthusiasm and efficacy, and to heighten its role in relaying the debates and positions of national parliaments to the United Nations and vice-versa. The Executive Committee has drawn up a blueprint for a more relevant IPU, more attuned to current events and more present in the public eye. What is at stake is nothing less than democracy itself.

  In Memory of

Dr. Johannes Virolainen
Former President of the IPU Council

Johannes Virolainen

It was with deep sorrow that the IPU learned that Dr. Johannes Virolainen passed away on 11 December 2000. Dr. Virolainen, Honorary President of the IPU Council (governing body), was one of the most long-standing personalities to have been associated with the world's organisation of parliaments. He was for many years President of the Finnish inter-parliamentary Group, member of the Executive Committee and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council from 1982 to 1983.

Dr. Virolainen also made a memorable contribution to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), at the time of cold war. His loss will be keenly felt in the world-wide inter-parliamentary community.

The President of the IPU Council, Dr. Najma Heptulla and the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, convey their condolences to the Parliament of Finland and their profound sympathy to the members of Dr. Virolainen's family.

  Flashes

IPU Secretary General met UN Secretary General

IPU Secretary-General, UN Secretary-General

The IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, met with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, at UN Headquarters in New York on 18 December. The meeting focused on the follow up to this year's UNGA resolution on UN/IPU cooperation. Mr. Annan expressed great satisfaction with the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments which IPU organised at UN Headquarters on the eve of the Millennium Summit. Mr. Johnsson informed Mr. Annan that IPU was already working to follow up that meeting and the subsequent Millennium Summit.

As regards future cooperation between the UN and the IPU, Mr. Johnsson handed over a note to the Secretary-General containing IPU's initial proposals for a new and stregthened relationship between the two organisations. These proposals are part of IPU's response to the resolution adopted earlier this autumn by the UN General Assembly.

The UN Secretary General will study the document and come back to the IPU on the mechanism that he proposed to establish to consult with Member States and the IPU. Both organisations will revert to this matter at the very beginning of 2001. The UN Secretary General is committed to making a substantive change in the relationship between the UN and national parliaments, working through the IPU.

CEDAW Optional Protocol goes into force

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will go into force on 22 December 2000. To date, 12 countries have ratified this instrument. The Optional Protocol will allow any woman to lodge a complaint with the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (a body responsible for monitoring application of the Convention by the States party) concerning violations of the rights set out in the Convention. It also makes provision for a procedure authorising the Committee to investigate cases of serious or systematic violations of women's rights. In both cases, States must be parties to the Convention and the Protocol.

At present, only Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, Senegal, Slovakia and Thailand have ratified the Protocol. As for the CEDAW, 166 States are parties to this instrument the latest accession being that of Saudi Arabia in September 2000.

92 Session of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians will hold its 92nd session at IPU Headquarters in Geneva, from 22 to 25 January 2001. Established in 1976 to investigate complaints of violations of the human rights of MPs, the Committee considers complaints and seeks a satisfactory settlement of the cases referred to it through dialogue and cooperation with authorities of the countries concerned.

The five members of the Committee are Mr. François Autain (France, President), Mr. Hilarion Etong (Cameroon, Vice-President), Mr. Juan-Pablo Letelier (Chile), Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe (Sri Lanka) and Mrs Maria Grazia Daniele Galdi (Italy). Besides examining 212 cases from 31 countries, they will also discuss the preparation for a parliamentary event on the occasion of the World Conference on Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, due to take place in September 2001 in South Africa, as well as the publication of a Parliamentary Human Rights Handbook.

Model of new IPU Headquarters on display

The scale model of the new Headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will be on display from 9 to 25 January 2001, at the Geneva International Convention Centre (CICG, rue de Varembé). The official presentation will take place on Tuesday, 9 January at 5.30 p.m., in the presence of the Swiss and Geneva authorities, the architects and the IPU Secretary General Anders B. Johnsson. The present Villa Gardiol will become the House of Parliaments in 2002.

THE IPU SECRETARIAT SENDS SEASON'S GREETINGS TO ALL READERS OF THE IPU JOURNAL

  Focus

 

The IPU in the field of Technical Cooperation

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is determined to maintain a high level of activity in the field in 2001. The world's organisation of parliaments has run a technical cooperation programme since 1973 to help parliaments, especially emerging democracies and developing countries, in building up their capacity to discharge more effectively their constitutional responsibilities, including oversight of government action.

Among the IPU's major projects are the follow-up of assistance provided to the Parliaments of Burundi, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Rwanda, Tajikistan and Yemen. Projects are also being developed in Equatorial Guinea and Gambia. The IPU's most important partner is UNDP, as this UN development agency finances 70% of the projects of assistance to parliaments. The European Commission and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency are the other major donors for IPU. Mr. Martin Chungong, Officer-in-charge of the Programme for the Study and Promotion of Representative Institutions, mentions the IPU's main projects.

Burundi

In Burundi, the IPU supports the National Assembly, which will play a key role in the implementation of the peace agreement signed in Arusha in August 2000. Funding for this project has been provided by the European Commission to the tune of one million dollars. The IPU has placed a car pool of five vehicles at the disposal of the National Assembly to enable parliamentarians to travel to their constituencies with a view to consolidating peace and reconciliation. Seminars have also been organised on the role and functioning of a parliament, particularly in the context of the country's reconstruction. In addition, support has also been provided to documentation services. In 2001, the IPU will also assist the Association of Burundian Women Parliamentarians, with a view to ensuring that the country's female citizens get more involved in the peace process, following the years of war.

Rwanda

The reconstruction of a democratic Rwanda, after the genocide that claimed over a million lives, is one of the priorities of the IPU, which will implement a two-stage project in the "country of a thousand hills". Funded by UNDP to the tune of USD 110,000, this dual project is aimed at providing material assistance to the Committee on Human Rights and National Unity and strengthening its awareness-building activities, in a country where fundamental human rights were trampled underfoot during the war. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is helping Rwanda take up the daunting challenge of establishing a genuine human rights culture in Rwanda. The second component of this project consists of assistance to the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, in an effort to get women MPs more involved in the drafting of a new Constitution.

Cambodia

Training is a very important aspect of the IPU's technical cooperation programme. Accordingly, the project to benefit the Cambodian Parliament emphasises the professional development of both Members and staff of the two Houses of Parliament. The project, which UNDP is funding to the tune of USD 150,000, includes seminars, study visits abroad for staff and the recruitment of ten national consultants and one international consultant to advise Parliament in its legislative role and to help it streamline its working methods. One of IPU's missions is to favour cooperation between parliaments with a view to strengthening the functioning of parliaments in emerging democracies by relying on the experience accumulated in parliaments with longer-standing traditions.

Equatorial Guinea

This project, which is being initiated in collaboration with the European Commission and which has a budget of some USD 700,000, is aimed at strengthening the capacities of the House of Representatives. Here as well, the focus is on the training of parliamentary staff, to enable them to provide effective support to MPs in the fulfilment of their duties. Also planned are awareness-building activities on the role of Parliament in the context of constitutional provisions. Thought is further being given to support for documentation services.

Kyrgyzstan

The goals of this project, funded by UNDP and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to the tune of USD 540,000, are the recasting of the texts governing the functioning of the two Houses of Parliament and the introduction of a documentation service and an awareness-building course on modern technologies, including the Internet, for MPs and parliamentary staff. The project also includes information seminars for Members of Parliament. A three-day workshop was run in early November on the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This event, organised in cooperation with UNITAR, was also attended by two MPs from Kazakhstan.

The Gambia

The IPU and the Parliament of The Gambia have begun talks on implementing a second phase of the project launched in 1995. The project is aimed at helping Parliament consolidate its structures and train staff. The second phase will also focus on training and the fitting-out of parliamentary premises. The first phase was funded by UNDP.

Tajikistan

Against the background of the peace agreement signed in 1997 that brought to an end the civil war that had begun after independence in 1992, the IPU, acting at the request of the parliamentary authorities and UNDP, facilitated the establishment of a professional bicameral parliament by assisting it with the revision and printing of its Standing Orders. Programme cost: USD 15,000.

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