The more than 660 parliamentarians (including 152 women) from 126 countries attending the 107th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Marrakech adopted by consensus four resolutions, relating to public policy in an era of globalization, the Kyoto Protocol, terrorism and the Middle East.
PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN RESOLUTION
ON ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
With regard to the resolution on the emergency supplementary item concerning the role of parliaments in supporting implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1397 relating to the vision of a region in which Israel and Palestine live side by side within secure and recognized borders, the 107th Inter-Parliamentary Conference calls on the Israelis and the Palestinians to "observe a cease-fire, comply with the standards of international humanitarian law and put an end to hostilities with a view to ensuring the security of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, enabling Palestinian institutions to function freely and allowing the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to move about in all safety".
TERRORISM – A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
On the question of "Terrorism – a threat to democracy, human rights and civil society: The contribution of parliaments to combating international terrorism and addressing its causes in order to maintain international peace and security", the 107th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, recognizing that a lack of democracy and respect for human rights and the refusal to resolve regional conflicts by peaceful means also play a major part in the emergence of terrorism, "calls on all national parliaments to approve or facilitate approval of the United Nations Convention on Terrorism, and in particular the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism".
The Conference also calls on parliamentarians "to foster intercultural understanding and international cooperation on global and development policy issues, in order to tackle the root causes of terrorism". It urges all parliaments to adopt legislative measures that allow for compensation of victims of terrorist acts, as an expression of national solidarity.
The MPs meeting in Marrakech also reiterate that "terrorism cannot be attributed to any religion, nationality or civilization and that to attribute it to any religion, nationality or civilization or to justify it in the name of any religion, nationality or civilization constitutes a threat to humanity as a whole".
PUBLIC POLICY IN AN ERA OF GLOBALISATION
In a resolution entitled "The role of parliaments in developing public policy in an era of globalisation, multilateral institutions and international trade agreements", the 107th Inter-Parliamentary Conference urges parliaments "to take steps to ensure that globalization also benefits developing countries so that their peoples attain greater social and economic prosperity". It further "calls on parliaments to play a much more active role in the area of international trade, finance and environmental negotiations and to participate in shaping related policies".
The 107th IPU Conference also points out the urgent need for parliaments to contribute positively at all stages of trade negotiations, including follow-up, so as to ensure that they reflect the concerns and aspirations of all citizens. An appeal was also made to the international community, particularly the WTO, to "create a more democratic, fair, transparent, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system". Finally, the 107th Conference calls on the IPU to continue its efforts to provide a parliamentary dimension to the WTO and the Bretton Woods institutions.
PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT FOR THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
In a resolution entitled "Ten years after Rio: Global degradation of the environment and parliamentary support for the Kyoto Protocol", the MPs present in Marrakech remind States of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shows that most of the global warming observed over the past 50 years is attributable to human activities. They urge States to expedite the ratification process of the Kyoto Protocol in order to pave the way for its entry into force at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (26 August – 4 September 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa).
They encourage "all States, including the United States of America, to recognize that developed countries, as the first to industrialize, should also be the first to take action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and to recognize as well that the commitments provided for in the Kyoto Protocol are the vital first step towards addressing climate change". This paragraph gave rise to a roll-call vote requested by the delegation of Canada, which expressed reservations and wished that the explicit reference to a country be eliminated. After the results of the vote were announced (441 votes in favour to 804 against, with 40 abstentions), this paragraph remained unchanged and the resolution was adopted by consensus.
They encourage "all States, including the United States of America, to recognize that developed countries, as the first to industrialize, should also be the first to take action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and to recognize as well that the commitments provided for in the Kyoto Protocol are the vital first step towards addressing climate change". This paragraph gave rise to a roll-call vote requested by the delegation of Canada, which expressed reservations and wished that the explicit reference to a country be eliminated. After the results of the vote were announced (441 votes in favour to 804 against, with 40 abstentions), this paragraph remained unchanged and the resolution was adopted by consensus.
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