PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX INAUGURATES
THE 110TH INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY IN MEXICO
Welcoming delegates of 122 parliaments meeting at the Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel in Mexico City until 23 April, the President of the United Mexican States, Vicente Fox Quesada, has inaugurated the 110th Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. The ceremony was attended by the Speaker of the Mexican Senate, Enrique Jackson Ramírez, the President of the IPU, the Chilean Senator Sergio Páez Verdugo, and the Secretary-General of the IPU, Anders B. Johnsson. At the ceremony, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Danilo Türk, read out a message from the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
Paying public tribute to the work conducted by the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, President Fox said, "Today in Mexico, as in every other democracy, power goes hand-in-hand with joint accountability". "As Mexicans," he continued, "we are convinced that, by definition, progress is shared, and that there can be no sustained or sustainable development unless it benefits the whole of society, women and men alike, and all communities and groups, especially the most vulnerable, who have been excluded for years from the benefits of growth." President Fox added that, "Genuine sustainable development can only come about in democratic societies, where there is gender equality, and which are receptive to creativity and to building up the future of all their people. There cannot be democracy without a parliament, nor the rule of law in the true sense of the term, without the separation of powers to guarantee a balance between all the public authorities, working jointly and responsibly together."
Turing to international cooperation, President Fox pointed out that all of us today "Bear the responsibility to step up our struggle for democracy and justice in international relations. It is obvious today that the survival of small islands of prosperity is impossible if they are surrounded by seas of poverty. In an interdependent world, large-scale, increasing poverty makes other evils more acute, leading to instability and conflict which often transcend borders, and creating tensions that jeopardise regional and global peace and security."
The Speaker of the Mexican Senate, Enrique Jackson, declared that in the present international environment, it is possible to conclude agreements for more flexible trade in goods in order to guarantee a degree of certainty to investment. "It is also necessary, indispensable even, to commit ourselves to reducing the poverty plaguing entire countries, regions and millions and millions of human beings," he continued, adding that "respecting the rights of immigrants is an unavoidable commitment."
In Senator Jackson's words, "We must demand more equitable trade ties, an end to protectionist policies and the distribution of the fruits of the global market so that they do not remain in the hands of a few". He continued by recalling that, "The 21st century has also imposed many difficult challenges on us". In conclusion, he emphasised the fact that MPs had a tryst with politics, and that, "we have an obligation to ensure that politics and parliamentary activity regain their original meaning: progress, well-being, opportunity, dignity and happiness for our people".
Taking the floor, the President of the IPU, Mr. Sergio Páez, called for "global unity in order to face the most pressing challenges of international governance", adding that political violence is surely the greatest challenge of this era. He went on to recall that, "The success of our political structures and the future of the next generations will be contingent on the way we tackle this scourge of society", noting that the advocates of violence are hoping to sow the seeds of division and drive us to reject our values and renounce our aspirations. "We cannot follow them in this twisted game. Terror - waged by insurgents or States - should be valiantly condemned under all circumstances, in all places, and should be fought with political unity and strict adherence to the law", he urged.
Referring to the agenda of the 110th Assembly that will focus on the issues of reconciliation, stabilisation, and physical and emotional reconstruction in areas of conflict, he said that parliamentarians had a particularly pertinent role to play in these processes, adding, "We are well-placed to foster inter-parliamentary understanding with a view to driving forward the peace processes, achieving greater participation in the foreign policy of our respective governments and promoting dialogue among cultures and civilisations".
In his message, which was delivered by the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Danilo Turk, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan recalled that reconciliation is the core activity of the United Nations in consolidating and maintaining peace from Afghanistan to West Africa, Tajikistan to East-Timor, Guatemala to Guinea-Bissau and in many other places. He stressed that, regarding the fundamental aspect of recovery, "Parliamentarians have an important function to carry out. You can establish bodies to promote reconciliation. You can set the example of dialogue among divided communities through international agreements and standards and support international organisations, such as the International Criminal Court, which is well-placed to make a significant contribution".
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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 140 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has an office as Permanent Observer with the United Nations in New York.
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