The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), meeting today at the 110th IPU Assembly, has taken a number of decisions on the work of the organisation of national parliaments. Noteworthy among these was the adoption of the report on Colombia by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which urged Colombia and the Congress to play a much more active part in the peace process. It also called on Colombia and the Congress to establish "an independent inquiry commission" in view of the "magnitude and seriousness of the alleged collusion of officials of the Attorney General's Office and the paramilitary".
At its session in Mexico City, the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians examined 50 cases in 29 countries, including public cases in Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Israel/Palestine, the Syrian Arab Republic, Rwanda, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union also addressed other issues, including the following:
The Inter-Parliamentary Foundation for Democracy
The Governing Council adopted the by-laws for the Inter-Parliamentary Foundation for Democracy, a not-for-profit foundation, whose objects include, inter alia, financing and supporting activities to enhance the role of parliaments in promoting democratic principles and good governance; financing and supporting activities to help parliaments devise legislative and regulatory frameworks to foster economic and social development, and promote respect for the rule of law, bearing specifically in mind the defence and promotion of human rights, and the advancement of the role of women in society.
Women Parliamentarians
During the Ninth Meeting of Women Parliamentarians a discussion panel was held on the inclusion of the gender perspective when planning national budgets. The participants were presented with a Handbook for Parliamentarians on Parliament, the Budget and Gender written by the IPU in conjunction with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Meeting also requested that the Geneva session of the IPU Assembly include the following agenda item for analysis and discussion: "The Inter-Parliamentary Union: the evaluation of the advancement of women 10 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women", organised by the United Nations in Beijing (China) in 1995.
Co-operation and Security in the Mediterranean
The IPU Governing Council voiced its support for the convening, in early 2005, of the Fourth Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM) with the aim of converting the CSCM process into the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean States.
Middle East
The Committee on Middle East Questions expressed deep concern at the building of walls and fences. Whilst acknowledging Israel's need to protect its people from terrorist attacks, the Committee deplored the fact that the wall was being built, not along the Green Line, but inside the West Bank.
The Committee also requested the President and the Secretary General to persevere in their efforts to convene a first meeting of the working group of members of the Israeli Knesset and the Palestinian Legislative Council at a neutral location in the region.
Future meetings
The 111th IPU Assembly and its related meetings will be held in Geneva from 28 September to 1 October 2004 with the following agenda: "The role of parliaments in strengthening multilateral regimes for non-proliferation of weapons and for disarmament, in the light of new security challenges"; "The role of parliaments in preserving biodiversity", and "Beijing+10: An evaluation from a parliamentary perspective".
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