The 114th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) today heard three prominent personalities. Among them Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and member of the Kenyan Parliament, Prof. Wangari Maathai. "As parliamentarians, we could legislate laws that protect the environment rather than do politics with our resources", said the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Prof. Maathai recalled that in 1985, she told delegates to a UN conference that none of them could claim that he or she did not know what was happening concerning the environment and asked them why they were not taking action. "Today, 20 years later, I could easily have read the same statement to you, Honorable Parliamentarians and ask, "You know; so why is it that so many of us do not take action?"
Prof. Maathai, who is also Goodwill Ambassador for the Congo Forest Ecosystem and a spokesperson for the environment in general, wants to enlist legislators' support by encouraging them to ask themselves: "Why do we do these things that undermine our environment? The answer lies with each one of us because wherever we come from, we are doing some of these things. But the time to do the right thing is not only today, it was already yesterday. Can we change? The answer lies in each of us", she concluded.
The Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Raphael Tuju, also addressed the Assembly. "We are living in a world where the dominance of free market economics has resulted in unprecedented improvement, changed lifestyles and living standards around the globe. Yet it is also true that with this economic model, despite its positive attributes, we are also witnessing the increasing influence of big business in governance and the political process in areas such as campaign financing".
Foreign Minister Tuju pointed out that parliamentarians "must always be concerned whether this influence helps or subverts democracy. As the voice of the voiceless, we have a new role to play in protecting the interests of the vulnerable in the face of the emerging dictatorship of multinational capitalism".
The Kenyan Foreign Minister also referred to the situation in Somalia, thanking the Assembly "for taking the step of granting Somalia observer status in this conference. That recognition of the Somali Parliament is an important step in the rehabilitation of Somalia as a member of the community of nations. Since 1993, that is 15 years ago, Somalia spinned out of control after former President Siad Barre was pushed over the cliff. It is an indictment of the civilian world that we have allowed a country to exist without a government for that long".
Speaking of the role of parliaments in general, and in the African region in particular, Minister Tuju declared that they must ensure that "our legislation is pro-people, pro-good and that we promulgate laws that will ensure societal harmony and equity and bring about sustainable development".
United Nations Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, Mr. David Nabarro, also took the floor. He encouraged parliamentarians to invite your specialists and experts who work in government and in universities "to meet you, parliamentarians, each year and to review with you the status preparatory in your country to deal with a possible pandemic. Ask your officials, are they ready? Ask your officials, have they undertaken exercises to test their readiness? Ask your officials whether they're engaged with the private sector, whether they're engaged with civil society, whether they're engaged with the media. Ask them how they are relating to international organizations, like the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and indeed the IPU on issues such as pandemic prepareness".
Mr. Nabarro insisted that legislators make sure that the right kind of emphasis is being given to this important issue. "I hope we will not have a destructive influenza pandemic in the next few years on the scale of what was experienced in 1918 that led to the devastation of many small islands and millions and millions of deaths and people suffering. I would like to be sure though that were some of the dreadful event to happen that we are prepared and that you parliamentarians have helped to make sure we are prepared", he concluded.
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