Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Ouagadougou, 10 September2001
N° 4

The 106th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), meeting in Ouagadougou, will debate a supplementary item entitled Contribution of parliaments to dealing with the continuing tragic situation in the occupied Arab territories, to the provision of international observers, and to the protection of the Arab Palestinian people, especially unarmed civilians, submitted by the Kuwaiti delegation (on behalf of the Arab Group).

The item was adopted with 728 votes in favour, 202 against and 392 abstentions by the 967 MPs (including 148 women MPs) representing 116 countries. The item entitled Safety in shipping and ways to curb the rise in acts of piracy and ecological disasters, presented by the French delegation obtained 695 votes in favour, 262 against and 365 abstentions. The delegations of Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran withdrew their proposals for a supplementary item.

There are two other items on the Conference agenda, namely Protecting and caring for children, the driving force of future society and Urgent action to combat HIV/AIDS and other pandemics which seriously endanger public health, and economic, social and political development and even threaten the survival of many nations.

The President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, Mr Maurice Mélégué Traoré, has been elected President of the 106th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union which will run until 15 September in the Ouaga 2000 Conference Centre.

Before the opening of the Conference, the Council - the IPU governing body - approved a request for reaffiliation from the Parliament of Côte d'Ivoire.

Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 142 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has a Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York.