The parliamentarians of 116 countries, meeting in Santiago de Chile for the 108th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, are in intense negotiations to formalise a supplementary emergency agenda item on the situation in Iraq.
Today the delegates decided to put a supplementary item on the agenda on "the importance of the non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction and missiles, including the prevention of their use by terrorists".
The item, which was submitted by the delegations of Hungary and Japan obtained 776 votes in favour, 237 against with 237 abstentions.
The proposal presented by the Islamic Republic of Iran, "A call by parliamentarians to support an international coalition for peace" obtained 763 votes in favour, 324 against with 256 abstentions. The Italian delegation withdrew its proposal, "Intensifying the fight against drug trafficking" to support the proposal of Hungary and Japan.
The two other issues to be debated during the week are "The parliaments' role in strengthening democratic institutions and human development in a fragmented world" and "International cooperation for the prevention and management of transborder natural disasters and their impact on the regions concerned".
The President of the Chilean Senate, Andrés Zaldivar, was elected President of the 108th Conference of the IPU which will be held until 12 April at the Diego Portales Convention Centre.
The following speakers will take the floor on Tuesday 8 April: Mark Mallock Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) in the morning and Soledad Alvear, the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs (4 pm), in the plenary.
Other press releases