Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Windhoek/Geneva, 3 April 1998
N° 1

99th IPU CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE IN WINDHOEK

Representatives of the world's national parliaments are arriving in Windhoek, Namibia, this week for the 99th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, the twice-annual general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organisation of parliaments. The Conference will be opened by the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Mr Sam Nujoma, and chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, Mr Mosé Tjitendero.

The Conference is being held at the invitation of the Namibian Parliament, at the Safari Court Conference Centre, from 6 to 10 April 1998. Well over 600 MPs from the 137 member-parliaments of the IPU are expected in Windhoek for the Conference. Its agenda includes two topical subjects: prevention of conflicts and HIV/AIDS.

The inaugural ceremony -- in the presence of President Nujoma -- will start at 11.30 a.m., on Monday 6 April, in the Parliament Garden. The other speakers at the ceremony will be the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, Mr Mose Tjitendero; the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council (IPU governing body), Mr Miguel Angel Martínez; the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast, who will be delivering a message from Mr Kofi Annan; and the Chairman of the Namibian National Council, Mr Kandy Nehova.

Namibia's Foreign Minister, Mr Theo Ben Gurirab, will address the Conference's general debate on the political, economic and social situation in the world, on Thursday 9 April.

The Conference's first main theme is "The prevention of conflicts and the restoration of peace and trust in countries emerging from war; the return of refugees to their countries of origin, the strengthening of democratic processes and the hastening of reconstruction". Debate on this item will take place on Tuesday 7 April, and a resolution on it will be adopted at the Conference's final plenary session on Friday, 10 April.

The second main theme is "Action to combat HIV/AIDS in view of its devastating human, economic and social impact". It will be debated on Wednesday 8 April, and a resolution on this topic will also be adopted at the Conference's final plenary session.

A third main topic of discussion, the "supplementary item", will be chosen on the afternoon of the Conference's opening day from nine proposals put forward by IPU member-parliaments. The proposals cover foreign debt (proposed by Venezuela); the embargo on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (by Libya); a ban on production of fissile material for nuclear weapons (Australia); a possible future dispute over water (Kuwait); a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East (Iran); ratification of the chemical weapons convention (Italy) and of the convention on anti-personnel mines (Norway); pollution caused by slash-and-burn farming (Germany); and the MOU signed between Iraq and the United Nations (Iraq). Whichever proposal is chosen will be the subject of a debate, on Wednesday 8 April, and of a resolution at the final plenary session.

The Conference may also be called upon to debate and adopt a resolution on an "emergency supplementary item", an event of particular international importance occurring during the 30 days preceding the Conference or during the Conference. To date, the following item has been proposed by Germany: The situation in Kosovo -- Measures to ensure a durable and peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Several IPU committees will also meet during the week of the Conference, on the defence of the human rights of parliamentarians (tackling cases of MPs who are victims of arbitrary measures); on Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean (CSCM); on the situation in Cyprus, and on Middle East peace.

Windhoek will also be the venue for the election of a new IPU Secretary General, to succeed Mr Pierre Cornillon who is retiring at the end of June 1998. The five short-listed candidates for the post will be in Windhoek for the Conference, and the election will take place during the final session of the IPU Council on Saturday 11 April. The candidates, in alphabetical order, are: Mr Claude DesRosiers (Canada), Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; Dr Kennedy Graham (New Zealand), Director of Planning and Co-ordination, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm; Mr Anders B. Johnsson (Sweden), Deputy Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva; Mr Robert J. Rogers (United Kingdom), Principal Clerk, Clerk (Director) of Delegated Legislation, House of Commons, London; Mr Everhard A. Voss (Germany), Director of the Parliamentary Relations Directorate of the German Bundestag, Bonn.

The Windhoek Conference will also be an opportunity for MPs to engage in parliamentary diplomacy -- private contacts and the exchange of ideas on bilateral issues. This has consistently been a key element of inter-parliamentary conferences.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union, whose headquarters are Geneva, has a current membership of 137 national parliaments.

A Meeting of Women Parliamentarians will take place on the eve of the Conference, on Sunday 5th April, also in the Safari Court Conference Centre. Starting at 9.30 a.m., the Meeting will discuss in particular two topics:

• Women's contribution to the democratic process: women's access to parliament and the impact of their participation on parliamentary proceedings and outcome.
• Women in the economic informal sector and their access to micro-credits.

Mrs Pashukeni Shoombe, Member of the Namibian National Assembly and Chairperson of the Namibia Women Parliamentarian Caucus, will chair the Meeting at which over 100 women MPs are expected to attend. The women MPs will also have before them the IPU's latest publication: Women in Politics -World Bibliography.

According to the IPU's Declaration on Democracy, "The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences". The IPU's Gender Partnership Group, set up last September to see to it that the interests and visions of both parts of the population are taken into account equally in all IPU activities, will also be meeting during the Windhoek Conference.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact at the Safari Court Media Centre:

tel. (264 61) 257.840; fax: 255.337
IPU Information Officer: Robin Newmann; Namibian Press Officer: Francis Xoagub