CONFERENCE OF PRESIDING OFFICERS OF NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS U.N. Headquarters, New York, 30 August - 1st September 2000 Organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in cooperation with the United Nations

Declaration Annotated agenda Rules of Procedure Practical arrangements Information for delegates Security advisory note Preparatory Committee President and Vice-Presidents Steering Committee Registration form Speaking preferences form Media arrangements

BACKGROUND Group photo of Presidents of Parliament taken on the occasion of the Conference The IPU convened the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Conference was held in conjunction with the Millennium Assembly and took place in the United Nations General Assembly Hall from 30 August to 1 September 2000. At its 53rd and 54th sessions, the United Nations General Assembly welcomed the initiative of the IPU to hold the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments. The aims of the Conference are to express support for international cooperation and to enshrine a commitment at the highest level by parliaments to work much more closely with the UN system and other major international negotiating fora both nationally and globally through their world organisation, the IPU. The Conference is part of the IPU's efforts to strengthen its cooperation with the UN, as envisaged in the Agreement of Cooperation concluded between the two Organisations in 1996. In order to prepare the Conference, the IPU set up a Preparatory Committee composed of the President of the IPU Council, several Presiding Officers and other MPs. The Committee met in Vienna (January 1999), in Rabat (September 1999) and in Geneva (January 2000) to draw up the practical arrangements for the Conference, to draft the Rules of the Conference, and to prepare a Declaration for the Conference. The Declaration, entitled the "Parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium", highlights the main challenges facing the world community and the United Nations in the twenty-first century, describes changes in international relations and outlines the national, regional and international parliamentary dimension of international cooperation. The first drafts were prepared by a Working Group. The IPU geopolitical groups and the national parliaments represented in the IPU were given an opportunity to study the text and make proposals prior to its finalisation at the third and last meeting of the Preparatory Committee. Presiding Officers of national parliaments provided their perspective on the Declaration in their speeches and adopted it by consensus.

ANNOTATED AGENDA 1. Inaugural Ceremony Welcoming address by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan Opening statement by the President of the IPU Council, Mrs. Najma Heptulla 2. Adoption of the agenda and practical modalities for the Conference 3. The parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium Keynote address by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Theo Ben Gurirab Statements from the Presiding Officers of National Parliaments, as well as the Presidents of the Parliamentary Assemblies which are Associate Members of the IPU Statements by some high-ranking personalities 4. Adoption of the final Declaration Presentation of the draft declaration by the Rapporteur of the Preparatory Committee and adoption of the text. 5. Closing ceremony of the Conference

CONFERENCE PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS

President Dr. Najma Akbarali Heptulla, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha of India, President of the IPU Council Vice-Presidents Ms. B. Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Mr. R. Forni, Speaker of the National Assembly of France Dr. Frene Ginwala, Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa Mr. Li Peng, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China Mr. A. Majali, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jordan Mr. G. Molgat, Speaker of the Senate of Canada Mr. M. Temer, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil

STEERING COMMITTEE

President Dr. Najma Akbarali Heptulla, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha of India, President of the IPU Council Rapporteur Mr. M.M. Traoré, Speaker of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, Rapporteur of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference Members Mr. G.M.C. Balayogi, Speaker of the Lok Sbha of India Mrs. B. Dahl, Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden Mr. F. Solana, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of Mexico, Vice-President of the IPU Executive Committee Dr. A.F. Sorour, Speaker of the People's Assembly of Egypt Mr. M.P. Tjitendero, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia Mr. Z. Tuyakbai, Chairman of the Assembly of Kazakhstan Mr. L. Violante, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Mr. T. Watanuki, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE

President Dr. Najma Akbarali Heptulla, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha of India, President of the IPU Council Presiding Officers of National Parliaments Mr. Neil Andrew, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia Dr. Heinz Fischer, President of the Nationalrat of Austria Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Parliament of Bangladesh Mr. Michel Temer, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil Mr. Gildas Molgat, President of the Senate of Canada Mr. Carlos Montes, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Dr. Ahmed Fathy Sorour, Speaker of the People's Assembly of Egypt Mr. Ganti Mohan Chandra Balayogi, Speaker of the Lok Sabha of India Mr. Luciano Violante, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Mr. Abdulhadi Majali, Speaker of the House of Deputies of Jordan Mr. Abdelwahed Radi, President of the House of Representatives of Morocco Mr. Petre Roman, President of the Senate of Romania Mr. Guennadi N. Seleznev, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Ms. Frene Noshir Ginwala, Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa Mr. Federico Trillo Figueroa, President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain Ms. Birgitta Dahl, Speaker of the Riksdagen of Sweden Members and former members of the Executive Committee Mr. Miguel-Angel Martínez, Honorary President of the IPU Council Mr. Eduardo Menem, Senator of Argentina Mr. Mélégué Maurice Traoré, President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso Mr. Fernando Solana, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of Mexico Dr. Mosé P. Tjitendero, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia Dr. Chung-Soo Park, Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Presidents of the British and French Groups, Founding Members of the IPU Mr. David Marshall, Chairman of the British Group Mr. Michel Vauzelle, Executive President of the French Group Honorary Secretary General of the IPU Mr. Pierre Cornillon Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mrs. Gillian Sorensen, Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations Secretary General of the IPU Mr. Anders B. Johnsson