ANNUAL PARLIAMENTARY HEARING AT THE UNITED NATIONS New York (United Nations Headquarters), 27 October 2003
	Organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union

	The Annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations was held on 27 October at the UN Headquarters in New York, with the participation of over 120 legislators from 42 national parliaments and two regional parliamentary organizations. The meeting was also attended by senior UN officials, members of the diplomatic community in New York, as well as by representatives of other international organizations. The Parliamentary Hearing was inaugurated by Senator Sergio Páez, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, President of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly. The programme provided for an open and inter-active discussion on the main issues of the international agenda, which include reforming the UN system as a precondition for greater world security, progress and setbacks in the global fight against terrorism, assessing the danger of unresolved crises (with a particular focus on the situation in Iraq and in the Middle East), as well as financing for development (follow-up to the Monterrey World Conference, the role of the Bretton Woods institutions in the international financial architecture, breaking the world trade deadlock after Cancun and unleashing its potential for development financing). The programme of the Hearing is reproduced below. Texts of some speeches can be downloaded from this page.

SPEECHES AND DOCUMENTS
	Summary record of the Hearing (PDF)
	Speech by Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
	Speech by Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, President of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly
IPU PRESS RELEASE
	Enhanced Partnership between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (New York/Geneva, 31 October 2003)
Note: Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader

PROGRAMME
10 a.m.	Welcome messages from the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and the President of the IPU, Senator Sergio Páez
10.15 a.m.	MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WORLD Reforming the UN as a precondition to greater world security H.E. James Robert Hunte, President of the General Assembly The Honourable Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Progress and setbacks in the fight against global terrorism H.E. Inocencio Arias, Chair of the Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee H.E. Heraldo Munoz, Chair of the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee (Security Council) Assessing the danger of unresolved crises Mr. Kieran Prendergast, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Mr. Terje Roed Larsen, Special Coordinator of the UN Secretary-General for the Middle East Peace Process
1 p.m.	Lunch break
3 p.m.	FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT The UN follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, 2002) Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Development Ms. Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development The role of the Bretton Woods Institutions in the international financial architecture Mr. Eduardo Doryan, Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations Mr. Reinhard H. Munzberg, Special Representative of the International Monetary Fund to the United Nations After Cancun: suggested steps to break the trade impasse and unleash its potential in development financing Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The Honourable Mr. Kobsak Chutikul, Member of the House of Representatives of Thailand
6 p.m.	Official Reception: West Terrace (4th floor)

SESSION PHOTOS