Report of the South
African delegation to the 114th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Assembly in
REPORT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN
DELEGATION TO THE
114TH INTER-PARLIAMENTARY
UNION (IPU) ASSEMBLY IN
7-14 MAY 2006
1.
Introduction
Established in 1889, the IPU is the
international organisation of Parliaments of sovereign states.
Over one hundred and thirty national
parliaments are currently members of the IPU.
Seven regional parliamentary assemblies are Associate Members.
It is the focal point for worldwide
parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation amongst peoples and
for the firm establishment of representative democracy.
The IPU supports the efforts of the
United Nations, whose objectives it shares, and works in close co-operation
with. It also co-operates with regional
inter-parliamentary organizations as well as with international
inter-governmental and civil society organzations
that are motivated by the same ideals.
The organs of the IPU are the
Assembly, the Governing Council, the Executive Committee and the Secretariat.
2.
Agenda
The agenda for the 114th
IPU Assembly was as follows:
·
Election of the President and Vice-Presidents of the 114th
Assembly
·
Consideration of possible requests for the inclusion of an
emergency item in the Assembly agenda
·
General debate on the political, economic and social
situation in the world with the overall theme of Promoting democracy and
helping to build democratic institutions
·
The role of parliaments in strengthening the control of
trafficking in small arms and light weapons and their ammunition (Standing
Committee on Peace and International Security)
·
The role of parliaments in environmental management and in
combating global degradation of the environment (Standing Committee on
Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade)
·
How parliaments can and must promote effective ways of
combating violence against women in all fields (Standing Committee on
Democracy and Human Rights)
·
Approval of the subject items for the 116th Assembly and
appointment of the Rapporteurs
3.
Delegation
The delegation to the 114th
IPU Assembly consisted of:
Hollander, P (Deputy Chairperson and
Leader of the Delegation) (ANC)
Bapela, K O (ANC)
Dreyer, A (DA)
Greyling, L (ID)
Lucas, E (IFP)
Madikiza, G (UDM)
Mgabadeli, H (ANC)
Njikelana, S J (ANC)
Ahmed, K
Cwaile, Kebadirang
(Assistant to the Leader of the Delegation)
Matyolo, L (ASGP representative)
Paulse, C
4.
Delegation Briefing Meetings
The Delegation met at least once a
day to plan for the day’s meetings and discussions. Decisions on attendance of meetings and
strategies to be employed in those meetings were discussed before hand by
delegates.
5.
Governing Council
The Governing Council is the plenary
policy-making body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. A number of committees and
working groups are subordinated to it and report to the Council on their work.
The President of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union, currently Mr. Pier Ferdinando
Casini of
http://www.ipu.org/strct-e/cnlrules-new.htmThe
Council establishes the annual programme and budget of the
The three representatives from
The Vice President, Ms Mensah-Williams, opened the Council.
The Chinese delegation nominated the
Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya as the President of the 114th
Assembly. He was unanimously appointed.
Four organizations applied for
observer status, namely:
§
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
(IAO)
§
Inter-parliamentary Commission of the economic and Monetary
Community of Central Africa
§
AMANI Forum – The
§
Association of Senates Shoora and
Equivalent Council in
The debts owed by the
The IPU
Governing Council readmitted the National Congress of Paraguay and the
transitional parliament of
The SG provided an overview of his
report. He highlighted the following
issues:
§
Conference of Speakers of Parliament was a highlight of 2005
§
22 meetings organised in 2005 with a total of 4000 MPs
attending the meetings
§
The IPU website has 180,000 documents and received 600,000
hits in 2005
§
A bi-monthly e-bulletin is being developed and it is
suggested that this bulletin be forwarded to all Members
The Executive Committee members unanimously
proposed the re-election of the Secretary General by acclimation. In addition, a working group will be set up
to look at the new conditions of service for the SG and will develop a proposal
for nominating and appointing a new Secretary General.
Human Rights Committee
The Chairperson of the Human Rights
Committee, British Member of Parliament Ann Clwyd indicated that there was a record number of human rights cases being considered
by the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Committee on the Human Rights of
Parliamentarians.
In her report
to the Governing Council, Mrs. Clywd said that during
its 112th session, the Committee had examined 64 cases in 35 countries and held
12 meetings with delegations. The Council approved 12 resolutions concerning
the cases of 118 parliamentarians in 21 countries all over the world, among
them public cases in
6.
Assembly
The IPU
Assembly is the principal statutory body that expresses the views of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union on political issues. It brings together
parliamentarians to study international problems and make recommendations for
action.
Mr Kaparo,
Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, was appointed as President of the
Assembly.
Ms Mensah-Williams, Vice President of the Executive Committee,
standing in for President Cassini, commented on the international and local
democracy deficit. She noted that the IPU had developed a guide on
democracy. The guide spoke to the
following issues amongst others:
§
Increasing democratic values in a responsible way
§
Strengthening parliaments
§
Identifying objectives of a democratic parliament
§
Notes that Parliaments should be representative,
transparent, accountable, accessible and effective
§
Identifies the common challenges facing parliaments
§
Identifies good practices
She noted further that it was
important to develop ICT capacity amongst Parliaments and that a partnership
has been set up with UNDESA to develop ICT capacity.
The head of the UN Fund for
International Partnerships and representative of the Secretary General, provided an overview of the UN’s
Democracy fund. The fund currently:
§
Has a total of $50 million
§
Is intended to be a tool to enhance participation in
democratic processes
§
Is aimed at marginalized communities
§
Received applications from
It was noted further by the UN
representative that:
§
There are several democratic models and that the UN does not
favour any particular model
§
A Peace Building Commission has also been set up to assist
countries that have emerged from violence
§
He noted further that the relationship between the IPU and
UN has increased significantly
§
It was also important that international issues need to be
placed on national agendas
The President provided an overview
of the last 15 years in
§
A civil war existed for more than a decade
§
This has annihilated government agencies and departments
§
The Transitional Federal Parliament Members are unpaid but
rely on allowances provided by donor funding
§
Donor support is critical for the survival of
§
The Parliament faces enormous challenges and wishes to visit
other Parliaments to learn from their experiences
§
The dominance of free market economies had resulted in
changed lifestyles and an unprecedented improvement of living standards around
the globe.
§
Despite the positive effects of this economic model, the
influence of big business in governance, the political process and campaign
finance was increasing.
§
Parliaments had to be concerned about whether that influence
would help or subvert democracy.
§
It was Parliament’s role to act as the voice of the
voiceless and to protect vulnerable persons against the emerging dictatorship
of international capitalism.
§
He noted that laws were not always made in the interests of
the people and it was therefore critical that parliamentarians ensured that
legislation was pro-people.
§
There is an inherent connection between the environment and
peace building and it was important to recognise the link between peace,
sustainability and good governance.
§
The Green Belt Movement used the tree as an entry point to
communities, as a sign of hope that could give a feeling of self-worth and
accomplishment.
§
The Movement questioned the link between peace and security
in the context of environmental management, since there needed to be an
equitable sharing of resources in order to ensure peace.
§
Parliamentarians had to encourage dialogue, the pursuit of
truth and common good, listening, forgiveness and reconciliation, and to
provide space and patience for those things to happen.
Address by David Nabarro,
Senior United Nations Co-ordinator for Avian and Human Influenza
§
Avian flu is spreading rapidly across the world: in the last
four months, it had spread from 15 to 47 countries.
§
Difficult decisions had to be taken to achieve a balanced
response. The disease must be controlled
while livelihoods were protected.
§
Parliamentarians had to ensure that their countries were
ready to deal with the potential impact of Avian flu.
As part of the general
debate on democracy, Mr Obed Bapela
MP, provided an input on behalf of
§
Firstly,
§
Elections cannot be regarded as the main or only base of a
working democracy. As a result, it was
imperative that countries consider adopting a constitution that will act as yet
another tier of ensuring democracy.
§
However, a country’s citizens have to agree to this
constitution.
§
Secondly, institutions that help to
foster and build democracy, such as independent electoral commissions, have to
be developed, maintained and protected.
§
Finally, countries need to become involved in peace building
efforts beyond their borders in order to ensure that democratic values are
adopted as widely as possible.
A representative of six Arab
countries suggested that the issue of religious freedom be discussed as an
emergency item, whereas
Ultimately, the Drafting Committee
on the Emergency Item decided that the suggestion forwarded by
Mr Njikelana,
from
In a resolution entitled The need
for urgent food relief in order to combat drought-induced famine and poverty in
Africa, for the world’s most industrialized nations to speed up aid to the
continent and for particular efforts to be made to reach desperate and poor
populations, IPU delegates urged "the governments concerned to take
every appropriate measure to facilitate access to the affected areas for the
speedy delivery of food supplies and to provide security". The delegates
also called on all parties to ensure that food relief programmes are not used
for political ends and that food is distributed to those in need without
political interference.
The 114th Assembly
recommended that parliaments in the affected countries monitor the delivery of
food relief programmes and invited them to report on their findings to the IPU.
They called upon the governments of the countries concerned to make every
effort to implement the Millennium Development Goals, "in particular those
relating to the reduction of poverty, and to this end, to pursue sustainable
development strategies". Those strategies "must aim to promote good
governance and respect for human rights, eradication of corruption, sustainable
food production, development of infrastructure to provide access to
communities, and, most importantly, security for the population".
The parliamentarians adopted a
resolution entitled The role of parliaments in strengthening the control of
trafficking in small arms and light weapons and their ammunition, in which
they urged parliaments to combat SALW proliferation and misuse as a key element
in national strategies on conflict prevention, peace-building, sustainable
development, protection of human rights, and public health and safety.
They urged parliaments not only to
promote and ensure the adoption at the national level of legislation and
regulations required to control SALW and to combat its proliferation and
misuse, but also to promote the development of an international arms trade
treaty (ATT) to strictly regulate arms transfers on the basis of State
obligations under international law and internationally accepted norms and
human rights standards.
Parliaments should promote greater
international regional efforts to develop common standards to control the
activities of those brokering or otherwise facilitating arms transfers between
third countries and to ensure the existence of strong legal sanctions for those
who provide SALW to children, or who recruit and use children in conflicts or
armed operations. Legislators also urged parliaments "to ensure the
existence of legal sanctions at the national level for those who commit
crimes/atrocities against vulnerable sections of society such as the elderly,
women and children". Special attention should also be given to capacity-building,
with a view to overcoming some of the barriers in the implementation of SALW
commitments.
The delegation
of
On The Role of Parliaments in
Environmental Management and in Combating Global Degradation of the Environment,
legislators recommended that parliaments "include in their budgets clear
indicators of the financial and non-financial costs related to environmental
degradation", and "promote the development of new and broader tools
and methods of measuring GDP and other standardized economic concepts".
They paid tribute to the special role
of women in environmental protection and called for the mainstreaming of women
in environmental decision-making processes, from which they have traditionally
been excluded, and that women be given more equitable access to land ownership.
Looking to society at large, and in the spirit of the
United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), the
resolution underscores the need for "governments and parliaments to
advocate environmental awareness and educate the public about coordinated
action against environmental degradation".
On energy, conservation and other
aspects of natural resources management, the resolution adopted expressed
reservations on the use of nuclear power as part of the energy mix and called
for more research on the problems posed by the decommissioning of power plants,
storage of nuclear waste and accidental leakage of radioactive materials. In
contrast, unconditional support is given to the implementation of 3R (Reuse,
Recycle, Reduce) approaches in conjunction with "the development of
environmentally-friendly products […] and of a sound material-cycle
society." Finally, legislators called upon parliaments to work towards
limiting to 2°C the rise in mean global temperatures compared with
pre-industrial levels.
Following the
adoption of the resolution, the delegation of
Delegates adopted a resolution
entitled How parliaments can and must
promote effective ways of combating violence against women in all fields.
They called upon governments and parliaments to give priority to and raise
awareness about violence against women as both a cause and a consequence of the
rising incidence of HIV/AIDS and to include these considerations in their
national strategies; and to implement the United Nations General Assembly
resolution on Crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate
violence against women; in particular to punish all acts of violence against
women perpetrated by State or non-State actors in the public and the private
spheres; to establish courts specialized in hearing cases of such violence; and
to establish a governmental body promoting the prosecution of all acts of
violence.
Governments and parliaments should
promote public awareness of the problem of violence against women, and
"enact and enforce legislation against the perpetrators of practices and
acts of violence against women and children, including tough and clear measures
to combat recidivism". Moreover parliaments are urged to "review
legislation to detect practices and traditions that impede the attainment of
equality between the sexes and to eliminate inequality in all spheres, in
particular in education, health and access to property and land". Changes
in social and cultural attitudes to gender roles and the elimination of
patterns of behaviour that engender violence should also be encouraged, as
should cooperation with the media.
Parliaments are
also urged to denounce and combat the extreme forms of gender violence against
women that are derived from the violation of their human rights and that are
shaped by a set of misogynous conducts which can involve impunity and which
have culminated in homicide and other forms of violent death of women.
Finally, parliaments and governments
are requested to make rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced
pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of
comparable gravity crimes under their domestic legislation and to repress them
as such. With reference to human trafficking, parliamentarians stressed the
need to build international and regional cooperation among the countries of
origin, transit and destination, through instruments such as bilateral
agreements and international treaties.
Following the
adoption of the resolution, the delegation of
8.
Women Parliamentarians
More than 170 women legislators from
117 countries attended the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. The President of
the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, Kenyan Assistant Minister of Education
and Member of Parliament, Beth Mugo, denounced the
prevalence of rape and sexual violence during armed conflict. She pointed out
that the untold suffering of women in Western Sudan,
Referring to the situation in
Welcoming the participants, the
Speaker of the host Parliament, Francis Ole Kaparo,
said that women all over the world form the backbone of every home, every
society and every nation. He urged women not to relent in their efforts to have
their voices heard and their efforts recognized.
Speaker Kaparo
highlighted the fact that women legislators will discuss positive action
mechanisms to promote women in politics. Women in positions of power need to be
assertive. They need to develop mechanisms that will enable them to function
well so they can achieve results. Women in authority need to be good role
models for young girls. He argued that in today's rapidly changing globalized world, the role of women parliamentarians is
truly essential.
The Vice-President of the IPU
Executive Committee, Namibian deputy Margareth Mensah-Williams, addressed the Women Parliamentarians
Meeting on behalf of the IPU President, Mr. Pier Ferdinando
Casini. She welcomed the men parliamentarians
attending the meeting by reminding that men of quality don't feel threatened by
women's equality. She went on to say that women hold half the world but not
half of the power and the reason why women have the special place to discuss
these issues at the IPU is because the IPU Secretariat together with the
Executive Committee and the President saw that it is very important to give
women a specific time where they can continue discussing pertinent issues
around the world and how to build a network with each other and how to be role
models for each other.
Mrs. Mensah
Williams paid tribute to the President of the IPU Women's Coordination
Committee, Canadian Senator Joan Fraser - who ended her mandate at the 114th
IPU - for her dedication to the cause of partnership between men and women in
politics.
Speaking on behalf of the IPU Gender
Partnership Group, British Member of Parliament John Austin expressed support
for efforts carried out in
Ms Dreyer and Mgabadeli
attended the Women Parliamentarians meeting.
The primary decisions taken at the meeting related to the filling of
vacancies. The following vacancies were
filled:
President (
First Vice President (
Second Vice President (
9.
Panel Discussion on HIV/Aids
The IPU
gathering included a panel discussion on children and AIDS featuring Stephen
Lewis, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in
Lewis indicated that these children
are missing out on treatment because they are still missing from national
policies. They are forgotten by the public, who see AIDS as an adult disease,
and forgotten by leaders who focus on adults when it comes to laws, policies
and budgets.
The panel focused on concrete ways
that parliamentarians can support children affected by HIV/AIDS:
§
Break the silence and end the stigma and discrimination of
those affected by HIV and AIDS.
§
Ensure that there are comprehensive policies and/or
legislation for HIV and AIDS that include children, and that there is adequate
funding.
§
Protect, support and strengthen families and communities
most affected by HIV and AIDS.
§
An essential part of this is to work for abolishing school
fees, which prevent many children from getting a basic education.
Veneman urged parliamentarians
to "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS,"
invoking the global partnership initiative as a platform for urgent and
sustained programs, advocacy and fundraising to limit the impact of HIV/AIDS on
children and help halt the spread of the disease.
He stated that the world must be
alerted to the reality that HIV/AIDS is robbing tens of millions of children of
childhood itself and that Parliamentarians must continue to act together,
decisively and urgently, to put children at the centre of the HIV/AIDS agenda
and ensure an AIDS-free generation.
10.
Meeting with SADC
The meeting was opened by the
Speaker of Zambia and Chairperson of the SADC-PF, Hon Amusaa
K Mwanamwambwa.
Three countries were represented at the meeting namely,
The Speaker noted the loss of the
former Namibian Speaker of the National Assembly and held a moment of silence.
A representative of the SADC-PF
Secretariat provided a brief overview of SADC-PF’s
new strategic plan. It was noted that
from 2000-2005 SADC-PF focused strongly on democratic governance and more
specifically, election observer missions.
The 2006-2010 plan focuses on gender
mainstreaming, improved democratic governance in the SADC region and effective
implementation of regional integration programmes amongst others.
A Parliamentary Leadership Centre
has also been established to enhance the capacity of Members and staff by
developing their skills and knowledge of parliamentary processes.
The Speaker also suggested that
SADC-PF focus on establishing a SADC Parliament and that
Hon M Mensah-Williams,
Vice President of the IPU Executive and Namibian MP, provided an overview of
the issues that will be discussed at the IPU Assembly. She noted the following matters:
§
Out of 143 Member States, only 31 have submitted reports to
the IPU. She urged that Members ensure that their respective Parliaments submit
reports to the IPU.
§
There are three countries, including
§
It was noted that thirteen countries from Africa still do
not form part of the IPU, including
§
On the question of the UN’s reform
process, it was suggested at the Executive Committee, that the IPU move from
observer status to being included in the work of the UN.
§
The 12 plus group expressed concerns about the process
around the appointment of the Secretary General. They believed that an advert should have been
placed whereas the rest of the Executive agreed that the letter by the
President to all Parliaments inviting nominations for the post was sufficient.
However, since no one was nominated as an alternative to the current Secretary
General, it appears as if the current Secretary General will be
re-elected. In
§
It was suggested that SADC Parliaments develop a database of
Members who could serve on various IPU/UN panels. Two immediate panels that will be held in
June and September are on HIV/Aids and broadcasting respectively.
§
§
The emergency items were not discussed, but it is suggested
there should not be a serious problem in agreeing to a single topic, which will
in all likelihood be the topic on religious freedom.
§
Vacancies: women’s group President and two Vice Presidents,
plus four positions per region (two titular and two substitute members).
§
A Task Team on the IPU Reform process has been
suggested. One representative per region
has been requested.
It was further suggested that SADC
delegates should meet regularly before the IPU meetings in order to better
co-ordinate a collective strategy as a region.
As the current chair of
11.
Bilateral Meetings
The South African delegation had a
few bilateral meetings that were primarily requested by the Head of the
Delegation as well as by Heads of other delegations to the IPU. The bilateral meetings held were as follows:
The Leader of the
§
While the two countries are situated far apart, there is
much in common
§
The primary sphere of co-operation is economic and trade
relations
§
It was also important for the two countries to co-operate at
a multilateral level in the various institutions that both countries
participate in
§
It was suggested that the two countries have close contacts
in order to foster co-operation so that as representatives of the people,
Parliamentarians could give effect to their respective mandates
§
At a cultural level, it was important that the countries
share their various experiences
§
It may be useful to establish a friendship group between the
two countries to manage relations. This group could carry out joint projects.
The Leader of the SA delegation
responded that:
§
The
§
They discussed issues of trade relations
§
She stated that
§
An invitation has been received by the NCOP to visit
§
The matter has been referred to the Presiding Officers and
will be decided upon shortly
Both Leaders exchanged information
on how their respective Parliaments operate.
Mr Bapela
indicated that with respect to the issue of a friendship group, that Parliament
was still in the process of developing an international relations policy, and that once this policy had been finalised, we
would revert to the
The Leader of
the SA Delegation indicated that she would also raise this matter in the
political committee meeting and encouraged Mr Novitsky
to contact the Deputy President of RSA regarding trade relations.
Mr Novitsky indicated that the
He indicated
further that this first meeting is a symbol of the beginning of relations
between the two respective countries.
Seyed Mhsen Yahyavi, MP, Islamic
Consultative Assembly and Deputy Oil Minister introduced his delegation.
He indicated that he had visited SA
in the past and was thankful for the position taken by SA on the issue of
nuclear energy. He stated that at some
stage
SA’s position has been
logical, fair and friendly and he stated that he was thankful for our support.
The Leader of the SA Delegation
indicated that she was grateful for the opportunity to meet and that there was
no reason to look at the issue of nuclear weapons or nuclear energy since the
President has pronounced himself on this matter.
Mr Bapela
indicated that a delegation of SA Parliamentarians had visited
He stated further that the Speaker
was in the process of arranging a visit to
Mr Greying asked about
There are therefore two options: to
rely on energy sources from outside the country or to develop energy sources
within the country. It is the Leader’s
position that it is better to develop energy sources, including nuclear energy,
within the country. He provided the example of
In addition he indicated that the
letter sent to the
He stated further that a large
majority of Iranians are in favour of
Mr Lucas raised three issues: (1)
the importance of energy (2) the misuse of energy and (3) what do we do about
the waste produced by nuclear energy. He suggested that it was essential that
waste be dealt with in the most environmentally friendly manner possible.
The Leader of the Iranian delegation
responded that if
He concluded that diplomacy channels
are always open but that
Beth Mugo
(Deputy Minister for Education) met with the Leader of the South African
Delegation, and Mr Bapela, Lucas, Greyling
and Madikiza to talk about
Ms Mugo
indicated that:
§
An Inter-Ministerial Committee (primary ministries: Foreign
Affairs, Transport, Security, Local Government, Health, Tourism, Immigration)
was formed to plan the 114th IPU.
§
Five MPs, who had been involved in the IPU before, and
senior staff met to form smaller committees who focused on various issues such
as transport, accommodation etc.
§
Four full-time staff worked on the organisation of the
Committee.
§
The senior staff chaired the smaller committees that included, tourism, transport, protocol etc.
§
Initially, the committee met every two to three weeks and
then eventually everyday.
§
The entire Committee travelled to the IPU hosted by
§
The IPU Geneva Secretariat requests a certain number of
rooms, equipment etc that must be fulfilled.
§
The IPU Secretariat will provide a host agreement setting
out these requirements.
12.
African Parliamentary
Ms Mensah-Williams
provided an overview of the IPU Executive Meeting. She indicated that the
Africa Group has to elect a Member to the IPU Reform Committee.
It was noted further that the Africa
Group should not arrange meetings on the same day that the Women’s Group meets.
This issue caused some concern subsequent to the APU meeting since names of
women that did not necessarily reflect the wishes of African women delegates,
were forwarded to the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians as candidates for
vacant posts. The matter was
subsequently resolved after African women delegates met separately to discuss
this deeply concerning trend of the APU to hold its meetings at the same time
than women delegates met.
The Egyptian delegation stated that
the Arab group had met and decided on a single topic amongst their
delegates. This topic will centre around religious freedom.
It was agreed that Mr Johnsson’s term as Secretary General is renewed for another
four years.
It was decided that all nominated
delegates should meet and decide amongst themselves who should act as the
The President of Association of Shoora, Councils and Legislative Assemblies requested
support from the APU to obtain observer status at the IPU.
13.
Meeting with Secretary General of the IPU
Mr Johnsson
welcomed the Deputy Chairperson and Mr Bapela and
explained that the President of the IPU, Mr Cassini has had to return to
Mr Bapela
explained the negotiations with
Mr Johnsson
stated that they have always adopted the first come, first serve principle. He
indicated that
In the
Executive Committee, there was some confusion about
He suggested that we set up a
structure within Parliament to manage the 2008 Assembly. This group should study the protocols and
plans, make the necessary arrangements, and then invite Mr Bustos
to view the plans. This has to be
completed before the
Mr Johnsson argued that the fact that two conferences are
taking place in Africa after each other, should not be an issue, since the
first 70 conferences were never held in
He suggested that we organise two
meetings with the Kenyan and Thai organising committees and that we read
through the protocol document as soon as possible.
14.
Future IPU Meetings
115th Assembly October 2006
116th Assembly April 2007
117th Assembly April/May 2008
118th Assembly October 2008
119th Assembly April/May 2009
15.
Subject Items for the 116th Assembly (
The
following subject items and co-rapporteurs were
approved for the 116th Assembly (
Ensuring respect for and peaceful co-existence between all
religions, communities and beliefs in a globalised
world.
Co-rappoteurs: Mr
P Bieri (
Mrs S Masri (
Job
creation and employment security in the era of globalization
Co-rapporteurs: To be
appointed
Promoting
diversity and equal rights for all through universal democratic and electoral
standards
Co-rapporteurs: Mrs N Narochnitskaya (
Mr J D Seelam (
16.
Implications of the Resolutions and Decisions Adopted at the
114th IPU for the South African Parliament
§
The resolution adopted on the emergency item recommended
that parliaments in the affected countries monitor the delivery of food relief programmes
and invited them to report on their findings to the IPU. This commitment, agreed to by
§
Similarly, the resolutions adopted by the three Standing
Committees have to be discussed and followed-up. In particular:
o
Parliaments are urged not only to promote and ensure the
adoption at the national level of legislation and regulations required to
control SALW and to combat its proliferation and misuse, but also to promote
the development of an international arms trade treaty (ATT) to strictly
regulate arms transfers on the basis of State obligations under international
law and internationally accepted norms and human rights standards.
o
Legislators recommended that parliaments include in their
budgets clear indicators of the financial and non-financial costs related to
environmental degradation, and promote the development of new and broader tools
and methods of measuring GDP and other standardized economic concepts.
o
Parliament are called upon to give priority to and raise
awareness about violence against women as both a cause and a consequence of the
rising incidence of HIV/AIDS and to include these considerations in their
national strategies; and to implement the United Nations General Assembly
resolution on Crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate
violence against women; in particular to punish all acts of violence against
women perpetrated by State or non-State actors in the public and the private
spheres; to establish courts specialized in hearing cases of such violence; and
to establish a governmental body promoting the prosecution of all acts of
violence.
§
SA Parliament delegates, at the insistence of Hon Sisa Njikelana, discussed the
issue of the World Social Forum. He suggested that a formal request be
submitted to the Secretariat of the Forum for an introductory meeting before
October 2006. A report of the proposed meeting should be submitted at the 115th
Assembly.
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The Zambian Parliament needs to be reminded of its
commitment to better co-ordinate meetings of SADC delegates prior to IPU
meetings.
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In
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It was suggested that SADC Parliaments develop a database of
Members who could serve on various IPU/UN panels.
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A workshop needs to be arranged to prepare delegates
attending the IPU on matters that will be discussed and to capacitate them
adequately to engage in debate at the Assembly.
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The capacity of the International Relations Section to
follow-up on the resolutions and recommendations made at the IPU needs to
fast-tracked to ensure that Parliament meets its obligations vis a vis the IPU resolutions.
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Furthermore, the International Relations Policy has to finalised as soon as possible in order to ensure that the
necessary structures are in place to manage Parliament’s approach to
international matters and to track whether Parliament’s policies are aligned
with that of the IPU’s.
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In terms of hosting the IPU in 2008, the Secretary General
suggested that we set up a structure within Parliament to manage the 2008
Assembly. This group should study the
protocols and plans, make the necessary arrangements, and then invite Mr Bustos to view the plans.
This has to be completed before the