Summary Records of the Governing Council 201 Session
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CL/201/SR.1 6 December 2017 Summary records of the Governing Council 201st session 15 and 18 October 2017 Tavrichesky Palace (Dumsky Hall), St. Petersburg (Russian Federation). - 2 - CL/201/SR.1 AGENDA Page(s) 1. Adoption of the agenda and proposals for the election of the President of the 137th Assembly (CL/201/A.1 and A.2) ................................................................................ 4 2. Approval of the summary records of the 200th session of the Governing Council (CL/200/SR.1) .................................................................................................................... 4 3. Questions relating to IPU membership and the situation of certain parliaments (a) Requests for affiliation and reaffiliation to the IPU and observer status (CL/201/3(a)-P.1 and P.2) ......................................................................................... 4, 10 (b) Achieving universal membership (CL/201/3(b)-P.1) ................................................. 5 (c) Situation of certain parliaments ................................................................................. 6 4. Report of the President (a) On his activities since the 200th session of the Governing Council (CL/201/4(a)-R.1) ...................................................................................................... 9 (b) On the activities of the Executive Committee ........................................................... 10 5. Interim Report by the Secretary General on the activities of the IPU since the 200th session of the Governing Council (a) Oral report of the Secretary General ......................................................................... 11 (b) Annual reporting exercise by Members (CL/201/5(b)-R.1) ....................................... 11 (c) International Day of Democracy 2017 (CL/201/5(c)-R.1) .......................................... 12 6. Financial situation of the IPU (CL/201/6-R.1) .................................................................... 12 7. Draft programme and budget for 2018 (CL/201/7-P.1) ...................................................... 12 8. Implementation of the IPU Strategy for 2017-2021 (CL/201/8-R.1) .................................. 26 (a) Measures to enhance youth participation at the IPU (CL/201/8(a)-P.1) ................... 26 9. Cooperation with the United Nations system (CL/201/9-R.1) ............................................ 26 10. Reports on recent IPU specialized meetings (a) Regional Seminar for Young Parliamentarians of the Asia-Pacific region (CL/201/10(a)-R.1) .................................................................................................... 27 (b) Regional Seminar for the Asia-Pacific region on the SDGs (CL/201/10(b)-R.1) ...... 27 (c) Parliamentary meeting at the 70th World Health Assembly (CL/201/10(c)-R.1) ....... 28 (d) Regional Conference on violence against women and girls for Central and Eastern Europe (CL/201/10(d)-R.1) .......................................................................... 28 (e) Regional Seminar on Promoting child nutrition in Western and Central Africa (CL/201/10(e)-R.1) .................................................................................................... 28 (f) Second Roundtable on Water: From words to actions (CL/201/10(f)-R.1) ............... 28 (g) Parliamentary meeting at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (CL/201/10(g)-R.1) ............................................................................. 28 (h) Second Interregional Seminar on parliamentary capacity-building and the further implementation of the SDGs (CL/201/10(h)-R.1) ...................................................... 28 (i) Regional Conference of Young Parliamentarians of African Parliaments (CL/201/10(i)-R.1) ..................................................................................................... 29 11. Activities of Committees and other bodies (a) Forum of Women Parliamentarians (CL/201/11(a)-R.1) ........................................... 29 (b) Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/201/11(b)-R.1, R.2 and P.1 to P.4) .................................................................... 13 (c) Committee on Middle East Questions (CL/201/11(c)-R.1 and P.1 to P.3) ............... 29 (d) Group of Facilitators for Cyprus (CL/201/11(d)-R.1) - 3 - CL/201/SR.1 Page(s) (e) Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law (CL/201/11(e)-R.1 and P.1 to P.3) ............................................................................ 30 (f) Advisory Group on Health (CL/201/11(f)-R.1) .......................................................... 30 (g) Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU (CL/201/11(g)-R.1) ........................... 30 th 12. 138 IPU Assembly (Geneva, Switzerland, 24-28 March 2018) ....................................... 31 13. Future inter-parliamentary meetings (CL/201/13-P.1) (a) Statutory meetings ..................................................................................................... 31 (b) Specialized meetings and other events ..................................................................... 31 14. Appointment of two internal Auditors for the 2018 accounts (CL/201/14-P.1) ................... 31 15. Election of the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (CL/201/15-P.1 and P.2) ........ 22 16. Elections to the Executive Committee (CL/201/16-P.1 to P.4) .......................................... 31 17. Amendments to the IPU Statutes and Rules ...................................................................... 32 18. Other business ................................................................................................................... 32 - 4 - CL/201/SR.1 First sitting Sunday, 15 October 2017 The meeting was called to order at 9.15 a.m., with Mr. S. Chowdhury (Bangladesh), President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in the Chair. Item 1 of the agenda ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND PROPOSALS FOR THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE 137th ASSEMBLY (CL/201/A.1) The revised provisional agenda (CL/201/A.1) was adopted. At the proposal of Ms. A. Alqubaisi (United Arab Emirates), seconded by Mr. F. Pinedo (Argentina), the Council decided to recommend to the 137th IPU Assembly that it elect Ms. Valentina Matvienko (Russian Federation) as its President. Item 2 of the agenda APPROVAL OF THE SUMMARY RECORDS OF THE 200th SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL (CL/200/SR.1) The summary records of the 200th session of the Governing Council (CL/200/SR.1) held in Dhaka in April 2017 were approved. Item 3 of the agenda QUESTIONS RELATING TO IPU MEMBERSHIP AND THE SITUATION OF CERTAIN PARLIAMENTS (a) Requests for affiliation and reaffiliation to the IPU (CL/201/3(a)-P.1 and P.2) The President, drawing attention to the three decisions set out in document CL/201/3(a)-P.1 in favour of requests for affiliation submitted by the Parliaments of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu, said he took it that the Governing Council wished to approve those decisions, as recommended by the Executive Committee. It was so decided. Ms. A. Nurberdiyeva (Turkmenistan) welcomed the decision to admit her Parliament as a Member of the IPU, saying that it would strive to fulfil its obligations in that capacity and to contribute constructively to IPU activities, to which it attached great importance. As the largest and most representative platform for parliamentary diplomacy, the IPU provided opportunities for close interaction with other parliamentarians. Her Parliament would therefore do its utmost to benefit from the opportunities thus provided, for engaging in collective efforts to resolve pressing topical issues, promoting international peace and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mr. A. Saidov (Uzbekistan) said that his Parliament was gratified to be admitted to the IPU membership, noting in that context the ever-growing stature of the global role played by the world’s many parliaments. Of the numerous international parliamentary organizations in existence, the IPU was the most authoritative and served as an important forum for parliamentary dialogue in pursuit of improved international relations and global peace. His Parliament was set to engage fully in IPU activities and prove itself worthy of its membership. The President, extending a warm welcome to the new Members, said that the IPU family continued to grow at an impressive pace. With the addition of the three new Members, the current IPU membership now stood at 176, which was a great incentive for all to continue the concerted efforts towards achieving the goal of universal membership. - 5 - CL/201/SR.1 Further drawing attention to a recommendation also set out in document CL/201/3(a)-P.1 in favour of a request for associate membership submitted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Cooperation (PABSEC), he said he took it that the Governing Council wished to approve that recommendation by the Executive Committee. It was so decided. Mr. R. Can (PABSEC), welcoming the Council’s decision, said that the Black Sea region represented by the 12 PABSEC member parliaments was a crossroads of global significance on account of its transport infrastructure and wealth of energy resources. Its most valuable asset, however, resided in its cultures and its peoples, who exemplified diversity and tolerance. PABSEC looked forward to the wide opportunities that its new associate membership status would provide for enhancing cooperation and relationships with