Summary Records of the Governing Council 203 Session
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CL/203/SR.1 11 January 2019 Summary records of the Governing Council 203rd session 15 and 18 October 2018 Geneva (Centre international de Conférences Genève) - 2 - CL/203/SR.1 AGENDA Page(s) 1. Adoption of the agenda (CL/202/A.1, A.1.rev and A.2) ..................................................... 4 2. Approval of the summary records of the 202nd session of the Governing Council (CL/202/SR.1) .................................................................................................................... 4 th 3. Proposals for the election of the President of the 139 Assembly .................................... 4 4. Financial situation of the IPU (CL/203/4-R.1) .................................................................... 4 5. 2019 draft consolidated budget (CL/203/5-P.1) ................................................................. 4 6. Report of the President nd (a) On her activities since the 202 session of the Governing Council 6 (CL/203/6(a)-R.1) ....................................................................................................... (b) On the activities of the Executive Committee ........................................................... 6 7. Interim report by the Secretary General on the activities of the IPU since the 202nd session of the Governing Council (CL/203/7-R.1) .................................................... 7 8. Questions relating to IPU membership and observer status (a) Requests for IPU membership and observer status ................................................ 7 (b) Situation of certain parliaments ............................................................................... 7 9. Reporting by Members on IPU-related activities (CL/203/9-R.1) ....................................... 11 10. Reports on recent IPU specialized meetings (a) 12th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament (CL/203/10(a)-R.1) ...................... 12 (b) Regional Seminar on Parliamentary cooperation for sustainable development: Combating poverty and promoting health care (CL/203/10(b)-R.1) ........................ 12 (c) Technical briefing on The role of Parliamentarians in achieving universal health coverage and global health security as two sides of the same coin (CL/203/10(c)-R.1) ................................................................................................... 12 (d) Third South Asian Speakers' Summit on achieving the SDGs: Promoting regional parliamentary cooperation for sustainable, equitable and green economic growth (CL/203/10(d)-R.1) ................................................................................................... 12 (e) Parliamentary side event at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) Mobilizing parliaments for the SDGs (CL/203/10(e)-R.1) ..... 12 (f) Interregional Seminar on Parliamentary Capacity-Building and the further implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: Implementing the SDGs through South-South Parliamentary Cooperation (CL/203/10(f)-R.1) ..................... 12 (g) Regional Seminar on the Sustainable Development Goals and Gender Equality for the Parliaments of the Middle East and North Africa (CL/203/10(g)-R.1) ............... 13 11. Activities of committees and other bodies (a) Forum of Women Parliamentarians (CL/203/11(a)-R.1) ........................................... 13 (b) Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/203/11(b)-R.1 and R.2) ...................................................................................... 13, 18 (c) Committee on Middle East Questions (CL/203/11(c)-R.1 and 11(c)-P.1 to P.4) ...... 21 (d) Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law (CL/203/11(d)-P.1 to P.4) .......................................................................................... 22 (e) Gender Partnership Group (CL/203/11(e)-R.1) ........................................................ 22 (f) Advisory Group on Health (CL/203/11(f)-R.1) .......................................................... 22 (g) Group of Facilitators for Cyprus (h) Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU (CL/203/11(h)-R.1) ............................ 23 (i) High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (HLAG) (CL/203/11(i)-R.1) ........................................................... 23 th 12. 140 IPU Assembly ............................................................................................................ 25 - 3 - CL/203/SR.1 Page(s) 13. Future inter-parliamentary meetings (CL/203/13-P.1) (a) Statutory meetings ...................................................................................................... 25 (b) Specialized meetings and other events ...................................................................... 25 14. Appointment of two internal auditors for 2019 (CL/203/14-P.1) ......................................... 26 15. Amendments to the IPU Statutes and Rules (CL/203/15-P.1) ........................................... 26 16. Elections to the Executive Committee (CL/203/16-P.1 to P.3) .......................................... 26 17. Other business ................................................................................................................... 26 - 4 - CL/203/SR.1 First sitting Monday, 15 October 2018 The meeting was called to order at 9.20 a.m., with Ms. G. Cuevas Barron (Mexico), President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in the Chair. Item 1 of the agenda ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (CL/203/A.1.rev) The revised provisional agenda (CL/203/A.1.rev) was adopted. Item 2 of the agenda APPROVAL OF THE SUMMARY RECORDS OF THE 202nd SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL (CL/202/SR.1) The summary records of the 202nd session of the Governing Council (CL/202/SR/1) were approved. Item 3 of the agenda PROPOSALS FOR THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE 139th ASSEMBLY The President, recalling the usual practice of nominating the IPU President to preside over IPU Assemblies taking place in Geneva, where there was no host parliament, said she took it that the Council would wish her to serve as President of the 139th Assembly. It was so agreed. Item 4 of the agenda FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE IPU (CL/203/4-R.1) Ms. A. Lorber-Willis, Director of the Division of Support Services, presenting the report on the financial situation of the IPU at 30 June 2018 (CL/203/4-R/1), outlined the information set out therein, including with respect to income, expenditures, receipts, arrears of contributions and cash flow. Responding to questions posed by Mr. A. Jasem Ahmad (United Arab Emirates), she said that parliaments from small island developing States continued to receive financial assistance on request from the IPU through the Parliamentary Solidarity Fund; that the IPU, with support from the geopolitical groups, was engaged in ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of arrears in contributions, with positive results in that some payments had recently been received and more were anticipated in the coming days; and that estimates for future expenditures on activities were set out in the draft consolidated budget for 2019 (CL/203/5-P.1). Item 5 of the agenda 2019 DRAFT CONSOLIDATED BUDGET (CL/203/5-P.1) Mr. R. del Picchia (France), Chair of the Sub-Committee on Finance, presenting the 2019 draft consolidated budget (CL/203/5-P.1) prepared with the usual guidance from the Sub- Committee and recalling the existing cap on assessed contributions, said that any unforeseen additional costs incurred in 2019 in connection with the holding of the 140th and 141st Assemblies and of the two preparatory meetings for the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament - 5 - CL/203/SR.1 would be offset by drawing from the Working Capital Fund. Some activities included in the President’s vision would be funded from the core budget. Extrabudgetary funding would be required, however, to implement some of the other activities developed in line with the President’s vision for the IPU. The Executive Committee had unanimously endorsed the draft consolidated budget, which he therefore recommended to the Council for approval. The Secretary General said in addition that voluntary contributions were expected to generate some 25 per cent of the total consolidated budget for 2019, in which context he outlined the information on grants and funding arrangements set out in section 2.3 of the document under consideration. He furthermore encouraged others to follow the example of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, which continued to second senior staff members to the IPU Secretariat for two-year periods, thereby helping to promote implementation of the IPU Strategy. Mr. D. Pacheco (Portugal) asked about funding of the High-level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (HLAG), bearing in mind that proposed Terms of Reference for the Group had yet to be placed before the Council for consideration and approval. The Secretary General said that the Executive Committee was expecting to finalize at its upcoming meeting its proposal concerning those terms of reference, which would accordingly be presented to the Council at its next sitting. He explained that, while the budget for 2019 included funding for the counter-terrorism activities forming part of the IPU’s core work, it made no provision for any expenses relating to the functioning of the HLAG. The President, confirming that situation, recalled the Council’s decision at the 138th Assembly that the HLAG should proceed with its activities on a provisional basis, pending approval