Annual Report 2004
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Annual Report 2004 Parlia e a"·a s o G obal Action TABLE OF CONTENTS Programme Activities 2004 3 Message from the President 5 PGA's 26th Annual Parliamentary Forum: 6 Third Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law Peace and Democracy Programme Report 12 International Law and Human Rights Programme Report 16 PGA Members and Activities Worldwide 21 Sustainable Development and Population Programme Report 23 PGA 2004 Executive Committee and International Council 25 PGA 2004 United Nations Committee 26 Donors 27 Financial Report 28 Staff 30 AboutPGA 31 1 PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES 2004 PGA 26th Annual Parliamentary Forum December 2004 Third Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Rule of Law (Wellington, New Zealand) Peace and Democracy Programme June 2004 Seminar on Parliamentary Ethics and Accountability (Washington, DC) June 2004 Peace & Democracy Programme Strategy Meeting (New York, NY) September 2004 Parliamentary Dialogue between Zimbabwe and United Kingdom Legislators (London, United Kingdom) October 2004 Regional Seminar on Security Sector Reform (Kampala, Uganda) International Law and Human Rights Programme March 2004 Ibero-American and Lusophone Conference on the International Criminal Court (Brasilia. Brazil) March 2004 Seminar on the implementation of the Rome Statute in the Italian legal order (Rome. Italy May 2004 The Role of Legislators and the Legislative Process in Strengthening the Rule of La\\ in Conflict Situations (New York, New York) 3 June 2004 PGA delegation at the "National Roundtable on the Ratification and Implementation of the ICC Statute in Bahrain" (Manama, Bahrain) August 2004 PGA delegation to the conference "The ICC and Gender Justice: Obstacles to the ratification and implementation process of the region" (Santiago, Chile) September 2004 PGA delegation to the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC (The Hague, The Netherlands) September 2004 Delegation of Mexican legislators visiting the International Criminal Court in The Hague (The Hague, The Netherlands) November 2004 Seminar on the Rome Statute and the ICC: The Duty of Implementation of State Parties (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Sustainable Development and Population Programme February _004 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar on Human Traffi king (Abuja. igeria) 0 tober 2()().1 PGA Delegation to the International Parliamentary Conference on ICPD (Strasbourg, France) 4 PRESIDENTJS MESSAGE HON. KENNETH DZIRASAH, MP (GHANA) SECOND DEPUlY SPEAKER This past year marked the 20th Anniversary on Security Sector Reform in Kampala, Uganda of the Six Nation Peace Initiative on nuclear in October 2004. Over 60 MPs from Eastern, disarmament. In 1984, PGA brought together Central and Southern Africa participated on six presidents and prime ministers from the seminar to address national security policy Argentina, Greece, fudia, Mexico, Sweden and to promote human security. and Tanzania, to work together and call on leaders of the United States and the Soviet The Programme also explored a new area conference took place February 2005 in the Union to halt their production, testing and of work in June when it held the Seminar on People's Assembly of Egypt in Cairo. deployment of nuclear weapons. This Parliamentary Ethics and Accountability at the initiative led to PGA's successful campaign on United States Senate. The seminar provided The Sustainable Development Programme the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) the opportunity for US legislators to meet with continues to mobilize and assist which was then adopted by the United Nations their colleagues from around the world and parliamentarians in creating an enabling General Assembly and officially opened for discuss how parliamentarians can safeguard environment for the successful implementation signature 12 years later. political ethics. of the futernational Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and has served as a To commemorate the Six Nation Peace PGA's futernational Law and Human Rights member of the Steering Planning Committee Initiative and PGA's work on the CTBT, PGA's Programme has successfully galvanized for the futernational Parliamentarians' 26th Annual Forum was held in Wellington, the leadership of PGA members around the Conference on the ICPD. A PGA delegation New Zealand, whose members were active on world to foster political support for ICC and participated in the 2004 conference in these issues since the 1980s. Rt. Hon. Helen the rule of law. As of May 2005, 99 States Strasbourg, France which addressed Clark, New Zealand's Prime Minister and have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute legislators' roles in implementing the ICPD former PGAmember, was this year's recipient of the ICC. Parliamentarians working within Programme of Action. of the Defender of Democracy Award for her the framework of PGA's Programme played work towards a nuclear-free world. an active role in 56 countries that are now PGA's initiatives under this Programme members of the ICC system. expanded to include addressing HIVI AIDS Over the past year, PGA's programmes on policy in South Asia, a region that is second in Peace and Democracy, International Law and In March 2004, the Programme organized the world in the number of people infected with Human Rights, and Sustainable Development the second Ibero-American and Lusophone the disease. In 2004, PGA began preparations and Population, successfully explored new Parliamentary Conference on the ICC in for the Sub-Regional Parliamentary Seminar areas of work and further developed ongoing Brasilia, Brazil which convened a total of 600 on HIVI AIDS in South Asia which took place initiatives. participants which included 140 Members in Pakistan in January 2005. This high-level of Parliament (MPs) from countries in Latin event brought legislators from the region The 2004 Forum addressed one of PGA's America, Africa and Europe. The successful and from countries that have implemented more recent international initiatives - the outcome of the conference led to other effective HIV/AIDS policies to discuss the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians important initiatives on the ICC and the rule extent of the epidemic in the region and for the futernational Criminal Court and the of law in Latin American countries such as strategies to combat the spread of the disease Rule of Law. Over 120 legislators from around Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. One such while mobilizing legislators to address HIVI the world convened in the Parliament of New event was the delegation of PGA members AIDS in the region. Zealan~ to discuss strategies to expand the from Mexico to The Hague, The Netherlands, universality of the Court. which met with ICC officials, including the In Africa, PGA developed its work on human President of the Court, Judge Philippe Kirsch, trafficking, an important issue affecting many PGA's Peace and Democracy Programme's and authorities from the International Criminal parts of the world. In collaboration with the work in Zimbabwe successfully opened Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In Economic Community of West African States parliamentary dialogue between the two addition, the delegation met with their Dutch (ECOWAS). PGA held the Parliamentary political parties. the governing ZANU-PF counterparts and with officials from the Dutch Seminar on Human Traffi king in v e t Africa and the opposition. MDC. In September, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Judge Kirsch was in • l geria. February 200.t Parliamentarians PGA brought a multi-party delegation from invited to visit the Mexican Congress which he dis -- the causes of human trafficking, Zimbabwe to meet with C nited Kingdom did one month later. case studies and identified legislators at the House of Commons in sm~_!JeS they can implement to fight human London. This event was a si_gruJ. -:IC!:~ The Programme expanded i king. improving bilateral relations bemeec Middle East and orth Afri countries and opening discussions June. a PGA delegation Since its initial work on nuclear disarmament, resolve the political crisis in Zimbab e. • -arional Roundtable on cbe R:!:l::.:AC~t::! PGA's programmes have expanded to include Implementation of the ICC - more issues that presently affect the globe. In follow-up to the security sector reform PG..\ also organized . Our membership, which continues to grow, which was initiated in 2002, the Programue is dedicated to promoting democracy, peace, convened the Regional Parliamentary Se justice and development."' 5 26TH ANNUAL FORUM: Third Session of the Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the ICC and the Rule of Law On December 6-7, 2004, approximately against Impunity at National Level: The Role of MPs Project Staff: 120 MPs from all regions of the world met in the Parliament of New Zealand in Wellington for PGA's 26th Annual Forum o Where to go from here? (Formal and Ms. Shazia Z. Rafi. Secretm)1-Ge11eral on the Third Session of the Consultative informal discussions on the Working Dr. David Donat-Cattin, Legal Advisor. Groups of the Consultative Assembly, International Law and Huma.n Rights Assembly of Parliamentarians for the promoting the Rule of Law beyond the Mr. Peter Barcroft, Programme Officer; International Criminal Court (ICC) and ICC, actions and strategies to deter future International Law and Human Rights the Rule of Law. The Forum was hosted international crimes and improve the fight Ms. Samar Al-Bulushi, Programme by Hon. Harry Duynhoven, MP (New against impunity)