Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union is a leading advocate of democracy. It promotes and strengthens the institution of parliament, helping parliamentarians to represent their constituents – freely, safely and effectively. A Global Voice National parliaments are the cor- tional tensions and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world. nerstone of democracy. Parliamen- This founding idea proved its worth tarians are ultimately responsible in some of the darkest hours of the th for the enactment of sound law 20 century – and is more relevant than ever today. and supervision of the process The IPU is continually active behind of government. the scenes in the world’s hot spots, helping to avoid or resolve confl ict and The Inter-Parliamentary Union – to nurture fl edgling parliaments. IPU – is a global voice and facilitator It offers the world’s 40,000 strong of multilateral contacts for parliamen- community of parliamentarians a col- tarians from over 140 national parlia- lective voice in international affairs. ments. It is the only organization of its It is an increasingly important kind with this global legitimacy. bridge between parliamentarians and It is an independent, self-govern- international decision-making in fi elds ing body, largely fi nanced by member such as peace-building or global parliaments. Its President and Execu- commerce. tive Committee are elected by member It has been instrumental in driving delegates. the greater involvement of women in The organization was established the parliamentary process. in 1889 by enlightened political think- It watches over the rights and ers who believed that better contact liberty of parliamentarians in democra- between the parliaments of different cies where their freedom to speak and nations would help defuse interna- act is at risk. IPU at Work Members the geographic and political make-up Over 140 national parliaments are of the IPU and is also chaired by the members of the IPU. National delega- President. It takes the administrative tions refl ect the prevailing balance in lead within the organization, prepar- multi-party parliaments. IPU staffi ng ing recommendations for action by and programs are fi nanced by mem- the Governing Council. ber contributions from public funds. Assembly Governing Council The Assembly of the IPU is convened The Governing Council, the plenary twice each year to enable multilateral policy-making body of the IPU chaired exchanges between member coun- by the President, adopts programs, try delegates. The agenda of each sets budgets and rules on member- Assembly refl ects both current and ship. It is also responsible for elect- on-going international affairs. Stand- ing the President and the Secretary ing Committees – on International General. Peace and Security, Sustainable Development, Financing and Trade, Executive Committee and Democracy and Human Rights The Executive Committee is composed – report to the Assembly and prepare of 15 member delegates who refl ect resolutions for adoption. Meeting of Women Parliamentarians Women parliamentarians represent- ing the IPU membership meet in con- junction with the Assemblies to dis- . cuss topics relating to the status of . women. This group was established . in 1978 and became part of the gov- . erning structure of the IPU in 1999. 3 . Panel debates World Conference of Speakers The Assemblies provide an oppor- of Parliaments tunity for less formal panel events The Second World Conference of Speakers that bring together parliamentarians, of Parliaments took place at the United experts and journalists to discuss Nations in New York in September 2005. topics ranging from child traffi cking to This landmark event, organized by the IPU, the question of nationality and state- brought together the Speakers of the world’s lessness. parliaments. In a formal declaration, it drew attention to the global nature of many of the challenges democracy faces and the need for national parliaments to participate more fully in the formulation of global responses. æ Democracy is and will remain a fragile concept in many parts of the world, often perilously fl awed in practice. Even where it is well established, democratic institutions are struggling to adapt to the huge new challenges inherent in globalization. The World Conferen- ce of Speakers of Parliament in New York drew attention to the emergence of a potentially dangerous “democracy gap”. As national parliaments lose infl uence, power moves away from the people. It would be catastrophic to accept any of this. The spread of democracy is the start of a journey – never an end state in itself. And parliamentary institutions throughout history have proved remarkably resilient. What is clear, however, is that many of the perceived threats to our democratic well-being – be they from terrorism or world trade – can no longer be solved within the framework of individual nation states. The fi rst duty of all parliaments is to deliver the basic building blocks of democracy – representation and ac- countability. The strong must help the weak in this respect and never accept failure. Beyond this, the challenge of the 21st century is for parliamentarians everywhere to be increasingly international in outlook and capability in order to serve the interests of their constituents. The goal of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is to help achieve this. Pier Ferdinando Casini President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Promoting Democracy æ For the founding fathers of the IPU, world peace and parliamentary democ- racy were critically interlinked. The work of the organization continues to re- fl ect this belief. It has played a key role in the development of generally accepted democratic principles of governance and international standards for free and fair elections and the functioning of multiparty systems. Its Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections and Universal Declaration on Democ- racy are fundamental components of modern parliamentary thinking. The collective expertise of IPU members is a unique asset in the spread of sound democratic practice. They provide advice, guidance and many forms of technical support for freedom of speech. But the applica- countries in political transition or in tion of these principles is still far from post-confl ict situations. universal. In recent years, the IPU has Some countries fear the freedom played an active part in the develop- of expression that is fundamental to ment of parliamentary systems in the principle of parliamentary debate. over 50 countries, including Afghani- Almost daily, courageous parliamen- stan, Albania, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, tarians put themselves at risk by Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, speaking out on behalf of their con- . East Timor and Uruguay. stituents. The IPU actively supports . Some of the organization’s most those who have been persecuted or . important work takes place quietly jailed for their beliefs. behind the scenes when negotia- The IPU has taken a global lead on . tions between executive branches of the involvement of women in the par- . government have stalled. Patient, liamentary process. Many barriers to 5 . constructive contact between fellow equality fell in the second half of the parliamentarians has often brought 20th century as women began to take results when the world’s headline writ- their place alongside men at all levels ers held out little hope of progress. of government. But global statistics Democracy is a universal concept show that 84% of the world’s parlia- in the sense that all parts of the elec- mentarians are men. In some parts torate should have equal rights of rep- of the world, progress towards gender resentation in parliament and enjoy equality has barely begun. IPU and the United Nations æ By virtue of its global reach and The growing concentration of pow- democracy-building mandate, the IPU er in the executive branch of govern- is an increasingly important player in ment and international institutions is the system of international relations one consequence of globalization that centred on the United Nations. concerns many parliamentarians and The IPU strongly endorses the role limits their ability to represent con- of the UN in promoting and sustain- stituent interests. ing the principles of democracy. But The World Conference of Speak- it also stands apart in the sense that ers of Parliament emphasized the it represents parliaments and is not, growing importance of bringing a par- like the UN, an inter-governmental or- liamentary dimension to the work of ganization. the UN and its belief that international . 6 cooperation should refl ect input from across the political spectrum. “Parliaments are the principal reposi- The IPU’s Permanent Observer tory of democratic legitimacy. Using status at the UN, granted in 2002, your legislative powers and your and its exceptional right to circulate democratic mandate, you can serve documents to the General Assembly as genuine ‘tribunes of the people’ are important factors in enabling this. across traditional frontiers. You The IPU works closely with the UN have a unique role to play in bringing and specialized bodies such as UNDP, institutions such as the United UNHCR, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNICEF and Nations closer to the peoples they UNDAW. are meant to serve.” Kofi Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations IPU and the World Trade Organization æ The huge shifts in macro econo- – which directly impact the lives of mics and the dynamics of internat- millions of people in both the devel- ional trade that have occurred in the oped and developing worlds – largely last twenty five years have resulted by-pass parliamentary scrutiny. in new global decision-making and The IPU began a dialogue with the control mechanisms. While necessary WTO in 2001 to address this situa- and in most respects benefi cial, they tion. This led to the establishment, to- are controversial. gether with the European Parliament, The World Trade Organization is of a Conference on the WTO, now held one inter-governmental body that is annually.