IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2018-19 (1. samling)
IPU Alm.del Bilag 3
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page(s)

Meetings and other activities

139

Assembly

Opening of the Assembly ....................................................................................................

Participation .........................................................................................................................

Choice of an emergency item ..............................................................................................

Debates and decisions of the Assembly and its Standing Committees ...........................

…

Concluding sitting of the Assembly .....................................................................................

203

session of the Governing Council

10.

Membership and Permanent Observers of the IPU ............................................................

Financial situation of the IPU ...............................................................................................

Draft programme and budget for 2019 ................................................................................

Implementation of the IPU Strategy for 2017-2021 .............................................................

Cooperation with the United Nations system ......................................................................

Recent specialized meetings ...............................................................................................

Reports of plenary bodies and specialized committees ......................................................

Future inter-parliamentary meetings ...................................................................................

Amendments to the Statutes and Rules ..............................................................................

Elections to the Executive Committee .................................................................................

280

session of the Executive Committee

Proceedings and decisions ..................................................................................................

Sub-Committee on Finance .................................................................................................

Questions relating to the Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union ...............................

Forum of Women Parliamentarians ........................................................................................

Subsidiary bodies of the Governing Council

Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians ........................................................

Committee on Middle East Questions .................................................................................

Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law ..................................

Gender Partnership Group ..................................................................................................

Advisory Group on Health ...................................................................................................

Group of Facilitators for Cyprus ...........................................................................................

Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU ......................................................................

High-Level

Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism…………

........

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139 Assembly

Other events

Meeting of Presidents of the Geopolitical Groups ...............................................................

Meeting of the Presidents of the Standing Committees ......................................................

Open briefing session of the Committee to Promote Respect for International

Humanitarian Law on

Ending Statelessness by 2024

–

Pledges, Action and Results .......

4. Panel discussion on

Where do parliaments stand in the fight against sexism

and harassment? ...................................................................................................................

5. Panel discussion on

The role of parliaments in combating terrorism and

violent extremism

...................................................................................................................

6. Side event on

Legislating on food and nutrition: Lessons learned, challenges and

opportunities for parliamentary action .................................................................................

7. Panel discussion on

Building bridges between the parliamentary and

scientific communities

............................................................................................................

8. Panel discussion on

What can MPs do to sort fact from fiction in the age of fake news? ..

9. Parity debate on

Ensuring that children enjoy their rights and grow up protected

from violence .......................................................................................................................

10. Joint IPU-ASGP workshop on

How good is parliament at holding government

to account? How well am I performing my oversight role?

..................................................

Elections, appointments and membership of the

Inter-Parliamentary Union

Elections and appointments

10.

11.

Vice-President of the Executive Committee ..........................................................................

Vice-Presidents of the IPU ....................................................................................................

Executive Committee............................................................................................................. .

Sub-Committee on Finance .................................................................................................

Bureau of Women Parliamentarians ...................................................................................

Committee on Middle East Questions .................................................................................

Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law ..................................

Gender Partnership Group .....................................................................................………….

Bureaux of the Standing Committees ..................................................................................

Rapporteurs to the 141 Assembly .....................................................................................

Internal Auditors for the 2019 accounts. ................................................................................

Media and communications ....................................................................................................

Membership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union ........................................................................

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139

Assembly of

the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Agenda ....................................................................................................................................

Outcome document of the General Debate on

Parliamentary leadership in promoting

peace and development in the age of innovation and technological change ........................

Subject items



Resolution:

Strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation on migration and

migration governance in view of the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe,

Orderly and Regular Migration .......................................................................................

Results of the roll-call vote on the unfinished business of the 138 Assembly:

you agree that the Assembly can change the work plan and agenda of the

Standing Committees?

................................................................................................

Results of the roll-call vote on the unfinished business of the 138 Assembly:

you agree that at the 140 Assembly the Standing Committee on Democracy

and Human Rights holds a panel debate that will not lead to a resolution, entitled

"The role of parliaments in ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and

gender identity, and ensuring respect for the human rights of LGBTI persons?" ........

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Emergency item



Results of the roll-call vote on the requests for the inclusion of an emergency

item in the agenda of the Assembly............................................................................... 40-42

Resolution:

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line.................................................

Reports of the Standing Committees

Report of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security ..................... .

Report of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development,

Finance and Trade .........................................................................................................

Report of the Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs .....................................

Declaration on the 70

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ..............

Concluding remarks by the IPU President on the values and principles of the IPU ...............

Reports, decisions, resolutions and other texts of the Governing

Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Presidential Statement on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula ...........................

Reports, decisions and other texts



IPU Budget for 2019 ....................................................................................................

Scale of contributions for 2019 ....................................................................................

Cooperation with the United Nations system: List of activities undertaken by the

IPU between 15 March and 15 September 2018 ........................................................

Report of the Committee on Middle East Questions ...................................................

Terms of Reference of the High-Level Advisory Group on Countering

Terrorism and Violent Extremism ................................................................................

Statistics of the Gender Partnership Group .................................................................

Amendments to the Statutes and Rules of the IPU .....................................................

Composition of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth World Conference of

Speakers of Parliament in 2020 .................................................................................... .

Future meetings



Future meetings and other activities ............................................................................

Agenda of the 140 Assembly .....................................................................................

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139

Assembly

Opening of the Assembly

The 139 IPU Assembly was opened on Monday 15 October 2018 at 11 a.m. at the

Centre International

des conférences de Genève

(CICG) with the IPU President, Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron (Mexico), in

the chair. She was assisted in chairing the proceedings of the Assembly by several Vice-Presidents:

Mr. K. Molatlhegi, Deputy Speaker (Botswana), Mr. J. Epola, Leader of the delegation (Congo),

Ms. J.F. Luveni, Speaker of Parliament (Fiji), Mr. R. del Picchia, Senator (France), Mr. P.F. Casini,

Leader of the delegation (Italy) and Honorary IPU President, Mr. W. Simina, Speaker of Parliament

(Federated States of Micronesia), Ms. A. Tolley, Leader of the delegation (New Zealand) and

Mr. N. Prea, Speaker of Parliament (Seychelles).

The IPU President delivered an opening address on the main theme of the General Debate,

Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in the age of innovation and

technological change.

In the age of the fourth industrial revolution, parliamentarians were encouraged to

embrace change and innovation, science and technology and to place those at the service of the

policies they formulated and the laws they passed. They also had the responsibility to set ethical limits

on science and technology and to establish a legal framework to ensure that machines did not take over

to the detriment of humans. The gap between the political and scientific communities must be bridged

and the IPU must open itself up more to young people and attract their energy and talent.

The world of instantaneous news and information had its advantages and drawbacks. However, as

representatives of the people, parliamentarians must keep up with the times and engage young people

in new information and communication technologies (ICTs). As part of the efforts to stay relevant, the

IPU must update and innovate in the way it conducted its business. IPU Assemblies must be greener

and more interactive. Parliamentarians needed to move away from the traditional rhetoric and speak up

about the issues that really mattered to their constituents.

In his video message to the 139 IPU Assembly, the United Nations Secretary-General,

Mr. A. Guterres, welcomed the

IPU’s focus on promoting peace and development in an age of rapid

technological change. Advances in technology brought gains that could hugely accelerate work on the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was, however, the responsibility of all to "nurture a digital

future that is safe and beneficial to all" and, in that context, parliamentarians were in a unique position to

ensure that no-one was left behind. Also, the issues of innovation in technology and science had to be

discussed in the private sector and in university laboratories.

Ms. F. Gianotti, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), made a

presentation on the organization she led -

the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. CERN’s

founding motto, when it had been established in 1954, was "Science for Peace". It presently had

22 Member States, eight Associate Member States, and six Observers to its Council.

The aim of CERN’s collaboration with the IPU on the

Science for Peace Schools

programme was to

realize the vision of unity through science for peace through the establishment of networks that would

serve as a platform for dialogue between parliamentarians. In addition, CERN had organized daily visits

to its compound for parliamentarians during the week of the Assembly and had set up a stand in the

Knowledge Fair on the ground floor of the Conference Centre. It was hoped that such interaction

between the scientific and parliamentary communities would indeed bridge the gap between both worlds

and lead to more informed policy-making based on empirical data, mainstreaming of science into

decision-making and higher numbers of female students pursuing studies in STEM (science,

technology, engineering and mathematics) education.

Participation

Delegations from 145 Member Parliaments took part in the work of the Assembly :

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil,

Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic,

Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic,

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti,

Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland,

For the complete list of IPU Members, see page 29

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France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Hungary,

Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan,

Kazakhstan, Kenya,

Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho,

Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of),

Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,

Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea,

Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia,

Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan,

Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste,

Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,

Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The following seven Associate Members also took part in the Assembly: the Arab Parliament, the East

African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the

Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea

Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the

Parliament of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), and the Parliament of

the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Observers included representatives of: (i) the United Nations system: Food and Agriculture Organization

of the United Nations (FAO), the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of

Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization

(WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); (ii) the

International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO);

(iii) the League of Arab States; (iv) the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), the African

Parliamentary Union (APU), the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU), the Asian Parliamentary

Assembly (APA), the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, the Forum of Parliaments of the

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR), the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on

Orthodoxy (IAO), the Maghreb Consultative Council, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and

Disarmament (PNND), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), the Parliamentary

Assembly of the OSCE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the

Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC), the South

African Development Community Parliamentary Forum; the World Scout Parliamentary Union; (v) the

Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; (vi) Socialist International; (vii) the Geneva Centre

for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC), and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Of the 1,545 delegates who attended the Assembly, 737 were members of parliament. Those

parliamentarians included 51 Presiding Officers, 50 Deputy Presiding Officers, 233 women (33%) and

138 (19.3%) young MPs.

Choice of an emergency item

Before the Assembly met, Uruguay withdrew its proposal entitled

Redoubling efforts to end the

proliferation of nuclear weapons: The role of parliaments.

The delegations of Jordan and Kuwait, which

initially submitted individual proposals, subsequently merged those proposals into the one mentioned

below.

On 15 October 2018, the President informed the Assembly that the following five requests for the

inclusion of an emergency item had been proposed:



Restoring peace and security in the Sahel: The role of parliaments

(Burkina Faso);

Cutting off aid to UNRWA

—

A humanitarian blockade and violation of international law:

Addressing the issue of stopping aid to UNRWA and assessing the impact of this decision on

Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian issue as a whole

(Jordan and Kuwait);

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line

[Seychelles, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Micronesia

(Federated States of)];

The urgent need to resolve the humanitarian crisis caused by the deterioration of parliamentary

democracy in Venezuela

(Netherlands and the United Kingdom);

Addressing the issue of missing persons: The role of parliaments

(Israel).

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After brief presentations, the joint proposal of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and the proposal

submitted by Israel were withdrawn before the vote.

The Assembly proceeded with a roll-call vote on the three remaining items (see pages 40-42). All

proposals received the required two-thirds majority of the vote. The joint proposal put forward by the

Seychelles, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Micronesia (Federated States of), which had received the highest

number of positive votes, was adopted and added to the agenda as Item 8.

Debates and decisions of the Assembly and its Standing Committees

(a) General Debate:

Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in the age of

innovation and technological change

(Item 3)

During the three days of deliberations, 126 delegates from 107 Member Parliaments

–

including

38 Presiding Officers, as well as delegates from nine partner organizations (both Associate Members

and Permanent Observers), contributed to the General Debate. For the first time, the General Debate

featured a segment reserved for young parliamentarians. Many of the good practices and

recommendations that emerged were reflected in the Outcome Document.

In addition to the opening high-level segment with the Director General of CERN, in the afternoon of

15 October the Assembly heard a presentation from special guest Mr. Henk Rogers, Founder and CEO

of the Blue Planet Foundation (Hawaii). Science had clearly demonstrated the fact that climate change

was a clear and present danger. As noted in the report published just a few days previously by the UN

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), limiting global warming to 1.5°C required urgent

and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society. Hawaii was showing the world that such change

was possible: children were actively involved in changing lifestyle habits in the household, legislation

was being passed to end the use of carbon-based fuel and to ensure a carbon-neutral economy by

2050, and partnerships were being put in place with electrical companies and other stakeholders to turn

the tide of climate change and undo the damage that had already been inflicted on the environment.

Mr. Rogers called on all parliamentarians to join the struggle to ensure a sustainable and healthy planet

for future generations.

The General Debate was accompanied by a Knowledge Fair for Innovation and Technology, which

featured exhibitions from CERN, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the International Renewable Energy

Agency (IRENA), Geneva Water Hub and Waterlex. The Fair provided a valuable opportunity for

delegates to interact with members of the scientific community. Daily guided tours were also organized

for interested MPs to visit the CERN laboratories on the Swiss border with France.

Special segment to celebrate the 70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The special segment took place on 16 October. It looked at how far our societies had come since the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been adopted and how MPs could best address old and

new challenges to achieve a world free from fear and poverty. Mr. M. Limon, Director of the Universal

Rights Group, moderated a panel discussion with the IPU President, Ms. F. Koofi (MP, Afghanistan;

member of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians), Ms. P. Hicks (Director, Office

of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) and Mr. T. Mendel (Executive Director, Centre for Law

and Democracy). Mr. Mendel was also the author of the IPU Handbook on Freedom of Expression,

which was officially launched during the segment.

The panel discussion started with a short video featuring Ms. B. Mbete, Speaker of the National

Assembly of South Africa, which celebrated the legacy of Nelson Mandela on the occasion of the

centenary

of his birth. The video served as a reminder for MPs to stay true to Mandela’s ideals,

including his unwavering commitment to justice, equality and non-discrimination. The panellists shared

personal experiences and views by responding to questions about how to bridge the implementation

gap and ensure that international human rights standards led to concrete and tangible change on the

ground; how the international human rights framework could help prevent or resolve violent conflict and

the importance of free speech in the face of the shrinking space for civil society and political opposition,

and increased polarization and distrust.

The panel agreed that the 70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration was an opportunity for MPs

from all over the world to celebrate human rights, and the considerable progress made in the past seven

decades to make them a reality for many more people, but also to acknowledge that there was still a

long way to go and much work left to do. MPs, in their roles as legislators, representatives and role

models, needed to be at the forefront of that continuing endeavour.

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Ms. A. Clwyd, Member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and former President of the

IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, introduced by video recording the IPU

Declaration:

70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and invited her fellow

parliamentarians to recommit to the values and fundamental principles set forth in the Universal

Declaration.

At the end of the special segment, the Assembly endorsed the IPU Declaration.

(b) Standing Committee on Peace and International Security

The Standing Committee on Peace and International Security held two sittings, on 15 and 17 October

2018, with its President, Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain) in the chair on 15 October and its Vice-President,

Mr. S. Rakhmanov (Belarus), in the chair on 17 October.

At its sitting on 15 October, the Committee examined two items in back-to-back panels. The panel on

Comprehensive disarmament and non-proliferation

opened with a video message from the Chair of the

United Nations Security Council Committee on resolution 1540. The ensuing discussion with three

experts was moderated by Mr. D. Plesch, Director of the Centre for International Studies and

Diplomacy, University of London (SOAS). Seventeen participants expressed their views during the

event. The panel on

Combating sexual violence in UN peacekeeping operations and beyond

was

moderated by Ms. U. Karlsson, a former MP from Sweden. Two experts and two MPs made

presentations. Eleven speakers took the floor.

On 17 October, the Committee held an expert hearing on the theme

Non-admissibility of using

mercenaries as a means of undermining peace and violating human rights -

the topic of a resolution to

be adopted by the 140 IPU Assembly. The hearing opened with the statements by two

experts - Ms. J. Aparac, a member of the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries, and

Mr. W. Bruyère-Ostells, a university lecturer in contemporary history at the Institute for Political Science

in Aix-en-Provence,

France. Following the experts’ interventions, a total of 21 speakers took the floor.

The Bureau of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security met on 16 October 2018

with Ms. L. Rojas (Mexico), a senior member of the Bureau, in the chair. Eleven out of 18 members

were present. The members discussed internal arrangements, the main current topics of the peace and

security agenda, the Committee’s work programme for the 140

IPU Assembly and for the period

between IPU Assemblies.

The Standing Committee held elections to its Bureau on 15 October 2018 (see page 25).

The Committee report (see page 45) was presented by the President of the Standing Committee,

Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain), to the Assembly at its last sitting on 18 October.

The Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade held its sittings on 15 and

17 October. The first sitting was chaired by Ms. S. Dinica (Romania), a member of the Bureau. The

second sitting was chaired by the Committee Vice-President, Ms. W. Bani Mustafa (Jordan).

The Committee discussed the subject item of the next resolution entitled

The role of fair and free trade

and investment in achieving the SDGs, especially regarding economic equality, sustainable

infrastructure, industrialization and innovation.

The theme was introduced by the co-Rapporteurs,

Mr. J. Wilson (Australia), Mr. H. Iddrisu (Ghana) and Ms. S. Raskovic Ivic (Serbia). At the end of the

debate, the co-Rapporteurs provided an initial overview of how they would incorporate the Committee's

input into the draft resolution.

The Committee reviewed the draft outcome document of the forthcoming Parliamentary Meeting at the

24 Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change in Poland (COP24), due to take place on 9 December 2018. The Parliamentary Meeting was

being organized by the IPU in cooperation with the Polish Parliament. The co-Rapporteur of the

Parliamentary Meeting, Ms. A. Paluch (Poland), introduced the document to the Committee. The

Committee was subsequently given the opportunity to make comments and suggestions on it. The

Committee's feedback would be incorporated into the document by the co-Rapporteur and presented to

the Parliamentary Meeting at COP24.

The Committee also held a panel discussion entitled

Taking forward the IPU resolution entitled

Engaging the private sector in implementing the SDGs, especially on renewable energy.

A panel of

renowned experts introduced the theme and launched a discussion on the appropriate measures and

actions to be taken by countries and parliaments in order to promote the transition to renewable energy.

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The Committee held elections to its Bureau on 17 October (see page 25).

The Committee approved the proposal of the Bureau to dedicate the Committee's sessions at the

140 IPU Assembly to finalizing the resolution.

The Committee report was presented to the Assembly at its last sitting on 18 October by the Committee

Vice-President, Ms. W. Bani Mustafa (Jordan).

(d) Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights

The Committee held sittings on 15, 16 and 17 October 2018, with the Committee President,

Mr. A.Y. Desai (India), in the Chair.

The Committee considered the draft resolution

Strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation on

migration and migration governance in view of the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and

Regular Migration.

One of the co-Rapporteurs, Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain), presented the draft resolution,

as the other co-Rapporteurs, Ms. K. Sosa (El Salvador) and Mr. A Touizi (Morocco), were unable to

attend.

When examining the draft resolution, the Committee considered 97 amendments submitted by

17 parliaments [Bahrain, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of),

Netherlands, Philippines, Russian Federation, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and

the United Arab Emirates]. Three amendments were proposed by the Forum of Women

Parliamentarians.

The revised draft resolution was adopted by consensus at the final sitting by the Committee.

Reservations were expressed by the delegations of Kuwait on operative paragraphs 9 and 16, Lebanon

on operative paragraph 9, and Poland on the entire resolution.

The Committee Bureau met on 17 October. It considered proposals for the future work programme of

the Committee. One proposal for the subject item

of the Committee’s next resolution had been

submitted before the deadline by Bangladesh, and was presented to the Bureau by Dr. H. Millat

(Bangladesh).

Following a recommendation by the Bureau, the Committee decided unanimously to endorse the

proposal entitled

Achieving universal health coverage by 2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring the

right to health,

as the subject of its next resolution. A preparatory debate would take place at the

140 Assembly and the resolution would be finalized at the 141 Assembly in October 2019.

The Bureau noted that the decision taken by the Committee at the 138 Assembly to hold a panel

discussion, which would not lead to a resolution, entitled

The role of parliaments in ending

discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and ensuring respect for the human

rights of LGBTI persons,

was now in the hands of the Assembly.

The Committee approved the Bureau’s recommendation to hold a panel

discussion at the

140 Assembly to examine how IPU Members followed up on three resolutions adopted by the IPU in

recent years, namely: the 2009 resolution on freedom of expression, the 2013 resolution on social

media, and the 2015 resolution on privacy in the digital era.

Following the recommendation of the Bureau, the Committee elected Ms. A. Gerkens (Netherlands) as

Vice-President of the Standing Committee.

The draft resolution on migration was presented by Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain) to the Assembly at its

plenary sitting in the afternoon of 18 October and was adopted by consensus. The Assembly took note

of the following reservations: Kuwait on operative paragraphs 9 and 16, Lebanon on operative

paragraph 9, Ethiopia and Ukraine on operative paragraph 16, Jordan on all references to international

agreements to which Jordan was not a signatory, and Poland on the entire resolution.

The Assembly also took note of the Committee’s decision to hold a follow-up

debate at the

140 Assembly on the aforementioned resolutions from 2009, 2013 and 2015. That debate would not

lead to a resolution.

On 15 October, the Assembly voted on a procedural motion and determined that the Assembly has the authority

to change the agenda and work plan of the Standing Committees (see results of the vote on page 38). On

17 October, the Assembly voted not to hold a panel discussion on the issue of discrimination based on sexual

orientation and gender identity (see results of the vote on page 39).

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(e) Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs

The Committee held one sitting on 17 October, chaired by its President, Mr. J.C. Romero (Argentina),

who welcomed the participants.

The meeting consisted of two panels: one on the question of whether an intergovernmental body on

international taxation was needed at the United Nations, and another on the work of the WHO and the

IPU to advance SDG 3 on health (see report on page 52).

At the end of its sitting, the Committee elected five new members to its Bureau (see page 25).

In his final remarks, the Committee President, Mr. J.C. Romero, welcomed gender parity on the

Committee bureau. He also presented the report of the Committee to the Assembly at its final sitting on

18 October.

(f)

Debate on the emergency item

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line

The debate on the emergency item was held in the morning of Tuesday, 16 October 2018, with

Ms. M.R. Mokitim (Lesotho), Speaker of the Senate, in the chair.

Following a brief presentation and an appeal from Mr. W. William (Seychelles, co-author of the

proposal), 12 speakers took the floor during the debate from: Cabo Verde, Chad, China, Cuba, Fiji,

India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Micronesia (Federated States of), South Africa and Uganda.

During the debate the participants agreed unanimously that greater global action on climate change

should be taken and that more ambitious goals were needed. One delegate reminded peers that the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report showed that the situation was far worse

and more urgent than first thought. He reiterated that urgent and unprecedented changes must be made

to counter climate change for the sake of our existence, adding that "We need a healthy planet more

than it needs us".

Delegates presented various examples of climate change that threatened the day-to-day life of many

citizens well beyond the small islands in the Pacific which had sponsored the emergency item. While the

sea-level rise was affecting the Pacific region, scarcity of water and desertification, which caused a lack

of land on which to live and cultivate crops, were also threatening the well-being and survival of many

people in Africa and the Middle East.

A delegate from Fiji warned that the real effects of climate change had already begun and that villages

had been relocated in Fiji because of rising sea levels. Participants underscored that climate change

had no borders and therefore the international community must act together at the very least to delay

the change so as to mitigate its negative effects. Another delegate concurred, adding that political

divisions must be overcome so as to fight climate change together.

Some delegates deplored the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement on

Climate Change and called on all IPU Members to comply with their commitments under the

international agreement. Another delegate lamented that there were still some people who prioritized

economic interest over environmental protection.

Many delegates requested that additional financial and technical support for renewable energy and

desalination of sea water should be made available, so as to mitigate the negative effects of climate

change.

Several delegations recalled the important role that parliaments and parliamentarians could play in

tackling climate change at the national and international levels. Some delegates warned that the lack of

political decisions and actions was compromising the future of humankind, adding that it was time for

the international community to unite and take action.

The Assembly referred the emergency item to a drafting committee made up of representatives of

Chad, Ethiopia, Iran (Islamic Republic of ), Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Seychelles, South Africa,

Tonga and Uruguay.

(g) Adoption of the resolution on the emergency item

In the afternoon of 17 October 2018, the plenary sitting of the Assembly unanimously adopted the

resolution (see page 43).

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Concluding sitting of the Assembly

At the concluding sitting on 18 October, Mr. M. Bouva, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Suriname,

presented the Outcome Document of the General Debate on the theme of

Parliamentary leadership in

promoting peace and development in the age of innovation and technological change.

Noting that the

collective stock of scientific knowledge of the world we lived in was greater today than at any time in the

history of humanity, the outcome document underscored the role and responsibility of parliaments and

parliamentarians in fostering an environment where science, technology and innovation made a positive

contribution to peace, development and human well-being. The outcome document further identified

specific avenues for parliamentary action to: strengthen legal frameworks to promote technological and

scientific innovation for peace and development; establish strong connections between the

parliamentary and scientific communities; and support international scientific cooperation to promote

peace and development. Mr. Bouva and the IPU President both called on all IPU Members to take

resolute action in that direction. (See full text of the Outcome Document on pages 31-33).

The Assembly heard and took note of the Reports of the Standing Committee on Peace and

International Security, the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade, and

the Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs. It also formally approved the proposed amendments

to the IPU Statutes and Rules, as put forward by the Executive Committee and the Governing Council.

At the conclusion of the Assembly, the representatives of the geopolitical groups took the floor:

Mr. S. Chiheb (Algeria) on behalf of the African Group, Mr. K. Darweesh (Egypt) on behalf of the Arab

Group, Mr. W. Simina (Federated States of Micronesia) on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group,

Ms. Z. Greceanii (Republic of Moldova) on behalf of the Eurasia Group, Mr. R. Martínez Huelmo

(Uruguay) on behalf of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean, and Mr. D. Pacheco (Portugal)

on behalf of the Twelve Plus Group. They welcomed the impressive outcomes of the 139 Assembly,

congratulated the IPU President and Secretariat for their hard work, and pledged their commitment to

follow up on the important decisions that they had collectively taken.

In her concluding remarks, the IPU President provided an overview of the principal results of the

Assembly and reiterated the importance of parliamentary solidarity and robust parliamentary action on

tackling the challenges facing the world today. She underscored the need to join forces in defending the

core values and principles of the IPU, and in promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law at

both the

national and international levels (see the President’s concluding remarks on page

55).

Thanking all the participants for their support and active engagement, she declared the 139 Assembly

closed.

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session of the Governing Council

Membership and Permanent Observers of the IPU

At its sitting on 15 October, the Governing Council noted that there had been no formal requests for

affiliation, reaffiliation or observer status. Membership thus remained at 178 national parliaments.

Discussions were advancing with Kiribati, which was attending the Assembly as an observer, and with

Jamaica, with a view to future affiliation and reaffiliation respectively.

The Council was apprised of the situation of certain parliaments and took note of relevant

recommendations made by the Executive Committee with regard to each of those parliaments.

It was informed of the IPU’s efforts

to facilitate the participation of the Parliament of Kiribati in the

139 Assembly with a view to future affiliation and of other small island developing States (SIDS) in the

Caribbean at a forthcoming regional Seminar in the Caribbean on climate change and disaster risk

reduction.

Financial situation of the IPU

The Governing Council received a report on the financial situation of the IPU as at 30 June 2018 and an

updated list of unpaid contributions. As at 14 October 2018, four Members (Dominican Republic, the

Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania) and one Associate Member (Inter-Parliamentary Committee of

the West African Economic and Monetary Union) had arrears of two full years and were subject to

voting sanctions. Two Members (Honduras and Papua New Guinea) were subject to suspension due to

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session of the Governing Council

arrears of three or more years. The Executive Committee did not recommend the suspension of those

two Members as amendments would be adopted by the Governing Council at its current session

concerning the suspension of membership rights rather than suspension of their membership status.

The Secretary General noted that long-term arrears were problematic and were regularly followed up by

the Secretariat. The Presidents of the geopolitical groups were also encouraged to follow up on any

arrears of the Members within their respective groups.

The Council took note that the income and expenditure of the IPU were close to target for the first half of

the year and were projected to remain within the overall budget until the end of the year.

Draft programme and budget for 2019

The Council received the consolidated budget proposal for 2019. Reporting on behalf of the Executive

Committee, the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Finance, Mr. R. del Picchia (France), explained

that the budget proposal had been prepared under the supervision of the Sub-Committee on Finance

and was in accordance with its guidelines.

The initial draft of the regular budget for 2019 had reflected an imbalance of expenditure over income of

CHF 290,000 due to the projected costs of the 2019 Assembly in Argentina, the preparatory costs for

the next World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the financing of certain activities within the

President’s vision. Cost savings had subsequently been

found which had reduced the imbalance and, in

order to avoid increasing Members' contributions in 2019, a provision of CHF 190,000 was proposed to

be authorized from the Working Capital Fund (to be used only if required). The 2019 budget included an

envelope

of CHF 140,000 specifically for priority activities geared towards realizing the President’s

vision. Mr. R. del Picchia noted that a change of Assembly venue from Argentina would involve a

revision of the costs which, in any case, should not exceed the adopted budget.

The Secretary General informed the Council of the efforts to mobilize voluntary funds from external

sources. Several long-term funding agreements were coming to an end and their renewal was under

discussion. Voluntary funds were important in contributing to the costs of supporting IPU programmes

and resources were always mobilized in line with the IPU’s guidelines relating to voluntary contributions.

IPU programmes were open to all Members and not focused on any particular region.

The Governing Council approved the 2019 budget of CHF 16,187,300. The approved budget and scale

of contributions for 2019 are presented on pages 57-58.

Implementation of the IPU Strategy for 2017-2021

The Council took note of a comprehensive interim report by the Secretary General on progress made on

implementation of the eight strategic objectives, as well as concrete actions that Members could take to

accelerate their realization, including the hosting of future IPU events.

Cooperation with the United Nations system

The Council reviewed the activities undertaken in cooperation with the United Nations system from

15 March to 15 September

2018, which would henceforth be subsumed into the Secretary General’s

report in the form of an Annex (see page 62). The IPU had also worked together with the United Nations

towards common objectives in a range of political processes. A number of meetings had been held and

publications produced.

It noted that, among other developments, the UN General Assembly resolution adopted in May 2018 on

Interaction between the United Nations, national parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union

proclaimed 30 June as the International Day of Parliamentarism, starting in 2018. That was a landmark

achievement for MPs all over the world.

Recent specialized meetings

The Governing Council took note of the results of the 12 Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament

(https://www.ipu.org/event/12th-summit-women-speakers-parliament); the Regional Seminar on

Parliamentary Cooperation for Sustainable Development: Combating Poverty and Promoting Health

Care

(https://www.ipu.org/event/regional-seminar-parliamentary-cooperation-sustainable-development-

combating-poverty-and-promoting-health-care);

the Technical Briefing on

The role of parliamentarians in

achieving universal health coverage and global health security as two sides of the same coin

(https://www.ipu.org/event/technical-briefing-role-parliamentarians-in-achieving-universal-health-

coverage-and-global-health-security-two-sides-same-coin);

the

Third South Asian Speaker’s Summit on

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achieving the SDGs (https://www.ipu.org/event/third-south-asian-speakers-summit-achieving-sdgs); the

Parliamentary Side Event at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)

(https://www.ipu.org/event/parliamentary-side-event-un-high-level-political-forum-sustainable-

development-hlpf);

the Third Interregional Seminar on

Parliamentary Capacity-Building and Further

Implementation of the SDGs: Implementing the SDGs through South-South Parliamentary Cooperation

(https://www.ipu.org/event/interregional-seminar-parliamentary-capacity-building-and-further-

implementation-sustainable-development-goals-implementing-sdgs-through-south);

and the Regional

Seminar on the Sustainable Development Goals and Gender Equality for Parliaments of the Middle East

and North Africa (https://www.ipu.org/event/regional-seminar-sustainable-development-goals-and-

gender-equality-parliaments-middle-east-and-north-africa).

The Council took note of initial preparations for the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament

scheduled for 2020. The event would not take place at UN Headquarters in New York as the previous

edition had, due to visa restrictions on some countries. An alternative venue was being actively sought

and an inclusive and transparent process for nominating members to the Preparatory Committee of the

Conference had been completed. The Governing Council subsequently approved the composition of the

Preparatory Committee based on the nominations received from the geopolitical groups (see page 69).

Reports of plenary bodies and specialized committees

At its sitting on 18 October, the Governing Council took note of the reports on the activities of the Forum

of Women Parliamentarians, the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the Committee

on Middle East Questions, the Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law, the

Gender Partnership Group, the Advisory Group on Health, the Forum of Young Parliamentarians of

the IPU and the High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (HLAG).

The Council endorsed the amended Terms of Reference of the HLAG (see page 66), aimed at making

the Group more inclusive and balanced, and decided to allow the Group in its current composition to

pursue its work until the next Assembly, by which time nominations from the geopolitical groups would

have been received. The expanded composition of 21 members would be based on the formula used

for the composition of the Preparatory Committee of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of

Parliament, i.e. Executive Committee geopolitical group allocation plus one per group.

The Council also approved 19 decisions submitted by the Committee on the Human Rights of

Parliamentarians (https://www.ipu.org/download/5702), noting the reservations of Cambodia, the

Philippines, Turkey and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of, ruling party) concerning the cases in their

respective countries and by Bolivia (Plurinational Republic of), Cuba, Nicaragua and Serbia concerning

the case of Venezuela.

Future inter-parliamentary meetings

The Governing Council gave its provisional approval to hold the 140 Assembly in Doha (Qatar) in 2019

and the 141 Assembly in Belgrade (Serbia) in October 2019 provided that the following three

requirements were fulfilled: (1) a favourable technical mission report conducted by the Secretariat on

the availability of conference and related facilities; (2) the confirmation by the Parliament of Qatar to

absorb all additional costs related to the holding of a second Assembly abroad in 2019; and (3) the

provision of guarantees by the authorities of the host countries to provide entry visas to all delegates

invited to participate in the Assembly.

The Council approved the list of future meetings and other activities to be funded by the IPU’s regular

budget and by external sources (see page 71).

Amendments to the Statutes and Rules

The Governing Council approved a package of amendments to the Statutes and Rules proposed by the

Executive Committee (see Annex on page 68).

10. Elections to the Executive Committee

The Governing Council elected the following three members to the Executive Committee for a four-year

term ending in October 2022:



Mr. G. Gali Ngothé (Chad) for the African Group;

Mr. G. Chen (China) for the Asia-Pacific Group;

Mr. M. Grujic (Serbia) for the Twelve Plus Group.

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280

session of the Executive Committee

Proceedings and decisions

The Executive Committee held its 280 session in Geneva on 12, 13 and 17 October 2018. The

President of the IPU chaired the meetings. The following members took part in the session:

Ms. F. Benbadis (Algeria), Ms. M.I. Oliveira Valente (Angola), Mr. A. Lins (Brazil) on 12 and 13 October,

replaced by Mr. C. Cajado on 17 October, Mr. D. McGuinty (Canada), Ms. Y. Ferrer Gómez (Cuba),

Mr. A. Abdel Aal (Egypt), Mr. R. del Picchia (France), Mr. K. Jalali (Islamic Republic of Iran),

Mr. S. Suzuki (Japan) on 12 and 13 October, Mr. K. Lusaka (Kenya), Ms. A. Habibou (Niger),

Ms. H. Haukeland Liadal (Norway), Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation), Ms. M. Kiener Nellen

(Switzerland), Mr. Nguyen Van Giau (Viet Nam) on 12 and 13 October, replaced by Mr. Vu Hai Ha on

17 October, Ms. A. Albasti (United Arab Emirates) in her capacity as Second Vice-President of the

Bureau of Women Parliamentarians, and Ms. M. Osoru (Uganda), in her capacity as President of the

Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians.

At its sitting on 12 October, the IPU President provided an overview of her many outreach efforts to

Members and non-Members alike as contained in her vision. The IPU had achieved a milestone by

having 30 June

–

the date on which the IPU was founded

–

proclaimed by the United Nations as the

International Day of Parliamentarism.

The Secretary General informed the Executive Committee that no requests for membership or observer

status had been received. The Parliament of Kiribati would be sending an observer delegation to the

139 Assembly with a view to future affiliation. Meanwhile, the IPU President and the Secretary General

were redoubling their efforts to reach out to non-Members, especially SIDS in the Pacific and the

Caribbean. In that regard, non-Member Parliaments such as Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and

Barbados would be invited to the Regional seminar on the SDGs and climate change for Caribbean

Parliaments in Suriname in early November 2018 and would be sensitized to the benefits of IPU

membership. By the same token, inactive IPU Members in the region - Guyana and Trinidad and

Tobago - would be encouraged to re-engage with the Organization.

The Executive Committee examined the unfinished business of the 138 Assembly, namely the

prerogatives of the Assembly and its Standing Committees. It reviewed a legal opinion by a jurist

commissioned by the Secretariat at Members’ request and proposed that a vote be held in the

Assembly to clarify the matter without reopening the topic of the debate.

As mandated by the Governing Council at its 202 session, the Executive Committee reviewed the

Terms of Reference of the High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism

(HLAG). At its sitting on 17 October, it recommended that the Group’s composition be expanded and

made more inclusive based on the same formula used for the Preparatory Committee of the Fifth World

Conference of Speakers of Parliament (Executive Committee geopolitical group allocation plus one per

group).

In the meantime, the IPU’s work on preventing and countering terrorism

should be pursued as it

was part of the organization’s core business as indicated in the IPU Strategy for 2017-2021.

In connection with the implementation of the IPU Strategy for 2017-2021, the Executive Committee

received a comprehensive report from the Secretary General, along with the usual checklist of activities

conducted with the United Nations, which had been subsumed into his report due to many common

areas of interest and action. The Secretary General also informed the members of the Executive

Committee of two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) he wished to sign shortly with the Roll Back

Malaria Partnership and the WHO. The Committee endorsed both MOUs.

The Executive Committee examined the situation of certain parliaments on the IPU’s radar

screen,

namely: Burundi, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Libya,

Maldives, Nicaragua, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela (Bolivarian

Republic of) and Yemen. It made recommendations on each case to the Governing Council, including

the swift organization of missions to Turkey and Venezuela.

The Secretary General informed the members of recent missions he had undertaken to Georgia,

Republic of Moldova and Turkmenistan in late May/early June, to Hawaii in mid-July and to Burundi in

late July/early August. The first mission was intended to foster closer ties between those relatively new

and discreet IPU Members. Those parliaments had shown a keen interest in engaging on the SDGs and

in undertaking self-assessments. The mission to Burundi had been undertaken at the invitation of the

Burundian authorities and had sought to gain first-hand insights into the dynamics at play in the conflict-

ravaged country. The Executive Committee recommended that the Burundian authorities pursue

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inclusive dialogue involving all political actors (both at home and abroad) on devising a consensual

roadmap for the 2020 elections, and that the IPU remain engaged with the authorities and continue to

provide technical assistance to the parliament.

The Executive Committee was informed at its sitting on 12 October that Argentina was no longer in a

position to host the 140 IPU Assembly due to reasons beyond its control - a severe economic and

financial crisis. At its sitting on 13 October it received an envoy of the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament

announcing that Serbia would be willing to host the 141 IPU Assembly in October 2019 in Belgrade. At

its sitting on 17 October, the Committee was informed that Qatar had made an official offer to host the

140 IPU Assembly in Doha in April 2019. The Committee recommended that the Governing Council

approve in principle both requests provided that three requirements were fulfilled: (1) the assessment

mission conducted by the Secretariat issued a positive report on the facilities for hosting an IPU

Assembly; (2) the Parliament of Qatar was willing to absorb all additional costs involved in hosting a

second Assembly abroad in 2019; and (3) the host countries would provide visa guarantees to allow all

delegates to participate in the Assembly.

At its sitting on 17 October, the Executive Committee received a report from the President of the

Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) on cooperation between the IPU and the

ASGP.

Also at its final sitting, the Executive Committee endorsed a Presidential Statement on recent

developments on the Korean Peninsula and the draft Outcome Document of the General Debate.

The Executive Committee elected Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation) as its Vice-President for a

second one-year term and the following IPU Vice-Presidents for a one-year term: Arab Group:

Mr. A. Abdel Aal (Egypt); Asia-Pacific Group: Mr. Nguyen Van Giau (Viet Nam); Eurasia Group:

Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation); Group of Latin America and the Caribbean: Mr. A. Lins (Brazil);

and the Twelve Plus Group: Mr. D. McGuinty (Canada). The African Group would consult and nominate

its candidate shortly.

Sub-Committee on Finance

The Sub-Committee on Finance met on 11 October

2018 to prepare and facilitate the Committee’s

consideration of the financial situation of the IPU, the 2019 draft programme and budget, the situation of

voluntary funding, and to review the status of the Parliamentary Solidarity Fund. The Sub-Committee

advised the Executive Committee to recommend the 2019 budget to the Governing Council, having

been closely involved in overseeing its preparation throughout the year.

The Executive Committee urged the geopolitical groups to encourage their Members to pay up their

contributions. The Sub-Committee on Finance informed the Executive Committee that no new

applications had been received for the use of the Parliamentary Solidarity Fund.

The term of the Chair of the Sub-Committee on Finance, Mr. R. del Picchia (France) was coming to an

end at the present session. All members thanked him for his dedication and hard work in leading the

work of the Sub-Committee. Ms. M. Kiener Nellen (Switzerland) was elected to the Sub-Committee on

Finance in his place and was subsequently elected as Chair by the Sub-Committee members.

Questions relating to the Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

The Executive Committee was informed of staff developments. Ms. C. Bon, a French/Swiss national,

had been promoted to the post of Team Leader, Documents Control Service, at the G7 level.

Mr. A. Richardson, a British national, had been promoted to the post of Programme Manager,

Parliamentary Standards Setting and Knowledge Generation, at the P4 level, and Ms. Z. Hilal, a

Lebanese national, had been promoted to the post of Manager of the Gender Partnership Programme

and the Programme for Youth Participation, also at the P4 level. Ms. S. Ahmidouch, a Trinidadian

national, Secretary of the Executive Committee and the Governing Council, who also wore the hats of

Chief of Staff and Head of Language Services, had been promoted to the P5 level. In addition,

Ms. D. Gilliéron, a French national, would be retiring at the end of the year.

The Executive Committee discussed and reviewed the contract of the Secretary General for the

remaining duration of his second four-year term. This item was discussed in the absence of the

Secretariat, apart from the Director of Support Services, who provided information to the Committee.

Following a vote by secret ballot, the members decided that the Secretary General should be

remunerated at the level of UN Under-Secretary-General according to the salary scale of the

International Civil Service Commission.

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Forum of Women Parliamentarians

The 28 session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians was held on 14 October 2018. It brought

together 195 participants, including 151 parliamentarians from 70 countries and representatives from

various international organizations. There were 123 women and 28 men among the parliamentarians.

In keeping with the Rules of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians, the First Vice-President,

Ms. S. Kihika (Kenya), took over the presidency until the end of the term in April 2020. In that capacity,

she chaired the proceedings.

The Forum expressed its gratitude to Ms. U. Karlsson (Sweden), former President of the Bureau of

Women Parliamentarians, who had lost her seat in Parliament in the most recent parliamentary

elections held in Sweden. She was warmly thanked for her strong and inspiring commitment to gender

equality and for her invaluable contributions to the work of the IPU over the past years.

The IPU President, Ms. G. Cuevas Barron, welcomed the participants and made an opening statement.

As a contribution to the Assembly, participants considered, from a gender perspective, the draft

resolution before the 139 Assembly on

Strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation on migration and

migration governance in view of the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular

Migration.

Two groups were formed to conduct the discussions. Participants underscored that migrant

women faced multiple discrimination and that women constituted the majority of victims of human

trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced labour in domestic work. The Forum subsequently

proposed amendments to the draft resolution, which were incorporated by the Standing Committee on

Democracy and Human Rights.

Participants then discussed the measures needed to eliminate the barriers and discrimination that

impeded women from realizing their potential in science and new technologies. The Forum stressed the

importance of inclusive and gender-sensitive teaching. Support to women researchers and professors

was also identified as a driver of change by providing new role models to girls and challenging sexist

stereotypes. To address those challenges, the Forum proposed measures such as supporting the

creation of tech companies and the financing of research projects led by women, including projects

aimed at addressing discrimination against women.

The Forum elected a regional representative of the Asia-Pacific Group, Ms. F. Hosseini (Islamic

Republic of Iran), and two regional representatives of the Twelve Plus Group, Ms. S. Koutra-Koukouma

(Cyprus) and Ms. O. Sotnyk (Ukraine), to fill vacant positions in the Bureau.

At its second sitting on 18 October, the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians nominated Ms. A. Albasti

(United Arab Emirates) as its First Vice-President and Ms. A. Tolley (New Zealand) as its Second

Vice-President. The two candidatures would be submitted for approval to the Forum of Women

Parliamentarians at its 29 session.

The Bureau of Women Parliamentarians expressed its sincere condolences to the Parliament of Nigeria

following the death of Ms. F. Adodoyin (Nigeria), who was a Bureau member.

Subsidiary bodies of the Governing Council

Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians

Ms. D. Solórzano (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), Vice-President, Mr. F. Pinedo (Argentina),

Ms. F. Koofi (Afghanistan), Ms. L. Dumont (France), Mr. D. Carter (New Zealand), Ms. A. Jerkov

(Serbia) and Mr.

A. Caroni (Switzerland) took part in the Committee’s 157

session, which was held

from 13 to 17 October 2018. Mr. A. Alaradi (Bahrain), President, Mr. N. Bako-Arifari (Benin) and

Ms. J. Mukoda-Zabwe (Uganda) were unable to attend.

The Committee submitted 19 decisions to the Governing Council (see link:

https://www.ipu.org/download/5702)

for adoption concerning the following countries: Afghanistan,

Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Palestine, Palestine/Israel,

Philippines, Senegal, Turkey, Uganda and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

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Subsidiary bodies of the Governing Council

During the session, the Committee held 10 hearings and informal meetings with delegations and

complainants to reinforce its understanding of the cases before it and convey its concerns. At that

session, the Committee had on its agenda 23 cases concerning the situation of 328 members of

parliament in 15 countries. Of the cases examined, 39 per cent were from Asia, 24 per cent from

Europe; 18 per cent from the Americas; 16 per cent from the Middle East and North Africa and 3 per

cent from Africa. Eighty-two per cent of the cases concerned opposition members of parliament and

20 per cent concerned women. Freedom of expression being a matter of direct or indirect concern in

most cases, the violations most frequently considered by the Committee during the session were undue

suspension and loss of parliamentary mandate, lack of fair trial, torture and violation of freedom of

movement.

Committee on Middle East Questions

The Committee held two sittings, on 14 and 16 October 2018.

The Committee’s President

Ms. S. Ataullahjan (Canada), Mr. H. Julien-Laferrière (France), Ms. A. Makonda Ridley (Malawi),

Mr. A. Al-Ahmad (Palestine), Mr. F. Müri (Switzerland), and Mr. M. Al-Mehrzi (United Arab Emirates)

attended both sessions. Mr. N. Shai (Israel) attended the sitting on 14 October. Ms. B. Grouwels

(Belgium) and Mr. R. Munawar (Indonesia) attended the sitting on 16 October.

The Committee examined the current situation in the region, particularly the announcement by the

US Administration to end all funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian

Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the passing of a law by the Israeli Knesset defining the State

of Israel as the nation of the Jewish people. In addition, the Committee heard brief presentations by the

Yemeni delegation and Mr. N. Gouda, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, on the situations in

their respective countries. The members recognized the complexity of the different situations while

reaffirming their commitment to open dialogue and concrete projects.

Following a discussion on science as an enabler of dialogue, the Committee concurred on the

importance of the

Science for Peace Schools

and was looking forward to bringing that project to fruition

in November 2018. The Committee members further agreed to undertake a visit to the Middle East in

early 2019 and highlighted their wish to visit refugee camps in Jordan.

Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law

The Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law met on Monday 16 October. As

there was no quorum, no formal decisions were taken. The Committee members present did, however,

hold a hearing with the delegation of Myanmar, as part of the follow-up to the 137 IPU Assembly

emergency item resolution on the Rohingya crisis, which called on the Committee "to explore

appropriate and practical measures to be undertaken by the global parliamentary community to address

the situation of the Rohingya people and provide a peaceful and sustainable solution to the crisis".

Members of the Committee expressed their appreciation to the Myanmar delegation for having engaged

in a constructive dialogue. The hearing allowed for an exchange of information on initiatives taken in

Myanmar to address the situation and allow for a safe return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Committee members encouraged the Parliament of Myanmar to strengthen its involvement in the

resolution of that tragedy by fulfilling its role of monitoring government action and by reaching out to the

Myanmar people to appease the situation and lay the foundations for justice and reconciliation.

Committee members also encouraged the Parliament of Myanmar to initiate a discussion in due course

on the question of citizenship.

Committee members were very keen to pursue the dialogue and expressed their wish to carry out a

mission to Myaymar to see how the IPU could support the Parliament in its efforts to secure a positive

outcome to the humanitarian crisis.

The Committee furthermore held an open briefing session on

Ending Statelessness by 2024 - Pledges,

Action and Results.

(See results of that session on page 20).

Gender Partnership Group

The Gender Partnership Group, composed of Mr. K. Lusaka (Kenya), Ms. H. Haukeland Liadal

(Norway), Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation) and Ms. A. Albasti (United Arab Emirates), met on

17 October 2018. Ms. Haukeland Liadal chaired the meeting. The Group reviewed figures regarding the

composition of delegations present at the 139 IPU Assembly.

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Subsidiary bodies of the Governing Council

As at 17 October, 32.9 per cent of delegates registered at the Assembly were women. That figure was

the highest percentage ever achieved at an IPU Assembly. The Group stressed the importance of

continuing its work to promote further progress in that respect.

Of the 149 delegations registered, 140 were composed of at least two delegates, of which 17 were

composed exclusively of men (12.1%) and four were composed only of women. The 21 single-sex

delegations were from the parliaments of the following States: Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bolivia (Plurinational

State of),

Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Denmark, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, Haiti,

Ireland, Liechtenstein, Micronesia (Federated States of), Morocco, Myanmar, Paraguay, Peru, Republic

of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Yemen. In addition, there were nine single-

member delegations attending the Assembly, of which five were made up of a male delegate and four of

a female delegate. Group members agreed to bring those figures back to their geopolitical groups for

discussion and action.

To remedy the situation, the Group also agreed to look into ways of strengthening existing sanctions.

With regard to the Governing Council, the Group proposed that single-sex delegations be limited to one

vote instead of two. As for the Assembly, the Group suggested that parliaments represented by single-

sex delegations after two (not three) consecutive sessions be sanctioned with a reduction in their voting

entitlements and number of delegates. The Group would therefore work on proposals for amendments

along these lines.

In addition, the Group agreed to monitor more closely the composition of delegations attending IPU

Assemblies, and more particularly their respective men/women ratio so as to give more visibility to

gender-balanced delegations and encourage others to follow suit.

The Group also acknowledged the work led by the IPU as part of the International Gender Champions

initiative, and the launch of the toolkit on gender-responsive parliaments. It recommended that the IPU

work on developing a code of conduct that would apply for Assemblies and other IPU meetings.

To support the progress of women MPs worldwide, the Group also decided to engage not only with

parliaments that had no women members, but also with parliaments where women accounted for less

than 5 per cent of the membership. The Group planned to invite representatives of some of those

parliaments for an exchange of views at the next session.

The Group welcomed the new IPU study on

Sexism, harassment and violence against women in

parliaments in Europe

conducted in partnership with PACE. It encouraged the participants to

disseminate it widely and to follow up its recommendations. It also recommended that the IPU conduct

similar studies in other regions.

Advisory Group on Health

The Advisory Group on Health met on Tuesday 16 October, with six out of eight members in

attendance. The Group’s technical partners from the WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Malaria were also in attendance.

The Group unanimously approved the second one-year mandate for its Chairperson, Dr. H. Millat

(Bangladesh), and Vice-Chairperson, Ms. P. Bayr (Austria). It heard a report from the IPU Secretariat

about the health-related activities carried out since

the Group’s last meeting. The Group was particularly

pleased to note the conclusion of important cooperation agreements between the IPU and the WHO,

and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), which provided a solid

framework for future global parliamentary action on health. The Group also took note of and approved

the activities planned by the IPU and its partners in order to implement existing cooperation

agreements.

The Group agreed to serve as the review board for the future IPU handbook for parliamentarians on

women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. The Group also provided important guidance for

preparation of a future handbook for parliamentarians on nutrition, which would be jointly prepared by

FAO and the IPU with support from the WHO, the SUN Movement and

the New Partnership for Africa’s

Development (NEPAD).

It welcomed the finalization of the review of child, early and forced marriage in Africa, jointly conducted

by the IPU and the WHO in cooperation with 24 African parliaments. The publication was expected at

the end of 2018.

The Advisory Group gave its support to the Chair’s efforts to introduce universal health coverage as a

subject item for the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights.

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Subsidiary bodies of the Governing Council

Group of Facilitators for Cyprus

The Group of Facilitators for Cyprus met on 14 October 2018. The meeting was attended by Mr. J. de

Matos Rosa (Portugal), a Facilitator, four members of the House of Representatives of the Republic of

Cyprus and three representatives of the Turkish-Cypriot political parties.

The parties expressed their readiness to engage in dialogue and exchange of views and stressed the

need to recommence negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations. They underlined that a

functional and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, in accordance with the relevant United Nations

resolutions and the values and principles of the European Union, would benefit all Cypriots.

Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU

The Forum met on Monday, 15 October 2018 with Ms. M. Osoru (Uganda), President of the Board of

the Forum in the chair. A total of 64 young parliamentarians were in attendance, 32 of whom were

women (50%).

The Forum discussed recent national efforts to enhance youth participation. It also reviewed youth

participation at the IPU with a view to monitoring the implementation of the newly introduced measure to

enhance youth participation at IPU Assemblies. It noted that young parliamentarians made up 20 per

cent of participants at the 139 Assembly and that percentage should be increased at future

Assemblies.

Plans to increase the number of young people in parliament must be put into action. To support that

work, the members of the Forum identified global targets for youth participation in parliament which set

the minimum standards to be achieved by 2035. Three targets were identified based on the proportion

of young people in the population according to the following three age groups:



Target of a minimum of 15 per cent of young parliamentarians under 30, corresponding to the

proportion of people aged between 20 and 29 in the global population (18%);

Target of a minimum of 35 per cent of young parliamentarians under 40, corresponding to the

proportion of people aged between 20 and 39 in the global population (38%); and

Target of a minimum of 45 per cent of young parliamentarians under 45, corresponding to the

proportion of people aged between 20 and 44 in the global population (48%).

Each target provided for gender parity of 50 per cent young women and 50 per cent young men. Each

country should identify what pertinent strategies and measures it would put in place to meet the targets,

taking into account its own national specificities. The Forum would launch a global campaign to

strengthen commitment and promote efforts towards the attainment of the targets.

The Board of the Forum also met on Monday, 15 October. The Board members chose the theme of the

Fifth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, due to take place in Baku (Azerbaijan) in December

2018. In preparation for the 140 Assembly, the Board appointed Mr. O. Al-Tabtabaee (Kuwait) to

prepare a youth overview report to be submitted to the co-Rapporteurs of the Standing Committee on

Peace and International Security, and Mr. P. Kalobo (Zambia) to prepare a youth overview report to be

submitted to the co-Rapporteurs of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and

Trade.

High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism

The Group held one sitting on 14 October 2018 with Ms. A. Al Qubaisi (United Arab Emirates),

Chairperson; Ms. M. Kiener Nellen (Switzerland), Vice Chairperson; Mr. S. Chowdhury (Bangladesh,

honorary IPU President); Ms. L. Cai representing China; Mr. A. Abdel Aal (Egypt); Mr. K. Kosachev

(Russian Federation); Mr. A. Avsan (Sweden); Ms. M. Osoru (Uganda) in her capacity as President of

the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians and Ms. A. Albasti (United Arab Emirates) in her

capacity as Second Vice-President of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians in attendance.

Mr. S. Chiheb (Algeria), Ms. C. Crexell (Argentina), Mr. K. Jalali (Islamic Republic of Iran) and

Ms. M. Mensah-Williams (Namibia) also participated.

The Group heard an update on the implementation of the activities it had adopted at its second meeting

on 2 and 3 May 2018 in Abu Dhabi, namely: the global parliamentary summit, the parliamentary

network, the web-based platform, capacity-building workshops and reports. The members were pleased

to see concrete developments and they looked forward inter alia to the first capacity-building workshops

due to take place in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sahel regions in early 2019. The

Group approved the retention as advisers of Ms. M. Mensah-Williams, former President of the Bureau of

Women Parliamentarians, for her wise counsel and experience, and Mr. A. Avsan, although he was no

longer an MP, for his technical expertise in law enforcement and as a former judge.

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The Executive Committee would review the

Group’s

Terms of Reference, including its composition, and

make a recommendation to the Governing Council for endorsement. The Group encouraged the

members of the Group who were also members of the Executive Committee to underline the significant

work that had already been accomplished. They insisted that what the Executive Committee was

requested to do was to clarify the composition and not call into question the existence of the Group as

its creation had been decided during the St. Petersburg Assembly in October 2017.

Other events

Meeting of the Presidents of the Geopolitical Groups

In the morning of 14 October, the IPU President met with the Presidents of the geopolitical groups to

discuss the organization of work during and beyond IPU Assemblies, including in terms of enhancing

the impact and visibility of the organization and better meeting its key objective of fostering greater

parliamentary understanding and solidarity.

The Presidents of the geopolitical groups gave a summary of their activities since the 138 Assembly,

which included a number of events, such as the recently concluded Regional Seminars on the SDGs in

St. Petersburg (for Eurasia), Panama City (for GRULAC) and Alexandria (for the Middle East and North

Africa). The President presented an overview of future IPU activities

–

in line with the IPU Strategy and

her vision

–

and encouraged the Presidents of the groups to reach out to their members with a view to

identifying future hosts for IPU events. The Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in 2020

would be a major event for the IPU and the global parliamentary community. The President had

therefore decided to be as inclusive as possible in the selection of the Preparatory Committee and

invited all Groups to submit the names of their representatives for the Preparatory Committee before the

end of the Assembly.

The 2018 reporting exercise by Members on follow-up to IPU resolutions and decisions had seen an

increase in the overall response rate (currently at 67%), also due to the active engagement of the Group

Presidents. The report that had been submitted to the IPU Governing Council included tangible

evidence of the impact of parliamentary follow-up action at the national level. It was important to share

those good practices and positive results as widely as possible, so as to inspire further action. Each

Member Parliament and parliamentarian had a particular responsibility in that regard, and could help

replicate the key IPU messages as they related to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Enhanced dialogue and cooperation with the regional and other parliamentary organizations was

another key objective of the IPU, as that could help reduce duplication, build synergies and better take

advantage of the comparative advantages of each partner organization. A working luncheon with the

Group Presidents and the heads of some 30 regional and other parliamentary organizations was

scheduled later in the week in the context of the Assembly, with a view to further brainstorming on the

way ahead.

Meeting of the Presidents of the Standing Committees

In the afternoon of 14 October, the IPU President met with the Presidents of the Standing Committees.

They had been elected at the previous Assembly, based on the agreement reached by the geopolitical

groups on the distribution of leadership positions within the IPU. The Committee Presidents each

provided an overview of their work at the current Assembly, and of the possible outstanding issues that

needed to be dealt with. One of those had to do with the prerogatives of the Standing Committees in

terms of setting their agendas and programmes of work, and whether the Assembly could change the

agendas adopted by the Committees. The IPU membership was called upon to decide on that matter

the following day

–

the IPU Statutes and Rules would then need to be amended accordingly, so as to

clarify the current grey zone in that area.

The Presidents of the Standing Committees underscored that, while participation and the quality of

discussions in the Committee Bureaux had improved significantly in recent years, more needed to be

done to ensure communication and cooperation beyond the Assemblies. The Bureaux were also called

to play an important role in representing the IPU at various international conferences. Among those in

the coming months were Geneva Peace Week, the UN Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the

Rule of Law, and the Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. For its part, the IPU was continuing its

practice of convening parliamentary meetings in the context of major UN processes

–

as was the case

in 2018 with the UN Conference on Migration, the International Conference on Climate Change and the

UN High-Level Policy Forum on Sustainable Development.

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The members of the Standing Committees were also keen to look for ways to build bridges and foster

parliamentary solidarity beyond the official meetings of the IPU. The

IPU’s

strength was the unity in its

diversity, and the personal relationships established in the context of the organization helped promote

better understanding and peaceful relations between nations. It was agreed that together they would

reflect on possible ways of fostering exchanges

–

including through sports and culture

–

in the context

of various IPU activities.

Open briefing session of the Committee to Promote Respect for International

Humanitarian Law on

Ending Statelessness by 2024

–

Pledges, Action and Results

On 17 October, the Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law organized with

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) an open session on

Ending

Statelessness by 2024

–

Pledges, Action and Results.

The session brought together as panellists

members of parliament from Spain and Kenya, as well as a representative from the UN Committee on

the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and a representative from the European Network on

Statelessness. The panel was introduced and moderated by UNHCR.

Statelessness, or the absence of a nationality, affected up to 10 million people globally. There was no

region that did not have significant numbers of stateless persons. The open session highlighted that

nationality was the right to have rights. Without a nationality, a person was invisible and had no access

to basic human rights, such as the right to education, access to health or work. There was an urgent

need to "humanize" those invisible individuals.

The session reviewed the various causes of statelessness, which included conflict of laws, transfer of

territory, gaps in civil registration laws, discrimination in nationality laws or administrative practices, and

lack of birth registration. Many of the world’s stateless persons were also victims of forced

displacement. Indeed, people who had been uprooted from their homes were particularly vulnerable to

statelessness, especially when territorial borders were redrawn. Statelessness itself could be a root

cause of forced movement. A closer look at the causes of statelessness showed that one common

feature stood out—solutions existed and were in the hands of States, their governments and

parliaments.

In 2019, UNHCR would hold a ministerial event on statelessness to mark the mid-way point in the

10-year campaign to end statelessness by 2024. That event would provide an opportunity to take stock

of achievements and give States a chance to make concrete pledges for additional steps they would

take to address statelessness. The session recommended that members of parliament engage in that

global effort by raising the issue nationally, mapping out their national context to identify potential

causes or gaps that could lead to statelessness situations and taking measures to address those gaps.

Small steps could go a long way towards changing the lives of many.

Panel discussion on

Where do parliaments stand in the fight against sexism and

harassment?

The regional study on

Sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Europe

(https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2018-10/sexism-harassment-and-violence-against-

women-in-parliaments-in-europe)

was launched at the 139 IPU Assembly. Conducted jointly by the IPU

and PACE, the study was based on face-to-face interviews with 123 women from 45 European

countries, 81 of whom were women parliamentarians and 42 female parliamentary staff. In order to

present the findings of the study, an interactive discussion, entitled

Where do parliaments stand in the

fight against sexism and harassment?

was organized during the Assembly. The discussion was chaired

by the IPU President and Ms. L. Maury Pasquier, President of PACE. The following speakers took part:

Ms. M. Rempel, member of parliament (Canada), Mr. L. Córdova, President of the National Electoral

Institute (INE) of Mexico, and Ms. M. Tomei, Director of the Conditions of Work and Equality

Department, International Labour Organization (ILO).

The session began with a theatrical performance in which 12 women parliamentarians read out the

anonymous testimonies of women gathered as part of the regional study. These testimonies gave voice

to the human experience behind the figures in the new study. Participants were then presented with the

main data and findings of the study. The interventions of the guest speakers and the discussion helped

establish links between the study’s findings and innovative approaches taken at the international and

national levels to address both the issue of violence against women in politics, including in parliaments,

and that of harassment and gender-based violence at work.

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The session provided an opportunity for participants to both share personal experiences of harassment

and violence against women in parliaments and to give concrete examples of solutions already being

implemented in parliaments and other institutions. Participants agreed that the extent and nature of

sexism and gender-based violence against women in parliaments were of great concern and required

urgent attention and action by all. They called on national parliaments to adopt a zero-tolerance policy

against sexist attitudes and gender-based violence, to put in place complaint and investigation

mechanisms that were confidential and

sensitive to victims’ needs, and to provide training for all those

working in parliament on issues of respect at work and combating sexism and harassment.

Participants also highlighted the need to change the cultural norms that contributed to sexism and

gender-based violence in order to bring about a lasting change in mind-sets and behaviours. They

called on the IPU to keep exploring the issue further by carrying out studies in other regions and

continuing the discussions, actively involving men and taking their input into account, for example by

making the issue an emergency item, the subject item of a Committee resolution or the theme of an

Assembly general debate. They also recommended that the IPU and PACE develop a framework for

preventing sexism and harassment in international forums.

Panel discussion on

The role of parliaments in combating terrorism and violent

extremism

The panel discussion was organized as part of the activities of the IPU-UN Joint Programme on

countering terrorism and violent extremism following a recommendation from the High-Level Advisory

Group to give more visibility to the work of the Group and to the roles of parliamentarians in that field.

The event sought to bring the global parliamentary community closer to the realities on the ground

through the testimonies of victims. It was opened by the IPU Secretary General.

The audience heard the testimony of Ms. F. Bunu, a 19 year-old girl who had been abducted by Boko

Haram but had managed to escape. She was committed to sharing her story so that she could help

others and called upon parliamentarians to ensure education for all in order to prevent radicalization.

The audience then heard the testimony of Mr. I. Buba, the founder of the Youth Coalition Against

Terrorism. Through his story, he highlighted the drivers of terrorism and violent extremism as they were

felt by the people on the ground. Both Ms. Bunu and Mr. Buba affirmed that young people were willing

to work and succeed but needed support from their elected representatives. They launched an appeal

for parliamentarians to take action and ensure that the socio-economic rights of all were guaranteed.

Mr. A. Avanessov from UNDP, Ms. S. Alirzayeva from the United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism

(UNOCT) and Mr. B. Tukhtabayev from UNESCO presented the work of their agencies in combating

terrorism and preventing violent extremism. UNDP highlighted the economic damage caused by

terrorism, as well as the correlation between radicalization and the absence of socio-economic rights.

UNOCT emphasized the need for parliaments to join forces with governments as terrorism needed to be

fought at every level of society. UNESCO agreed with the victims in underlining the need for educational

programmes for youth.

Mr. A. Avsan, a former policeman, judge and parliamentarian from Sweden, made a presentation on the

importance of maintaining stable and democratic societies with the rule of law at their core. He

highlighted the key role of parliamentarians as part of the global fight against terrorism. Mr. U. Al Ahzari,

a renowned scholar and member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, briefed the audience on the

cultural misuse of terrorism. He emphasized that violent extremism could be prevented through

education, including by teaching people about the misuse of terminology. He talked about the SDGs as

an important global platform for prevention and called for the adoption of a global parliamentary

declaration against violent extremism. Such a declaration should contain basic principles, such as the

prohibition of killing regardless of creed or ideology, and the rejection of tyranny, compulsion and

hatred, terrorization of humankind, destruction of homelands and religious profanation.

Participants from Bahrain, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jordan, Kenya, Qatar, Turkey, United Arab

Emirates and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) took the floor. They agreed that it was essential to

cooperate in order to fight the scourge collectively. They reiterated that terrorism had no borders and

that no country was immune to it. It was important to take that fight on for the good of future

generations. Lastly, the participants welcomed the testimonies of the victims and highlighted the

importance of giving them a platform to share their stories. They also welcomed the progressive speech

delivered by Mr. Al Ahzari, which highlighted tolerance and co-existence.

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Side event on

Legislating on food and nutrition: Lessons learned, challenges and

opportunities for parliamentary action

The session was moderated by Ms. G. Verburg, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and

Coordinator of the SUN Movement. Dr. H. Millat, MP, Chairperson of the IPU Advisory Group on Health,

welcomed the participants. Dr. F. Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and

Development, WHO, set the scene for the importance of legislative action to improve nutrition,

highlighting that nutrition could help drive the achievement of many, if not all, of the SDGs.

The panel discussion with members of parliament and a youth representative presented good practices

in advancing nutrition in different national contexts. Mr. G. Girardi (Chile), MP, presented the Chilean

experience in developing legislation targeting labelling and inappropriate marketing of unhealthy foods

to children. That model could be replicated in other countries with the support of partners such as the

WHO and FAO. He also noted the importance of engaging with academia and the scientific community.

Dr. N. Hamid Mairaj (Pakistan), MP, stressed the role of parliamentarians in ensuring that existing

frameworks and policies were implemented. In Pakistan, support from women MPs across party lines

was instrumental in the enactment of legislation on protecting breastfeeding. However, she reiterated

that health and nutrition should not only be the responsibility of women.

Mr. E. Wangwe (Kenya), MP, highlighted the key role of parliaments in holding government to account.

Although the right to food was enshrined in the Kenyan Constitution, Parliament was instrumental in the

realization of that fundamental right by ensuring that adequate funds were allocated to nutrition

programmes and interventions, and by monitoring implementation.

Ms. T. Chimkowola (Malawi) presented her experience as a young leader engaged in nutrition in

Malawi. She challenged parliamentarians and other stakeholders to consider young people as part of

the solution rather than the problem.

The parliamentarians who responded stressed in particular the need for multisectoral approaches to

nutrition, including health, education, agriculture, and water and sanitation. Another common theme that

emerged was the importance of building partnerships with all relevant stakeholders. In order to ensure

that people were not left behind, particular attention should be paid to local government and the

community level to create an enabling environment for nutrition with the participation of citizens,

mothers and young people.

The concluding remarks were made by Ms. C. Rodrigues Birkett, Director, FAO Liaison Office to the

United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), who highlighted the role of parliamentarians in connecting

with people, and the challenge of changing minds and attitudes with regard to nutrition.

Panel discussion on

Building bridges between the parliamentary and scientific

communities

The panel discussion was organized in the afternoon of 16 October in cooperation with CERN and was

moderated by Mr. P.F. Casini, honorary IPU President. The panel was composed of Ms. S. Ataullahjan,

Canadian senator and President of the IPU Committee on Middle East Questions, Mr. P. Lomas, creator

and trustee of Raspberry Pi, and Mr. F. Quevedo, Director of the International Centre for Theoretical

Physics (ICTP).

The panellists agreed that continuing scientific and technological progress and new challenges facing

society called for increased cooperation between the worlds of science and politics. Parliamentarians

should improve the lives of ordinary people they represented by monitoring the way in which science

was put to practical use, which was not always positive. Thanks to their budgetary and law-making

functions, parliamentarians played a crucial role in regulating innovations while still allowing the

continuation and funding of research. It was highlighted that, even with limited budgets, innovation could

be successful. In addition, the panellists underlined that it was important for parliaments to understand

the specificities of basic scientific research and to ensure public funds for such research, which often

lacked support from private investors. One of the panellists explained that education was the

democratization of science and technology and that it could be used to inform debate inside the country

and beyond.

It was recognized that there were barriers on both the parliamentary and scientific sides to facilitating

evidence-based policies. Parliamentarians stated that it was their responsibility to remain aware of the

latest scientific and technological changes while underlining that the world moved extremely fast, and

for that reason, it was difficult for them to always be aware of the latest information. On the other hand,

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scientists also recognized that they had a responsibility to reach out and communicate with the general

public about their findings. It was noted that very few scientists were members of parliaments, which

was often due to a lack of interest.

Representatives of different scientific organizations took the floor, as well as parliamentarians from

Bahrain, Chile, Malawi, Syrian Arab Republic and Timor-Leste. Chile highlighted a concrete model of

cooperation that its parliament had put in place, in the form of an association for parliamentarians and

scientists to work together and draft laws that were then submitted to legislators for adoption. The

participants agreed that parliamentarians had all the tools at hand to make a positive impact on

societies, but that they were lacking specific knowledge.

The IPU was seen as a platform for bringing science and parliaments closer together. The debate led to

a unanimous recommendation for the IPU to establish a body on science and education as a more

regular part of its work, particularly during the Assemblies. In that way, through the IPU, parliaments

would have a permanent interface with the rapidly evolving world of science, technology and innovation,

gaining insight into all its implications for policy-making.

Panel discussion on

What can MPs do to sort fact from fiction in the age of

fake news?

The IPU Communications Division organized a workshop on fake news in the afternoon of Tuesday

16 October. The panel was made up of Ms. A. Leander, Faculty member of the Albert Hirschman

Centre on Democracy and Professor of International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International

and Development Studies of Geneva; Mr. C. Matheson, Member of Parliament from the United

Kingdom; and Mr. T. Fakude, Head of Research Relations at the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. It was

moderated by Ms. H. Aly, Director of IRIN News.

Questions discussed included whether fake news was new or simply more visible now thanks to new

technology; whether the phenomenon really undermined democracy by sowing confusion, doubt and

division; the role of parliament in regulating misinformation without compromising free speech; how the

media quality-control the information they disseminated; and alleged malpractice or malign intentions by

State actors and data companies such as Cambridge Analytica in the Brexit referendum in the United

Kingdom, as well as elections in the Caribbean and Catalonia.

The panellists disagreed on whether fake news and misinformation should be regulated but agreed that

citizens, particularly young people, should be encouraged to develop a more critical eye when it came to

information and its sources.

Parity debate on

Ensuring that children enjoy their rights and grow up protected

from violence

The Forum of Women Parliamentarians organized a parity debate to promote parity representation and

participation of men and women by inviting them to voice their concerns on gender equality during the

discussion. The parity debate focused on violence against children and the concrete solutions and

measures needed to eliminate it. Forty women and 23 men participated in the debate. The number of

men was lower than in the previous debate, where there had been an equal number of women and

men. The debate was launched by the following speakers: Ms. J.A. Gakuba, Vice-President of the

Senate of Rwanda and member of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians; Mr. O. James, Global

Campaign Director, the

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation;

Ms. A. Gass,

Girls Advocacy Alliance

Officer at Plan International, UNOG; and Dr. H. Millat, Member of Parliament from Bangladesh. The

President of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians, Ms. S. Kihika (Kenya) moderated the debate.

The debate focused on social norms related to age and sex that exposed boys and girls to different

forms of violence. Girls were more exposed to violence relating to their sexuality

—

sexual violence,

forced and early marriage, genital mutilation

—

whereas boys were more targets of homicide and forced

labour. The enormous vulnerability to violence of children who were not registered in birth registers and

who lived in situations of war required the urgent attention and action of parliamentarians. It was also

recommended that age, as well as the situation and specific needs of girls and boys, be taken into

consideration in laws and public policies that provided measures aimed at preventing violence against

children and services to children victims of violence. It was also recommended that children take part in

the decisions that concerned them and be informed of their rights and issues on gender equality through

awareness and education campaigns.

The participants requested that children’s rights be incorporated

more often in IPU debates, including in the exchange of good practices between parliamentarians

dealing with the issue.

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Elections and appointments

10. Joint IPU-ASGP workshop on:

How good is parliament at holding government to

account? How well am I performing my oversight role?

The joint IPU-ASGP workshop took place on 18 October. It brought together MPs, Secretaries General

of parliaments and senior parliamentary staff.

The workshop was moderated by Ms. A. Tolley, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of

New Zealand. The session opened with an introduction of the panellists through questions and answers:

Mr. J.C. Romero (Argentina); Mr. J.M. Araújo, Secretary General of the Assembly of the Republic of

Portugal; and Mr. B. Bwalya, Adviser, National Assembly of Zambia.

Mr. A. Richardson (IPU Secretariat) presented the recommendations of the 2017

Global Parliamentary

Report

on parliamentary oversight, and the draft self-assessment toolkit currently being developed by

the IPU. The toolkit, which drew directly on the recommendations of the Report, was intended to assist

parliaments in assessing their capacity for effective oversight in order to help them to identify strengths,

weaknesses and priorities for reform.

The discussion that followed focused on how to make good use of parliament’s oversight powers, based

on some of the self-assessment questions. Participants took the floor to exchange views, experiences

and good practices on mechanisms their parliaments used to ensure government was responsive to

parliamentary questions and recommendations.

Some of the examples shared included: parliamentary committees in Sierra Leone that withheld

approval of departmental budgets until the relevant Minister had provided an appropriate response to

recommendations made by parliament; and a "protest" mechanism in the parliament of Ukraine,

whereby extra time in plenary was allocated for addressing questions that had not yet received a

satisfactory answer. Participants noted the creation of a new department for evaluation of the impact of

laws in Ecuador, the introduction of gender-impact assessments in Portugal, and the publication of

pre- and post-legislative regulatory impact assessments in Georgia. Meanwhile, the Parliament of

Zambia was engaged in an exercise to evaluate its overall performance, with support from the IPU.

The discussion underlined that parliaments often faced common challenges in holding government to

account, though the details varied according to the context of each country. It also drew out the creative

solutions that parliaments were developing to address the challenges, and highlighted the importance of

the parliament’s administrative capacity to provide quality support for oversight to MPs, as

well as inter-

parliamentary cooperation.

Elections and appointments

Vice-President of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee elected one of its members, Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation) as its

Vice-President for a second one-year term ending in October 2019.

Vice-Presidents of the IPU

The Executive Committee elected the following Vice-Presidents for a one-year term ending in

October 2019:



African Group:

to be nominated

Arab Group:

Mr. A. Abdel Aal (Egypt)

Asia-Pacific Group:

Mr. Nguyen Van Giau (Viet Nam)

Eurasia Group:

Mr. K. Kosachev (Russian Federation)

Group of Latin America and the Caribbean:

Mr. A. Lins (Brazil)

Twelve Plus Group:

Mr. D. McGuinty (Canada).



Executive Committee

African Group

Mr. G. Gali Ngothé (Chad) to replace Ms. F. Benbadis (Algeria), whose term had ended.

The Governing Council elected the following three members to the Executive Committee:

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Elections and appointments



Asia-Pacific Group

Mr. G. Chen (China) to replace Mr. S. Suzuki (Japan), whose term had ended.

Twelve Plus Group

Mr. M. Grujic (Serbia) to replace Mr. R. del Picchia (France), whose term had ended.



Sub-Committee on Finance

Ms. M. Kiener Nellen (Switzerland) for a term ending in October 2020.

The Executive Committee appointed:

The Sub-Committee elected Ms. M. Kiener Nellen (Switzerland) as its Chair.

Bureau of Women Parliamentarians

The Forum of Women Parliamentarians elected Ms. S. Kihika (Kenya) as its President for a two-year

term ending in October 2020.

It also elected the following three regional representatives to the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians:

Asia-Pacific Group



Ms. F. Hosseini (Islamic Republic of Iran) for a term ending in March 2022.

Twelve Plus Group



Ms. S. Koutra-Koukouma (Cyprus) for a term ending in March 2020.



Ms. O. Sotnyk (Ukraine) for a term ending in March 2022.

Committee on Middle East Questions

The Governing Council elected the following four members to the Committee for a four-year term ending

in October 2022:



Mr. R. De Roon (Netherlands)

Mr. L. Wehrli (Switzerland)

Mr. J.G. Correa (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)

Mr. A.A. Jama (Somalia).



Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law

African Group:

Mr. R. Mwewa (Zambia)

Asia-Pacific Group:

Mr. J. Wilson (Australia)

Group of Latin America and the Caribbean:

Ms. G.C. Bañuelos (Mexico)

Twelve Plus Group:

Ms. Á. Vadai (Hungary).

The Governing Council elected the following four members for a four-year term ending in October 2022:

Gender Partnership Group

Ms. A. Albasti (United Arab Emirates) was appointed to the Group.

Ms. H. Haukeland Liadal (Norway) was elected Chair of the Group.

Bureaux of the Standing Committees

The Standing Committees elected the following members for a two-year term (renewable) in their

respective Bureaux ending in October 2020:

Standing Committee on Peace and International Security

Eurasia Group:



Vacancy

Twelve Plus Group:



Ms. A. Shkrum (Ukraine)

–

first term

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Elections and appointments

Asia-Pacific Group



Vacancy



Mr. A. Suwanmongkol (Thailand)

–

second term

Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade



President: Ms. V. Muzenda Tsitsi (Zimbabwe) (until March 2020)

African Group



Ms. V. Muzenda Tsitsi

–

to complete the second term of Zimbabwe, ending in March 2020.

Asia-Pacific Group



No candidature received.

Eurasia Group



Mr. A. Simonyan (Armenia)

–

to complete the first term of Armenia, ending in March 2020.

Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights



Vice-President: Ms. A. Gerkens (Netherlands) (until March 2020)

Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs



President: Mr. J.C. Romero (Argentina) - March 2019 (first term)

Vice-President: Ms. S. Al-Hashem (Kuwait) - March 2020 (first term)

African Group



Mr. P.H. Katjavivi (Namibia) - October 2020 (first term)

Asia-Pacific Group



Mr. F.H. Naek (Pakistan) - October 2020 (first term)



Ms. B. Sampatisiri (Thailand) - October 2020 (second term)

Eurasia Group



Mr. M. Melkumyan (Armenia) - October 2020 (first term)

Twelve Plus Group



Ms. A. Theologou (Cyprus) - October 2020 (first term)



Mr. L. Iemets (UIkraine) - October 2020 (first term).

10. Rapporteurs to the 141

Assembly

The Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights appointed Dr. H. Millat (Bangladesh) and

Mr. C. Lohr (Switzerland) as co-Rapporteurs for the subject item

Achieving universal health coverage by

2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring the right to health.

The IPU President will continue

consultations with a view to nominating a woman parliamentarian from Africa as a third co-Rapporteur.

11. Internal Auditors for the 2019 accounts

The Governing Council appointed the following Internal Auditor for the 2019 accounts:



Mr. R. del Picchia (France)

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Media and Communications

Media coverage

The IPU communications team issued four press releases during the 139 Assembly.

The press release that generated the most interest

was

“#MeToo: Alarming levels of sexual abuse and

violence found in Europe’s Parliaments”,

accompany the launch of the new study on sexism

against women in parliament, published in partnership

with PACE.

The new IPU communications strategy, which

prioritizes news agencies and good relations with key

journalists, was paying off as many of them produced

news wires (AFP, ATS, AP, EFE…) that were picked

up. Consequently, the #MeToo release generated

close to 1,000 news clippings, including many major

international news outlets (CNN, BBC, RT, Al Jazeera,

Deutsche Welle, Washington Post, ABC…).

The press release on MPs’ human rights also

generated much interest, followed by the closing press

release on the emergency item on climate change,

with around 800 news clippings in total between them.

In addition, the communications team sent the press releases to all IPU Members in English, French,

Spanish and Arabic to encourage them to disseminate further.

A closing press conference at the Palais des Nations with the UN correspondents was well attended,

with about a dozen journalists despite competition from a media stake-out on Syria happening at the

same time.

Social media

The strategy of posting less but more strategic tweets with IPU

institutional messaging led to big hikes in followers, notably on

twitter where there was a 58 per cent increase in followers

compared to the last Assembly (568 new followers at #IPU139

versus 360 at #IPU138). The number of overall followers stood

at around 18,500 at the end of the Assembly.

The IPU’s facebook page and new Instagram account also

enjoyed increases in followers and engagement.

The most popular @IPUparliament tweet, with 53 retweets and

48 likes, was about MP human rights violations in Venezuela.

Website

The number of visitors to ipu.org during #IPU139 increased by

19 per cent compared to the last Assembly, and the number of

pages seen increased by 9 per cent. Those increases were

probably largely due to increased visibility in the media and social media, as well as the usual practice

of posting documents and official assembly pictures on flickr, which drove traffic to the website.

Indicator

Website visitors

Website pages seen

#IPU138

9,728

32,984

#IPU139

11,576

35,957

Progression

19%

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Media and communications

Photographs, selfie box and video

The IPU official photographers at the Assembly produced

hundreds of photographs that were posted at regular intervals

on ipu.org for participants to download and share.

To celebrate the 70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights, the communications team also organized a

‘selfie box’, in collaboration with the Office of the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights. The box proved popular with

over

2,000 ‘selfies’

taken by delegates, many of which were

shared on social media.

A short video of the highlights of the Assembly is being

prepared.

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Members

Membership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Members (178)

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon,

Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte

d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial

Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,

Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran

(Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,

Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,

Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania,

Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco,

Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,

Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,

Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,

Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia,

Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain,

Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan,

Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and

Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United

Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic

of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Associate Members (12)

Andean Parliament, Arab Parliament, Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), East African

Legislative Assembly (EALA), European Parliament, Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of

the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), Inter-Parliamentary Committee of the West

African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO),

Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Parliament of the Central

African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea

Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)

As at the close of the 139 Assembly.

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Agenda

, resolutions and other texts

of the 139

Assembly

Election of the President of the 139 Assembly

Consideration of requests for the inclusion of an emergency item in the Assembly agenda

General Debate on the theme

Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in

the age of innovation and technological change

Strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation on migration and migration governance in view of

the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

(Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights)

Reports of the Standing Committees on Peace and International Security; Sustainable

Development, Finance and Trade; and United Nations Affairs

Approval of the subject item for the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights at the

141 IPU Assembly and appointment of the Rapporteurs

Amendments to the IPU Statutes and Rules

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line

The unfinished business of the 138 Assembly was dealt with during the 139 Assembly.

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Outcome document of the General Debate on

Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in the

age of innovation and technological change

Endorsed by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The collective body of scientific knowledge of the world we live in is greater today than at any time in

history. Scientific research continues to push back the boundaries of our known universe. This

knowledge fuels rapid innovation and technological change, which in turn can enhance human well-

being and stimulate economic growth, among a wealth of other potential benefits. Over the years,

advancements in the natural and social sciences, including the development of incredibly effective

drugs and medical procedures, have resulted in a better quality of life for everyone.

The associated technological developments have generated, among many other things, extraordinary

improvements in connectivity and communication. Digitalization and big data offer new ways of creating

innovative solutions, such as early warning systems to prevent violence, and empower young people

and women to solve social issues through technology. They also present a great opportunity to make

substantial progress in the areas of biology, renewable energy, financial technology, as well as towards

Industry 4.0, commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution.

The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight the key role that science

and technological innovation play in sustainable development, emphasizing their importance not only for

economic growth and prosperity but also for environmental protection, development and social

inclusion. However, we recognize that scientific discovery and technological change do not

automatically lead to positive developments for society. The manipulation of the human genome,

autonomous killer robots, cybercrime and the implications of the use of artificial intelligence are just

some of the ethical and societal challenges of our time. Shying away from these difficult questions is not

an option.

In an ever-changing world, we must be at the forefront of deliberations on new issues that can have a

major impact on our societies. We must approach our task with humility, recognizing our own limitations,

encouraging dialogue and avoiding ideological responses. As parliamentarians, we are responsible for

fostering an environment where science, technology and innovation make a positive contribution to

peace, development and human well-being, while simultaneously limiting or mitigating the associated

risks and protecting the planet. We do not take these responsibilities lightly. Our debate has identified

several avenues for parliamentary action to promote peace and development through science and

technological innovation:

Strengthen legal frameworks that are conducive to technological and scientific innovation for

peace and development

As lawmakers, we have the means to create a legal framework that is conducive to innovation, as well

as a regulatory environment that enables businesses to flourish while guaranteeing respect for the

environment and international law, particularly international human rights law. Our role is to safeguard

the interests of society and people. Therefore, we decide to:

Promote education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and, in particular,

encourage the participation of women and girls, with the aim of achieving gender equality and

reducing the gender imbalance in STEM education and in scientific careers;

Promote universal digital literacy, especially among young people, in view of the transformation of

work skills required for a future labour market built on a digital and knowledge-based economy,

making sure to leave no one behind;

Adopt timely and effective national and international legislation in favour of technological innovation

that promotes peace, security, sustainable development and social inclusion and that defines

common ethical boundaries;

Ensure, by using our legislative and oversight prerogatives, that no development driven by science

and technology impedes or violates human rights or results in the irrational use of natural

resources; and

Industry 4.0 refers to the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It

includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and cognitive computing.

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Guarantee respect for the international human rights framework as the beacon that guides our

decisions on how to address difficult ethical issues.

Make parliaments drivers of technological innovation in the interest of transparency and

inclusion

Science and technological innovation are radically transforming every aspect of human existence,

including the way parliaments work. The use of modern technology can make parliaments more efficient

and effective. We want to assume parliamentary leadership in technological innovation not only through

our legislative function, but also by transforming our parliamentary processes and promoting a culture of

engagement with our people. Therefore, we decide to:

Increase the level of transparency, accountability and responsiveness to our constituencies through

the use of modern information and communications technologies, such as live video streaming of

parliamentary sessions and improved online information access;

Make use of the available technological tools and instruments to improve the design and

monitoring of our policies and legislations;

Take steps to ensure that our parliaments are open and transparent institutions; that they are

willing to consider innovative working methods, such as the establishment of parliamentary

committees on the future; and that parliamentary research services are appropriately funded and

resourced so that they can provide parliamentarians with timely, non-partisan analyses;

Reduce the carbon footprint of parliaments and work towards the realization of e-parliaments; and

Strengthen inter-parliamentary collaboration in the fields of science and technology and share best

practices and lessons learned.

Establish strong connections with the scientific community

It is our duty to facilitate and promote regular and systematic interaction between parliaments and the

scientific community. Access to the best available expertise is essential for us to make informed

choices. The rational, scientific approach to making sense of the world needs to be encouraged and

supported by everyone, including politicians and the media. Therefore, we decide to:

Recognize that scientific research plays a fundamental role in developing knowledge and

technologies that can allow parliaments to formulate evidence-based policies aimed at tackling

societal challenges;

Support mechanisms and budgetary measures that guarantee science-based policymaking to

ensure the sustainable well-being of future generations;

Reaffirm that non-partisan funding for scientific research is an investment in our future;

Underline the importance of scientific methods for elucidating facts that can be checked, verified

and accepted by society, especially at this current time when factual information is increasingly

being called into question in political discourse, and when scientific consensus is no longer valued

by all sectors of society; and

Promote and value the presence in parliaments of scientists, engineers, innovators and STEM

educators.

Support international scientific cooperation in favour of peace and development

Science and technology provide a neutral umbrella under which parliamentarians with different political

opinions can come together and address global challenges related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development. Science can be used to build bridges and to bring countries in conflict together through

scientific cooperation that benefits their respective populations. Therefore, we decide to:

Support models of peaceful scientific cooperation, such as the ones developed by the European

Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the International Centre for Synchrotron Light for

Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME);

Support the initiative by the IPU Committee on Middle East Questions to establish, in cooperation

with CERN, an IPU Science for Peace Schools programme aimed at bridging the worlds of science

and politics and creating inter-parliamentary networks to address common challenges;

Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on

science, technology and innovation, and enhance knowledge-sharing as envisaged in the 2030

Agenda;

Call for open access to scientific publications as a way of reducing the unequal distribution of

scientific knowledge and technological innovation and of increasing the ability of people to

contribute more effectively to society;

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Support the technology transfer process in developing countries by conducting effective

capacity-building activities in the receiving country, with a view to ensuring that technological

innovation does not further increase global inequalities; and

Include scientific knowledge in the parliamentary oversight of the 2030 Agenda implementation

process.

The future is, by definition, uncertain. Scientific discovery, innovation and technological change bring

great opportunities, but also risks that we must control. Parliaments have a critical role to play in that

regard. We can greatly contribute to this process by raising parliamentary awareness of the importance

of science, technology, innovation and STEM education for society; by making sure that science is

systematically brought into public debates and decision-making; by considering the implementation of

appropriate regulations to foster technological innovation; and by promoting cross-border initiatives

based on scientific cooperation. In our role as representatives of the people, we pledge to engage the

scientific community in an ongoing dialogue on the ways in which we can enhance peace and

development, improve human well-being and safeguard the interests of all members of our society.

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation on migration and

migration governance in view of the adoption of the Global Compact

for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

Resolution adopted by consensus by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The 139 Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Recalling

that migration has been a feature of human civilization from time immemorial and

that, when governed humanely and fairly, migration contributes to inclusive and sustainable economic

growth and development in both origin and destination countries and strengthens the bonds of human

solidarity,

Also recalling

all the relevant international instruments, particularly the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention against Torture and

Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), the Convention on the Rights of

the Child (1989), the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of

Their Families (1990), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006),

Affirming

that people on the move, irrespective of their legal status, as all human beings,

are entitled to the full enjoyment of the human rights set out in the relevant international treaties and

covenants,

Conscious

of the burden shouldered by the countries of destination that can come from

large, unpredictable movements of persons, and the potential impact on countries of origin of the

large-scale migration of skilled workers,

Noting

that the international approach to migration governance is still largely ad hoc, and

that no equivalent exists for migrants to the clearly-defined status and rights of refugees in international

law,

Welcoming

the September 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the

subsequent efforts to improve international cooperation and solidarity, and to share equitably the burden

and responsibility for migration governance through the preparation of a Global Compact for Safe,

Orderly and Regular Migration,

Recalling

the commitment of the international parliamentary community to strengthen

cooperation on migration governance, with a strong focus on the human rights of migrants, as outlined

in the declarations and resolutions on migration adopted by the 130 , 133 and 138 IPU Assemblies

and other IPU documents,

Underscoring

that migration should be a choice not a necessity, and that, through

international legal obligations and commitments such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, States have a shared responsibility and have undertaken to address all the root causes

of migration such as violence and conflict, poverty, inequality, unemployment and economic exclusion,

lack of economic opportunity, especially for women and youth, social inequalities, disregard of rule of

law and transparency, violations of human rights, natural disasters and climate change,

Affirming

the need to uphold common standards for the protection of the human rights of

migrants and migration governance, and to ensure a gender- and disability-responsive and child-

sensitive approach at all stages of migration,

The delegation of Lebanon expressed reservations on operative paragraph 9.

- The delegations of Ethiopia and Ukraine expressed reservations on operative paragraph 16.

- The delegation of Kuwait expressed reservations on operative paragraphs 9 and 16.

- The delegation of Jordan expressed reservations on all references to international agreements to which Jordan

is not a signatory.

- The delegation of Poland expressed its reservation on the resolution as a whole.

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Recognizing

the multiple discriminations and forms of violence that migrant women face in

countries of origin, transit and destination, particularly those engaged as domestic workers, and

reaffirming the need to urge host countries to accept their responsibility in this area,

Also recognizing

that women constitute the majority of victims of human trafficking,

including sexual exploitation and forced labour in domestic work,

Reaffirming

the sovereign right of States to determine, in accordance with international law,

their national migration policy and their prerogative to govern migration within their jurisdiction, and also

recognizing the right of States to distinguish between a regular and irregular migration status in their

legislative and policy measures on the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, while taking

into account different national realities, policies, priorities and requirements for entry, residence and

work,

Welcomes

the process leading to the draft Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular

Migration that should be adopted on 10 December 2018, and urges States and their

respective parliaments to make full use of this new instrument for improving international

cooperation and migration governance;

Calls upon

parliaments in cooperation with their governments to ratify and implement

relevant international human rights laws and key ILO conventions as well as other relevant

international and regional instruments protecting the rights of migrants, women, children

and persons in vulnerable situations;

Also calls upon

parliaments to ensure that decisions of sovereign States on migration

policies and related legislation, including bilateral and regional agreements, are consistent

with their States’ international human rights obligations and the rule of law;

Urges

parliamentarians to lead efforts to develop evidence-informed narratives on

migration that avoid stereotyping but, instead, enhance integration and social cohesion,

and to take vigorous action to combat xenophobia, racism, intolerance and other forms of

discrimination;

Calls on

parliaments to promote people’s access to comprehensive and up-to-date

information on the opportunities, limitations, risks and rights in the event of migration, thus

enabling would-be migrants to make informed choices;

Encourages

"whole-of-government" and "whole-of-society" approaches to migration based

on partnerships with local authorities, civil society and the private sector, and calls for

regular consultation with migrants and diaspora groups in the policy-making process where

appropriate, and also calls for gender-sensitive training on migration for all professionals

and officials that are in contact with migrants;

Urges

parliaments in cooperation with their governments to expand the legal pathways for

migration to facilitate labour mobility and skills training, family reunification, and migration

for reasons such as armed conflict, gender-based violence, natural disasters and climate

change;

Calls on

governments to take measures to promote mutual understanding and respect

between migrants and the host society, and, recalling that integration is a two-way task that

implies

the migrants’ respect for the national laws of their destination country,

to facilitate

migrants’ integration in society, inter alia, by way of language courses, vocational training,

recognition of educational and professional credentials, information about economic

opportunities, protection against discrimination and, in accordance with national legislation,

pathways to citizenship for permanent residents;

Recalls

that social protection and labour rights apply to all persons, including migrants, and

that regular migrants should have equitable access to social security coverage and

portability of contributions and entitlements in accordance with national legislation;

Urges

States to adopt gender-responsive labour policies and legislation, grounded in

international labour and human rights standards, with a view to ensuring that all women

migrant workers, including domestic and care workers, are protected against all forms of

abuse and exploitation, including the confiscation of travel documents;

10.

In particular ILO conventions 97, 143, 181 and 189.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

11.

Strongly condemns

all acts of violence and discrimination against migrant women,

particularly domestic workers as a vulnerable group in the host countries, and urges States

to take legislative, executive and judiciary measures to combat this form of violence and

discrimination;

Calls on

state authorities at their respective levels of competency to ensure all persons,

including migrants, have proof of legal identity and nationality and adequate

documentation, and effective access to education, health care, and other basic services,

regardless of their migration status;

Insists on

due process and access to justice for all migrants and calls for enhanced

cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination in order to ensure the safe

and dignified

return for migrants who do not have the legal right to stay on a state’s

territory, to use forced return only as a last resort to seek alternatives to the detention of

migrants, and to work seriously towards the elimination of detention of children on

migratory grounds;

Calls for

the establishment of an international standard of practice for dealing with, and

protecting, migrants in vulnerable situations, including stateless persons and

unaccompanied children, and insists on the concept of the "best interest of the child" in

migration policy;

Calls upon

States, particularly countries of origin, to address situations where a child would

otherwise be stateless by strengthening measures to reduce statelessness, including

ensuring that women and men can equally confer their nationality to their children;

Invites

governments to support the contribution of diasporas to their country of origin by

facilitating mobility and investment and by studying the adoption in national legislation of

measures to enhance political participation such as the right to vote, dual citizenship and

the representation of diasporas in parliament;

Encourages

the development of comprehensive approaches for the sustainable

reintegration of returning migrants in the countries of origin, by combining reintegration

support targeting individuals and the communities to which migrants return with measures

to enhance the governance of migration, livelihood opportunities and the protection of

human rights, in general;

Calls on

States to take meaningful and coordinated action, including enacting legislation, to

dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks and end impunity for trafficking in persons

and migrant smuggling, to protect migrants, particularly women and children, from violence,

discrimination, exploitation and abuse, and to assist migrants who have become victims of

trafficking; and also encourages States to strengthen international cooperation to prevent,

investigate, prosecute and combat such acts and to identify and disrupt financial flows

related to these activities;

Urges

governments to make full use of the existing data sources on migration, such as the

Global Migration Data Portal developed by the International Organization for Migration, and

to strengthen country level collection and the sharing of data on migration, disaggregated

by age, gender, migration status and other relevant criteria, with a view to informing

debates, policy-making and legislation, while protecting personal data;

Affirms

the necessity to exchange information and data on the number of migrants, their

countries of origin, the circumstances and causes of their migration, their needs and the

efforts needed to assist them;

Calls on

parliaments to require government to report periodically on progress in the

implementation of national migration policies, and to use parliamentary tools such as

questions to ministers, public hearings and committee enquiries to hold government to

account for the results achieved;

Urges

parliaments to actively participate in and support regional integration processes and

transnational efforts to coordinate migration policy, and to domesticate relevant regional

instruments in national legislation;

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

23.

Calls on

parliaments to actively engage in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development as a means to optimize migration governance and address the

major drivers of forced and irregular migration—particularly extreme poverty, climate

change and natural disasters, and urges parliaments to promote measures aimed at raising

awareness of and maximizing the development benefits of safe, orderly and regular

migration;

Invites

all parliaments to participate in the parliamentary meeting on the occasion of the

Intergovernmental Conference to adopt a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular

Migration in December 2018 in Marrakesh (Morocco);

Also invites

parliaments to play an active role in follow-up and implementation of the Global

Compact and parliamentarians to join national delegations to the International Migration

Review Forum, which will meet every four years, beginning in 2022, as the main global

mechanism to review the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration;

Calls on

the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its Member Parliaments, with the support of the

International Organization for Migration, to develop a "Parliamentary plan of action on

migration" by the end of 2019, that operationalizes the commitments in this resolution, the

Global Compact for Migration and State obligations under international human rights law,

and to report to the IPU on progress in 2021;

Recommends

that parliaments avail of parliamentary exchanges and inter-parliamentary

conferences, such as the IPU Assemblies, as platforms for constructive dialogue on

migration policy and the protection of migrants.

25.

26.

27.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Results of the roll-call vote on the unfinished business of the

138

Assembly

Do you agree that the Assembly can change the work plan and agenda

of the Standing Committees?

Results

Affirmative votes ..........................................

874

Negative votes .............................................

671

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Yes

Abstentions ......................................

120

No Abst.

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bolivia

(Plurinational

State of)

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African

Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Comoros

Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DPR of Korea

DR of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Absent

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic

Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lao People's Dem.

Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mexico

Micronesia (Fed.

States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Philippines

Absent

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of

Moldova

Romania

Russian

Federation

Rwanda

Samoa

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Rep.

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab

Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

(Bolivarian Rep.

of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Absent

N.B. This list does not include delegations present at the session which were not entitled to vote pursuant to the

provisions of Article 5.2 of the Statutes.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Results of the roll-call vote on the unfinished business of the

138

Assembly

Do you agree that at the 140 Assembly the Standing Committee on Democracy and

Human Rights holds a panel debate that will not lead to a resolution, entitled

The role of parliaments in ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender

identity, and ensuring respect for the human rights of LGBTI persons?

Results

Affirmative votes...........................................

499

Negative votes .............................................

636

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Abstentions ............................................... 130

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bolivia

(Plurinational

State of)

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African

Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Comoros

Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DPR of Korea

DR of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Absent

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic

Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lao People's Dem.

Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mexico

Micronesia (Fed.

States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Philippines

Absent

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of

Moldova

Romania

Russian

Federation

Rwanda

Samoa

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Rep.

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab

Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

(Bolivarian Rep.

of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Absent

N.B. This list does not include delegations present at the session which were not entitled to vote pursuant to the

provisions of Article 5.2 of the Statutes.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Restoring peace and security in the Sahel: The role of parliaments

Results of the roll-call vote on the request by the delegation of Burkina Faso

for the inclusion of an emergency item

Results

Affirmative votes ..........................................

715

Negative votes .............................................

331

Abstentions ..................................................

619

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Total of affirmative and negative votes ..... 1046

Two-thirds majority ................................... 697

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bolivia

(Plurinational

State of)

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African

Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Comoros

Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DPR of Korea

DR of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Absent

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic

Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lao People's Dem.

Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mexico

Micronesia (Fed.

States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Philippines

Absent

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of

Moldova

Romania

Russian

Federation

Rwanda

Samoa

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Rep.

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab

Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

(Bolivarian Rep.

of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Absent

N.B. This list does not include delegations present at the session which were not entitled to vote pursuant to the

provisions of Article 5.2 of the Statutes.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Cutting off aid to UNRWA

—

A humanitarian blockade and violation of international law:

Addressing the issue of stopping aid to UNRWA and assessing the impact of this

decision on Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian issue as a whole

Results of the roll-call vote on the request by the delegations of Jordan and

Kuwait for the inclusion of an emergency item

Results

Affirmative votes...........................................

1,036

Negative votes .............................................

258

Abstentions ..................................................

371

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Total of affirmative and negative votes .....

1,294

Two-thirds majority.................................... 863

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bolivia

(Plurinational

State of)

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African

Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Comoros

Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DPR of Korea

DR of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Absent

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic

Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lao People's Dem.

Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mexico

Micronesia (Fed.

States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Philippines

Absent

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of

Moldova

Romania

Russian

Federation

Rwanda

Samoa

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Rep.

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab

Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

(Bolivarian Rep.

of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Absent

N.B. This list does not include delegations present at the session which were not entitled to vote pursuant to the

provisions of Article 5.2 of the Statutes.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line

Results of the roll-call vote on the request by the delegations of

Seychelles, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Micronesia (Federated States of)

for the inclusion of an emergency item

Results

Affirmative votes ..........................................

1,106

Negative votes .............................................

311

Abstentions ..................................................

248

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Total of affirmative and negative votes .....1,417

Two-thirds majority ................................... 945

Yes

No Abst.

Country

Yes

No Abst.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bolivia

(Plurinational

State of)

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African

Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Comoros

Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DPR of Korea

DR of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Absent

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic

Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Lao People's Dem.

Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mexico

Micronesia (Fed.

States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Philippines

Absent

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of

Moldova

Romania

Russian

Federation

Rwanda

Samoa

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Rep.

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab

Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

(Bolivarian Rep.

of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Absent

N.B. This list does not include delegations present at the session which were not entitled to vote pursuant to the

provisions of Article 5.2 of the Statutes.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Climate change

–

Let us not cross the line

Resolution adopted unanimously by the 139

(Geneva, 17 October 2018)

The 139 Assembly of the Inter–Parliamentary Union,

Recalling

that the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016,

Acknowledging

that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development draws a clear link

between climate change

and other critical areas of today’s society, such as food security, the ocean,

and other water resources,

Recalling

that, as part of the Paris Agreement, the Parties to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) invited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC) to prepare a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above

pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways,

Noting

that the IPCC recently released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, in

the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable

development, and efforts to eradicate poverty,

Also noting

the following projections of major concern in the IPCC report:

(a)

Climate models project robust differences in regional climate characteristics between the

present day and global warming of 1.5°C, and between 1.5°C and 2°C. These differences

include increases in: mean temperature in most land and ocean regions (high confidence),

hot extremes in most inhabited regions (high confidence), heavy precipitation in several

regions (medium confidence), and the probability of drought and precipitation deficits in

some regions (medium confidence).

By 2100, global mean sea level rise is projected to be around 0.1 metre lower with global

warming of 1.5°C compared to 2°C (medium confidence). A slower rate of sea level rise

enables greater opportunities for adaptation in the human and ecological systems of small

islands, low-lying coastal areas and deltas (medium confidence).

On land, impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, including species loss and extinction, are

projected to be lower at 1.5°C of global warming compared to 2°C.

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to 2°C is projected to reduce increases in

ocean temperature as well as associated increases in ocean acidity and decreases in

ocean oxygen levels (high confidence). Consequently, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is

projected to reduce risks to marine biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystems, and their

functions and services to humans, as illustrated by recent changes to the Arctic sea ice

and warm water coral reef ecosystems (high confidence).

Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security,

and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase

further with 2°C,

th IPU

Assembly

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Acknowledging

that the Report establishes that urgent and unprecedented changes are

needed to reach the target, which is affordable and feasible despite being at the most ambitious end of

the Paris Agreement pledge to keep temperatures between 1.5°C and 2°C,

Recognizing

that the small island developing States (SIDS) acknowledged that "climate

change presents the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and well-being of Pacific people";

and further recognized the importance placed on an "expanded concept of security inclusive of human

security, humanitarian assistance, prioritizing environmental security, and regional cooperation in

building resilience to disasters and climate change, including through regional cooperation and support",

Acknowledging

that many countries near sea level are particularly vulnerable to the

impacts of climate change, notably droughts, floods and storms, due to high rates of poverty, financial

and technological constraints as well as a heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, despite many of these

countries not being significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions,

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Recognizing

the importance of immediate urgent action to combat climate change, and

committed to sustained, high-level representation and collaboration in the lead up to, and at, the

24 Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP24),

Cognizant of

the profound impact of climate change on the ocean and the fact that the

global community cannot attempt to solve the crisis of one without considering the other, and while

recognizing that ocean acidification has a specific target under Sustainable Development Goal 14.3,

and that it must not lose sight of the fundamental climate change-related issues such as ocean

warming, deoxygenation, coral bleaching and sea level rise which present a new set of challenges for

the ocean,

Recalling

the relevant IPU resolutions on climate change and the Parliamentary action plan

on climate change, endorsed by the IPU Governing Council at its 198 session in Zambia in 2016,

which identifies key areas of action for legislators and makes recommendations about their delivery,

Also recalling

the SIDS parliamentary outcome document of their meeting held on

14 October 2017 in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the 137 IPU Assembly, which was subsequently

made available to the participants of the Parliamentary Meeting in Bonn (COP23),

Therefore calls on

the IPU Members to:

(a)

(b)

Recognize and decisively act on the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C;

Support and lead the development of the Rule Book and Guidelines for implementing the

Paris Agreement, including resource mobilization and simplifying procedures for accessing

climate change funding, in order to build on the Talanoa Dialogue at the upcoming COP24;

Take a leadership role in combating climate change and strengthening their partnership

with all countries so as to meet their ambitions as set out in their nationally determined

contributions;

Encourage their governments to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy targets; and

Strengthen oversight of national and international commitments, including government

implementation of national legislation and enhance transparency, accountability and

reporting of climate change.

(c)

(d)

(e)

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Report of the Standing Committee on

Peace and International Security

Noted by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The Standing Committee on Peace and International Security held two sittings on 15 and 17 October

2018 with its President, Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain), in the Chair.

On 15 October, the Committee examined two items through back to back panels on

Comprehensive

disarmament and non-proliferation,

and on

Combatting sexual violence in UN Peacekeeping

operations and beyond.

Panel discussion on

Comprehensive disarmament and non-proliferation

Before the first panel discussion on 15 October began, Committee members were invited to watch a

video message from the Chair of the United Nations Security Council Committee on resolution 1540,

His Excellency Sacha Sergio Llorentty Solíz, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the

Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations.

By way of introducing the panel’s topic, the moderator, Mr. D. Plesch, Director of the Centre for

International Studies and Diplomacy, SOAS, London, quoted former United Nations Secretary-General,

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, on the key role parliamentarians and parliaments played in the disarmament and non-

proliferation efforts. He also praised current United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. A. Guterres, for

releasing the new disarmament agenda "Securing our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament".

This comprehensive document comprised an implementation plan that outlined a set of practical

measures across the entire range of disarmament issues and sought to generate fresh perspectives

and to explore areas where serious dialogue was required to bring disarmament back to the heart of the

system for maintaining peace and security. The moderator then presented the Committee’s project on

parliamentary oversight of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation policies. The project aimed

at providing a better understanding of the methods and instruments at the disposal of parliamentarians

for gathering, assessing, questioning, and acting upon information on their government’s

policy. He

introduced the three speakers.

Ambassador Janis Karklins, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations in Geneva,

President of the fifth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (CSP5),

gave a presentation within the agenda item

Disarmament that Saves Lives

which referred to

conventional weapons. With 500,000 people annually dying in armed violence, conventional weapons

could be compared, in terms of their ultimate devastating effect, to Weapons of Mass Destruction

(WMDs). The international community was addressing the different conventional weapons through

various conventions including the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The ATT was not a disarmament treaty in

the classical sense of the word but sought to promote responsible action by States in the context of the

arms trade and to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms. Ambassador Karklins

highlighted the role of parliaments, in particular their oversight function. As the ATT did not have a

review mechanism, its interpretation and implementation was left to the discretion of the State Parties. It

was therefore up to parliamentarians to hold governments to account when it came to their efforts to

implement the Treaty.

Ms. S. Mercogliano, Political Affairs Officer, Office for Disarmament Affairs, Geneva branch, gave a

presentation on the agenda item

Disarmament to save humanity,

regarding weapons of mass

destruction and other strategic weapons. She noted that part V of the Agenda for Disarmament is

entirely devoted to strengthening partnerships for disarmament and emphasizes not only the importance

of engaging with governments, but also with international organizations, research institutes, civil society

and the private sector. Noting the deteriorating security climate, she emphasized the importance of

disarmament in upholding stability and security, promoting confidence and trust, and preventing conflict,

inter alia. In the agenda, the Secretary-General notes that the existential threat posed by nuclear

weapons should motivate the international community to take action leading to their total elimination. An

implementation plan was released in early October 2018. It details how all actors and stakeholders

should carry out the actions contained in the disarmament agenda.

Ms. K. Vignard, Chief of Operations and Deputy Director, United Nations Institute for Disarmament

Research (UNIDIR), gave a presentation on disarmament for future generations which focused on

emerging means and methods of warfare. She promoted an understanding of the implications of new

forms of science and technology in conflict; encouraged responsible innovation and application of new

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technologies; and called for human control over weapons and artificial intelligence as well as the

promotion of peace and stability in cyber space. The international security dimension of new weapons

technologies raised new concerns with regard to legal issues, such as the definition of "armed attack" or

some fundamental principles of United Nations Charter concepts, such as "self-defence", and new

proliferation challenges. New technologies were accessible, had dual-use and gave the private sector a

leading role. They had combinational and enabling features and produced knowledge gaps. These new

weapons and means of warfare could be destabilizing since, although innovations seemed to make the

projection of force or coercion less risky, they raised a set of challenging ethical issues.

Further to the presentations, 17 speakers took the floor. They presented their countries disarmament,

arms control and non-proliferation status. They also reiterated that people should be at the centre of

disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation agendas and policies. Some speakers called for action

to reduce weapons especially in countries that were increasing the manufacturing of weapons. They

proposed that budgets should be diverted, for example, from weapons and the army to education or

climate change. Politics would thus be more human and would highlight the moral and ethical aspect of

the issue. Speakers also urged that efforts be undertaken to ensure weapons did not reach non-States

actors and underscored that one solution would be to reduce arms stocks and halt the arms race.

Panel discussion on

Combating sexual violence in UN peacekeeping operations and beyond

The panel was moderated by Ms. U. Karlsson (Sweden), former parliamentarian. As President of the

IPU Forum of Women Parliamentarians she pushed for the topic to be taken on board by the

Committee.

Ms. C. Bardet, international lawyer specialized in war crimes, and President of the NGO, We are not

Weapons of War (WWoW), welcomed the choice of Dr. Denis Mukwege as winner of the 2018 Peace

Nobel prize. She explained that sexual violence used as a weapon of war had always been present in

conflicts. It was silent, and its victims were invisible, rarely heard, receiving very little support - their

perpetrators were only very exceptionally brought to trial. Rape as a tool of war had become endemic

and almost systematic in contemporary conflicts. It was used to humiliate, destroy and exercise power

over women as well as over men and children. For centuries, sexual violence in times of conflict had

been tacitly accepted and considered inevitable. It was only in 1992 that the issue came before the

United Nations Security Council which declared that mass, organized, and systematic detention and

rape of women constituted "an international crime that was not to be ignored". Subsequently, the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for

Rwanda (ICTR) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) recognized rape as a

crime against humanity. UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820 declared that the use of rape

and other sexual violence in times of conflict could constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity or

be a constituent element of genocide.

Ms. W. Cue, Senior Coordinator for PSEA/SHA at the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

Secretariat, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spoke about the

United Nations system-wide approach to preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse

committed by humanitarian actors against beneficiary populations. Such exploitation and abuse by

humanitarian staff could not be tolerated and violated everything the United Nations stood for. The issue

became a priority for the United Nations Secretary-General who released a strategy where victims'

rights and dignity were prioritized. Reporting and investigation mechanisms were strengthened, and

transparency increased. Member States, civil society and other relevant actors, including victims

themselves were engaged in building a multi-stakeholder network against sexual exploitation and

abuse. There was a change of mindset among Member States, the United Nations and the aid sector, at

all levels, with everyone committed to fighting that scourge.

Mr. J.-P. Letelier (Senator, Chile), former President of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of

Parliamentarians, presented a parliamentary viewpoint. He highlighted the need to understand that

wartime rape was a crime against humanity that should not be subject to amnesty nor have statutes of

limitations. Parliamentarians should first ensure that the definition of wartime rape was put into national

laws. That would help to prosecute perpetrators of such acts, recognize State responsibilities and end

impunity. He mentioned a proposal made to that effect by the President of Uruguay where States must

assume responsibility for crimes committed by those they sent abroad and, more globally, responsibility

for the acts committed by all their nationals participating in operations.

Ms. P. Fraser-Damoff (MP, Canada) called for all States to adopt a zero-tolerance approach. She

presented the Canadian Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations, an innovative and multilateral

pilot project that would develop, apply and test a combination of approaches to help overcome barriers

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to increasing women’s meaningful participation in peace operations. The Elsie Initiative will impact both

uniformed military and police staff. It included significant research, monitoring and evaluation

components to ensure it could be adjusted throughout implementation.

Further to the presentations, 11 speakers took the floor. Among them were several of the largest

contributors to United Nations operations such as Bangladesh, India and South Africa. Several of the

speakers referred to UN Security Council resolution 2272 aimed at preventing sexual exploitation and

abuse by those under the United Nations mandate and called for its operationalization. The resolution

reaffirmed zero tolerance but also mandated a new mechanism as a response to sexual exploitation

and abuse: the repatriation of entire military contingents and police units that contained individuals who

had allegations made against them. Several speakers referred to the fact that the vast majority of the

victims did not complain and kept their pain secret. They called on NGOs to carry out awareness

campaigns in the field and to give advice to rape victims.

Speakers called for a road map for parliamentary action and proposed several ideas such as:

encouraging parliaments to hold regular briefings on peace operations, including cases of misconduct;

and regularly assessing existing national legislation to determine its applicability to sex crimes

committed by its citizens while in the service of UN peace operations. Parliaments could also amend, if

necessary, the administrative frameworks governing police and military personnel to explicitly include

sexual exploitation and abuse as serious forms of misconduct and ensure that such cases entailed the

harshest available sanctions. Speakers highlighted the value of conducting training of peacekeeping

troops prior to deployment in conflict regions, with an emphasis on response to conflict-related sexual

violence. South Africa gave the example of the deployment of a mobile Military Court consisting of a

judge, a lawyer, a prosecutor and a clerk to judge South African peacekeepers accused of misconduct

in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and South Sudan.

Expert hearing on the

Non-admissibility of using mercenaries as a means of undermining

peace and violating human rights

On 17 October, the Committee held an expert hearing on

Non-admissibility of using mercenaries as a

means of undermining peace and violating human rights,

the topic of a resolution that was expected to

be adopted by the 140 IPU Assembly.

The hearing opened with the statements of two experts: Ms. J. Aparac, member of the UN working

group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the

right of peoples to self-determination and Mr. W. Bruyère-Ostells, university lecturer in contemporary

history at the Institute for Political Sciences in Aix-en-Provence, France.

The experts gave a short overview of the evolution of mercenarism and its different forms and

manifestations. Mercenarism was a phenomenon as old as war itself, present throughout history. Three

different types of mercenaries could be identified: the integrated, entrepreneurial and ideological. Over

time, mercenarism evolved and declined only to re-emerge with the wars of decolonization and the

ensuing civil wars. With the end of the Cold War, the phenomenon experienced a revival and new types

of mercenary-related activities emerged in the form of private military companies which moved away

from scattered groups of individual mercenaries to professionalized, structured companies, sometimes

listed on the stock market. The latest manifestations of the phenomenon had taken the form of

expanded services that the companies offered to humanitarian actors, maritime security, detention

facilities, and so forth.

The experts also analysed the linkages between foreign fighters and mercenaries and identified key

similarities such as the trait of being an external actor intervening in a conflict, and the types of activities

foreign fighters and mercenaries were involved in, such as armed conflicts, terrorism and organized

crime. While noting that a key difference between many foreign fighters and mercenaries was their

ideological motivation, the experts noted that incentives of financial or material gain also existed among

foreign fighters.

Both experts highlighted the fact that defining mercenaries and foreign fighters was key to the issue.

There was not a single definition, neither historical nor legal, of mercenarism. International law provided

for a narrow definition of a mercenary; other definitions could be found in the UN Convention against the

Use of Mercenaries adopted in December 1989 (by 35 States Parties but no permanent member of the

Security Council) and in national legislation. Sociological, anthropological and historical realities also

needed to be taken into account. One solution could be to draft legislation that regulated the status of all

foreign participants in a theatre of war in general, moving away from the distinction between

mercenaries and foreign fighters, to the idea of providing assistance to a foreign State without being

formally mandated by a State.

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After hearing the experts’ presentations, a total of 21 speakers took the floor. All speakers

agreed on

the need for better legislation in order to prohibit the use of mercenaries and foreign fighters and to

regulate the work of private military companies. They highlighted the current gaps and the lack of

oversight mechanisms at all levels to address issues arising from the presence of mercenaries and

foreign fighters. Legislation should address impunity and promote respect and ethics. Some speakers

were of the view that individuals from one country fighting under any other flag should be prosecuted

under the jurisdiction of his/her own country wherever the action took place and called for the adoption

of very strict national laws criminalizing mercenary-related activities. Speakers also called for better

governance and an enhanced oversight of the security sector. Regarding the identified differences

between mercenaries and foreign fighters many speakers stated that they should be treated in the same

way. Finally, one speaker underscored that when drafting the resolution, the co-rapporteurs should take

into account the fact that several IPU Members had not ratified all the conventions covering the issue of

mercenaries.

In conclusion, the two co-rapporteurs took the floor to explain their preliminary views on the topic and

thanked the experts and the various speakers for providing them with food for thought.

The report on the work of the Committee was presented to the Assembly at its last sitting on 18 October

by the President of the Standing Committee, Mr. J.I. Echániz (Spain).

The Bureau of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security met on 16 October 2018

with Ms. L. Rojas, senior member of the Bureau, in the Chair. Eleven out of eighteen members were

present. During this meeting, the Bureau met with the co-rapporteurs who explained how they would like

to work on the resolution. The Bureau also discussed its workplan. It confirmed the decision taken at the

138 Assembly to devote all the time allocated for the 140 Assembly to negotiating the resolution. For

future activities in-between assemblies, all present members were of the view that more field visits

should be organized. The Bureau took note of an invitation to visit Jordan and a formal offer was

expected. Bureau members were also informed of the Geneva Peace Week taking place from 5 to

9 November 2018. The proposals were subsequently approved by the Standing Committee at the end

of its last plenary sitting on 17 October.

Elections took place on 15 October 2018. The Twelve Plus Group proposed Ms. A. Shkrum (Ukraine) to

fill a vacant post. The Asia-Pacific Group proposed Mr. A. Suwanmongkol (Thailand) for a second

mandate. Two posts remain vacant: one for the Eurasia Group, to be filled by either a woman or a man,

and one for the Asia-Pacific Group, to be filled by a woman.

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Report of the Standing Committee on Sustainable

Development, Finance and Trade

Noted by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade held its sittings on 15 and

17 October. The first sitting was chaired by Ms. S. Dinica (Romania), member of the Bureau. The

second sitting was chaired by the Committee Vice-President, Ms. W. Bani Mustafa (Jordan).

Debate on

The role of fair and free trade and investment in achieving the SDGs, especially

regarding economic equality, sustainable infrastructure, industrialization and innovation.

The debate was organized on the theme of the Standing Committee's forthcoming resolution which

should be adopted at the 140 Assembly. The purpose of the debate was to provide the Committee with

an opportunity to exchange views about the role of fair and free trade investment in achieving the

SDGs, especially in terms of economic equality, sustainable infrastructure, industrialization and

innovation.

The theme and key issues for consideration and discussion were introduced by the co-Rapporteurs,

Mr. J. Wilson (Australia), Mr. H. Iddrisu (Ghana) and Ms. S. Raskovic Ivic (Serbia). They stressed the

importance of recognizing that there was a clear nexus between trade and investment, and that both

were crucial to the achievement of the SDGs. Trade was often neither fair nor equitable, and export-

import relations were sometimes imbalanced. Parliaments should therefore work to prevent the

spreading of systems that exacerbate inequalities and, instead, promote a process that could help

develop fair and free trade. The co-Rapporteurs stated that it was not a question of countries being

equally developed but rather of having equal opportunities and that that should, in fact, be the target to

aim for. Particular attention should also be paid to fostering industrialization as, in its absence, free

trade could have negative consequences for developing countries.

A total of 30 delegates took the floor to share their views, comments and good practices their countries

had put in place to increase citizens’ standards and advance the realization of the SDGs. Some

delegates gave specific examples of measures their parliaments had developed to enhance free

exchange, reduce taxes, foster economic development and support countries affected by climate

change. Participants particularly stressed the importance for parliaments to make good use of their

oversight function and to work to ensure justice. Stability was considered a key driver for the attainment

of economic development. There was agreement that stability was a natural consequence of fair trade.

Innovation, green investment and circular economy were also highlighted as important aspects that

should be reflected in the future draft resolution.

Given the disparities that existed between countries, several participants underscored the importance of

cooperation, solidarity and support that should be provided to developing countries. They stressed that

IPU Members should reaffirm their determination to pursue equitable development, create equal

business opportunities and improve citizens’ standards of living. Concrete actions should be taken to

ensure the maximum benefit for all. Participants agreed that, contrary to protectionism and isolationism,

trade and investment were crucial engines that could accelerate SDGs realization, boost development

and generate productivity gains. Participants also agreed that the SDGs represented a great opportunity

to promote equitable and inclusive economic growth.

To conclude the debate, the co-Rapporteurs recalled that trade could help reduce poverty and that it

was important for everybody to pursue trade with a clear focus on a shared well-being. They invited

participants to send written inputs for inclusion in the draft resolution.

Parliamentary contribution to the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference

The Standing Committee discussed the draft outcome document of the Parliamentary Meeting at the

United Nations Climate Change Conference to take place on 9 December in Krakow (Poland).

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The session started with a briefing by the Rapporteur to the Parliamentary Meeting in Krakow,

Ms. A.

Paluch (Poland), who introduced the meeting’s draft outcome document. As Poland was to host

the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP24), she outlined the history of the climate change

agreements, starting with the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the

subsequent Kyoto Protocol, and the adoption of the 2015 Paris Agreement (PA). Regarding the latter,

she stressed that the PA required that all countries reduce emissions which was why the Nationally

Determined Contributions (NDCs) were introduced. Ms. A. Paluch further highlighted the PA’s

harmonized system of monitoring, reporting, and stock-taking, and underscored that the PA was based

on the principle of cooperation. She reminded delegates to submit comments to the draft outcome

document of the Parliamentary Meeting in writing by 16 November 2018.

Altogether four delegations took the floor in the debate: India, Japan, Kuwait, and Seychelles. They

referred to the recent natural disasters and the record heat experienced in many countries last summer.

The delegates urged their peers for action against global warming, highlighting the need to limit global

temperature rise to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and expressed hope that COP24 would put in

place more effective regulations on climate change. Better linkages with the SDG agenda, capacity

building and knowledge transfers were highlighted as some of the most pressing issues that needed to

be dealt with.

After responding to delegates’ questions, Ms. A. Paluch thanked all delegates for their contributions to

the draft outcome document and invited others to send their amendments in writing. The revised draft

outcome document would be shared with all delegates through the IPU website at the end of November

2018.

Panel discussion on "Taking forward the IPU resolution entitled

Engaging the private sector in

implementing the SDGs, especially on renewable energy"

The panel discussion was chaired by the Committee Vice-President, Ms. W. Bani Mustafa, member of

parliament (Jordan). It benefitted from the expert contributions of Ms. S. Lozo and Ms. M. de Blonay,

both with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Mr. T. Pringle, member of parliament

(Ireland), and Ms. B. Hoehn, member of parliament (Germany).

Ms. S. Lozo introduced the discussion and highlighted the benefits renewables could produce at the

environmental, social and economic levels. Amongst others, she stressed the growing variety of

renewable power sources as well as the growing uptake of renewables in developing countries.

Renewables could be important providers in terms of employment as on average renewable energy

industries could create more jobs than fossil fuel industries. Considering that energy transition could

increase the gross domestic product and boost economic growth, Ms. S. Lozo highlighted the

importance of ensuring that this process was just and fair. Regulations, enabling frameworks and

comprehensive policies were in fact crucial in order to effectively achieve a sustainable energy

transition. Ms. M. de Blonay informed participants about the work conducted by IRENA to raise further

awareness and disseminate the IPU resolution.

Mr. T. Pringle presented his Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill, which had received unanimous cross-party

support that summer in the Irish lower house and was currently going through the final stages in the

Irish upper house. The bill was considered ground-breaking in forecasting Ireland to become the first

country in the world to divest its public money out of fossil fuel companies. He stressed that it was time

that parliamentarians listened and responded to their communities and represented civil society in

advocating for climate action. Mr. T. Pringle urged parliamentarians across the world to replicate that

process and create healthy links between civil society, institutions and other sympathetic politicians,

helping the collective take on corporate power.

Ms. B. Hoehn talked about the expansion of renewables in Germany and informed on how they

represented one of the most important sources of electricity in the country. In 2017 almost 50 per cent

of the energy was derived from renewable sources. Germany was in fact aiming to make its energy

supply greener and more climate-friendly, and to make the country less dependent on fossil fuels.

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In the ensuing debate, 17 delegates took the floor. They highlighted the need for Governments and

Parliaments to establish policies on renewable energies and presented the strategies implemented in

their countries in order to contribute to the development of this sector, including their Official

development assistance (ODA) spending. Among others, discussants stressed the need to prioritize

schemes aimed at supporting households, and that energy had to be affordable. Japan highlighted that

hydrogen energy would be used at the 2020 Olympic Games it would host. Other representatives

underscored the importance for parliamentarians to raise public awareness on renewable energy and

establish a constructive dialogue among the different stakeholders including the private sector as the

transition to renewable energy required considerable resources and finances. It was also mentioned

that renewable energy transition was closely related to migration. The development of the renewable

energy sector could in fact create jobs and help solve migration-related challenges. Parliamentarians

acknowledged the potential of the sector and also considered the role of fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Elections to the Bureau and work plan for the 140 IPU Assembly

The Committee elected to the Bureau Ms. V.T. Muzenda (Zimbabwe) for the African Group and

Mr. A. Simonyan (Armenia) for the Eurasia Group. Both candidates would complete the term of their

countries on the Bureau.

The Committee also elected Ms. V.T. Muzenda (Zimbabwe) to complete the term of President.

The Committee approved the proposal of the Bureau to dedicate the Committee's sittings at the

140 IPU Assembly to drafting the resolution.

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Report of the Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs

Noted by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

Panel discussion on

Would a UN intergovernmental tax body help resolve outstanding issues of

corporate tax evasion?

Presenters: Ms. S. Blankenburg, Head, Debt and Development Finance Branch, UNCTAD;

Ms. T.M. Ryding, Policy and Advocacy Manager for tax justice, EURODAD; Mr. D. Pacheco, Member of

Parliament (Portugal).

Thirteen interventions were made from the floor in response to panel presentations. On the whole,

participants expressed support for the creation of an intergovernmental body at the UN that would work

to establish a global tax standard on corporate taxation.

The argument for such a body was introduced by the Group of 77 (G77) and China in the lead-up to the

third International Conference on Financing for Development in 2015 in Addis Ababa. No agreement

was reached on the proposal due

to the opposition of developed countries, where most of the word’s

transnational corporations are headquartered.

One key problem with the current international tax regime was that it allowed corporate conglomerates

to shift profits to subsidiaries strategically located in low-tax jurisdictions. The OECD Base Erosion and

Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, that sought to establish a common tax standard, was designed without

the participation of developing countries and had proved to be inadequate because of its many

loopholes. Developing countries were invited to join the initiative provided they agree to it as it currently

stands.

Compounding the problem was the proliferation of tax havens, as well as governments’ growing practice

of luring corporate investors to their countries by lowering the effective tax rate. As a result, globally

corporate taxes had been reduced from 50 per cent to 24 per cent in just a few decades. Currently,

hundreds of billions of dollars in potential revenue were lost to these practices yearly.

An intergovernmental body on taxes would not undermine governments’ sovereign tax authority, but

rather help strengthen their capacity to collect taxes on behalf of their people. That was also reflected in

the current movement within the European Union towards the creation of a common tax regime for

transnational corporations.

The proposed UN body would have universal membership. In addition to establishing a global standard

of corporate taxation, possibly through an international treaty, it might also be mandated to create a new

class of global taxes to support efforts to address global problems such as climate change.

Panel discussion on

What scope for cooperation between parliaments and the WHO as the

leading United Nations agency for global health?

Presenters: Ms. M. Boccoz, Assistant Director-General for External Relations, WHO; Dr. H. Millat,

member of parliament (Bangladesh), President of the IPU Advisory Group on Health.

Established in 1948, the WHO has 194 Member States, 7,000 staff members and offices in

150

countries. The organization’s mandate is to encourage worldwide policy dialogue on health issues

and to provide strategic support to countries’ health systems, technical assistance to national health

authorities and emergency services to countries coping with a health crisis.

The debate, which included seven interventions, highlighted the essential role of the WHO in helping

countries implement SDG 3 on health, and its ambitious target to achieve universal health care by 2030.

Lately, the WHO had played a leading role in the fight against non-communicable diseases (diabetes,

heart disease and cancer), which are responsible for 40 million deaths each year. It was also working

with countries to promote and support vaccination programmes to prevent contagious diseases.

The 2018 resolution of the UN General Assembly on

Interaction between the United Nations, national

parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union

for the first time called for closer cooperation between

the WHO and the IPU. That mention provided a welcome boost to a partnership that had been in the

making over the last few years and that was formalized recently in a memorandum of understanding.

The IPU Advisory Group on Health supervised and advised much of IPU’s

health-related work with

parliaments and was the main interface between the two organizations.

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The session highlighted the important role of parliaments in legislation and budget oversight to expand

the provision of health services to all people, particularly the most vulnerable and hardest to reach.

Parliamentarians participated in the annual World Health Assembly, which was the main governing body

of the WHO and where the IPU organized a regular side event.

Participants welcomed those developments and encouraged the WHO to work closely with the IPU, as

well as directly with parliaments. Two proposals were made in that regard: that the WHO website

feature more prominently its relationship with parliaments, and that parliaments constitute groups of

friends of the WHO.

Towards the close of the session, the Committee formally elected five new members: Ms. A. Theologou

(Cyprus), Mr. L. Iemets (Ukraine), Mr. M. Melkumyan (Armenia), Mr. F.H. Naek (Pakistan) and Mr. P.

Katjavivi (Namibia). In addition, Ms. S. AlHashim (Kuwait) was elected Vice-President of the Committee.

In his final remarks, the Committee President welcomed gender parity in the committee leadership and

thanked participants for their contribution to the session.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Declaration on the

anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Endorsed by the the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

This year marks the 70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a historic

instrument drafted in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War by representatives from

around the world with different legal and cultural backgrounds.

The fundamental rights in the Declaration have served, first and foremost, to uphold the inherent dignity

of all human beings and to contribute to the peace, security and prosperity of all nations.

As we celebrate the 70 anniversary of the Declaration, we also remember and honour Nelson

Mandela, who would have turned 100 years old this year. He personified the ideals of the Declaration

and, in his own words, strove to uphold "the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons

live together in harmony and with equal opportunities".

Over the course of his lifetime, the rights enshrined in the Declaration were universally recognized, with

States now bound in law to ensure their citizens benefit from these rights and can access appropriate

remedies and redress when the rights are violated.

Yet these rights are still far from being a reality for many. Against the backdrop of growing

authoritarianism, internal conflict, war, poverty and large-scale migration, we, as parliamentarians, feel

compelled to reaffirm our commitment to the Declaration and its underlying principles in the following

way:



As legislators, we commit to guaranteeing that the domestic legal framework complies with

international and national human rights obligations and creates an enabling environment for

inclusive participatory politics, a vibrant civil society and the rule of law.

As people’s

representatives, we will do everything in our power to ensure that parliamentary

discourse, proceedings, and outreach are rooted in, and promote, equality, liberty and justice.

We will do more to raise greater awareness of the Declaration among our constituents and help

them to access their rights thereunder.

As role models, we commit ourselves to inspire and energize our societies, particularly by

championing the rights of those who are marginalized and persecuted, such as women, children,

minorities, and others who are disenfranchised.

We commit to the Declaration by acting in solidarity with parliamentary colleagues worldwide

whose fundamental rights are being violated and by raising their cases at the appropriate forums

and with the relevant interlocutors, as well as by supporting the work of the Inter-Parliamentary

Union’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.

We will do everything in our power to support human rights defenders, the often "invisible

Mandelas" who risk their freedom and lives to uphold the rights of others and who merit the

recognition and support of parliaments, especially in light of the 20 anniversary of the United

Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.



IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Agenda, resolutions and other texts of the 139 Assembly

Concluding remarks by the IPU President on the

values and principles of the IPU

Endorsed by the 139 IPU Assembly

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

Colleagues, the IPU motto is

For Democracy. For Everyone.

Our vision statement says

We work for a world where every voice counts.

At this Assembly, we took a vote that caused many members of our Organization, and me, distress.

The IPU Assemblies are a place where parliamentarians learn about and discuss all subjects, without

vetoes and taboos on issues, particularly those related to human rights. We have a responsibility as

parliamentarians to tackle all subjects that those we represent need us to cover.

This week we launched the new IPU handbook for parliamentarians on freedom of expression. I

encourage each of you to use this document to inform and guide our future work, at home and here in

our assemblies.

As we are reminded on this 70 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human

beings have the same rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and to equality before the

law.

These are fundamental principles that the IPU and its Members must find a way to incorporate more

fully in all our work, in committees and in plenary.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Presidential statement on recent developments

on the Korean Peninsula

Endorsed by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The IPU welcomes the recent positive developments on the Korean Peninsula, notably the Inter-Korean

Summit in April leading to the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the

Korean Peninsula; the U.S.-DPRK Summit in Singapore in June, and President Moon Jae-in’s

visit to

Pyongyang in September.

These historic events are building blocks of peace and the IPU applauds the efforts by both sides to

work towards rapprochement and mutual understanding.

The IPU has been building and will continue to build bridges between the delegations of the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and is pleased to facilitate

contacts during IPU Assemblies. These Assemblies serve as platforms for dialogue and bilateral

exchanges and are a clear demonstration of parliamentary diplomacy in action.

At the 139 IPU Assembly, the delegations of the DPRK and ROK stated their commitment to working

together, including within the IPU, in order to contribute actively to the substantial progress made on the

normalization of relations between both sides.

The IPU was founded on the principle of political dialogue to resolve differences and conflicts and is at

the service of its Members to facilitate contacts, mediate conflicts and offer its good offices in the

interest of a more peaceful world. As a neutral and impartial broker, the IPU remains an oasis of hope.

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

IPU Budget for 2019

Approved by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 15 October 2018)

2018

Approved

Budget

REVENUES

Assessed contributions

Working Capital Fund

Staff assessment

Interest

Programme support costs

Other revenue

Voluntary contributions

TOTAL REVENUES

EXPENDITURES

Strategic Objectives

1. Build strong, democratic parliaments

2. Advance gender equality and respect for

women’s rights

3. Protect and promote human rights

4. Contribute to peacebuilding, conflict

prevention and security

5. Promote inter-parliamentary dialogue and

cooperation

6. Promote youth empowerment

7. Mobilize parliaments around the global

development agenda

8. Bridge the democracy gap in international

relations

Subtotal

Enablers

Effective internal governance and oversight

Visibility, advocacy and communications

Gender mainstreaming and a rights-based

approach

A properly resourced and efficient Secretariat

Subtotal

Other charges

Eliminations

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

10,467,100

237,000

1,048,500

100,000

16,000

4,002,600

15,871,200

10,515,200

422,000

1,099,700

100,000

298,700

16,000

12,451,600

(298,700)

4,034,400

3,735,700

10,515,200

422,000

1,099,700

100,000

16,000

4,034,400

16,187,300

Regular Budget

2019 Approved Budget

Other Sources

All Funds

2,321,900

1,699,000

1,469,500

505,200

3,159,400

417,200

972,700

923,000

11,467,900

867,900

1,026,200

10,000

2,681,700

4,585,800

114,000

(296,500)

15,871,200

1,322,200

517,900

1,035,600

195,500

3,437,600

79,600

151,300

927,100

7,666,800

912,700

1,097,200

10,000

2,658,900

4,677,200

106,000

12,451,600

824,200

656,400

508,500

907,200

2,146,400

1,174,300

1,544,100

1,102,700

3,437,600

265,100

851,400

344,700

1,002,700

927,100

4,012,800

21,600

11,679,600

934,300

1,097,200

10,000

2,658,900

4,700,400

106,000

(298,700)

16,187,300

21,600

(298,700)

3,735,700

Approved 2019 capital budget

Item

1. Replacement of computers

2. Furniture

4. Website development

Total capital expenditures

2019

35,000

15,000

100,000

150,000

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Approved programme and budget for 2019

Scale of contributions for 2019 based on the UN scale of assessment

Approved by the IPU Governing Council at its

203

session

(Geneva, 15 October 2018)

Country Name

UN 2016-

2018

Per cent

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Congo

Costa Rica

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Eswatini

0.006%

0.008%

0.161%

0.006%

0.010%

0.892%

0.006%

2.337%

0.720%

0.060%

0.044%

0.010%

0.056%

0.885%

0.003%

0.001%

0.012%

0.013%

0.014%

3.823%

0.045%

0.004%

0.001%

0.004%

0.010%

2.921%

0.001%

0.005%

0.399%

7.921%

0.322%

0.001%

0.006%

0.047%

0.009%

0.099%

0.065%

0.043%

0.344%

0.005%

0.008%

0.584%

0.001%

0.046%

0.067%

0.152%

0.014%

0.010%

0.038%

0.002%

Approved 2019 scale

Per cent

0.110%

0.310%

0.110%

1.120%

0.110%

2.550%

0.940%

0.180%

0.160%

0.110%

0.180%

1.110%

0.100%

0.120%

3.960%

0.160%

0.110%

0.100%

0.110%

3.110%

0.110%

0.590%

7.890%

0.500%

0.100%

0.110%

0.170%

0.110%

0.230%

0.190%

0.160%

0.520%

0.110%

0.790%

0.100%

0.170%

0.190%

0.300%

0.120%

0.110%

0.150%

0.100%

CHF

11'500

32'300

11'500

116'800

11'500

265'900

98'000

18'800

16'700

11'500

18'800

115'700

10'400

12'500

412'900

16'700

11'500

10'400

11'500

324'300

11'500

61'500

822'600

52'100

10'400

11'500

17'700

11'500

24'000

19'800

16'700

54'200

11'500

82'400

10'400

17'700

19'800

31'300

12'500

11'500

15'600

10'400

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Country Name

UN 2016-

2018

Per cent

0.010%

0.003%

0.456%

4.859%

0.017%

0.001%

0.008%

6.389%

0.016%

0.471%

0.028%

0.002%

0.001%

0.002%

0.003%

0.008%

0.161%

0.023%

0.737%

0.504%

0.471%

0.129%

0.335%

0.430%

3.748%

9.680%

0.020%

0.191%

0.018%

0.285%

0.002%

0.003%

0.050%

0.046%

0.001%

0.125%

0.007%

0.072%

0.064%

0.003%

0.002%

0.322%

0.002%

0.003%

0.016%

0.001%

0.002%

0.012%

1.435%

0.001%

0.010%

0.005%

0.004%

0.054%

0.004%

0.010%

Approved 2019 scale

Per cent

0.110%

0.100%

0.650%

4.930%

0.120%

0.100%

0.110%

6.390%

0.120%

0.670%

0.140%

0.100%

0.110%

0.310%

0.130%

0.950%

0.700%

0.670%

0.270%

0.510%

0.620%

3.890%

9.680%

0.130%

0.350%

0.130%

0.460%

0.100%

0.170%

0.100%

0.270%

0.110%

0.200%

0.190%

0.100%

0.500%

0.100%

0.120%

0.100%

0.120%

1.670%

0.100%

0.110%

0.180%

0.110%

CHF

11'500

10'400

67'800

514'000

12'500

10'400

11'500

666'300

12'500

69'900

14'600

10'400

11'500

32'300

13'600

99'100

73'000

69'900

28'200

53'200

64'600

405'600

1'009'300

13'600

36'500

13'600

48'000

10'400

17'700

10'400

28'200

11'500

20'900

19'800

10'400

52'100

10'400

12'500

10'400

12'500

174'100

10'400

11'500

18'800

11'500

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Micronesia (Federated States of)

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Country Name

UN 2016-

2018

Per cent

0.006%

1.482%

0.268%

0.004%

0.002%

0.209%

0.849%

0.113%

0.093%

0.001%

0.034%

0.004%

0.014%

0.136%

0.165%

0.841%

0.392%

0.269%

2.039%

0.004%

0.184%

3.088%

0.002%

0.001%

0.003%

0.001%

1.146%

0.005%

0.032%

0.001%

0.447%

0.160%

0.084%

0.001%

0.364%

0.003%

2.443%

0.031%

0.010%

0.006%

0.956%

1.140%

0.024%

0.004%

0.291%

0.007%

0.003%

0.001%

0.034%

0.028%

1.018%

0.026%

0.001%

Approved 2019 scale

Per cent

0.110%

1.720%

0.440%

0.110%

0.100%

0.370%

1.070%

0.250%

0.230%

0.100%

0.150%

0.110%

0.120%

0.280%

0.320%

1.060%

0.580%

0.440%

2.260%

0.110%

0.340%

3.270%

0.100%

1.380%

0.110%

0.150%

0.100%

0.640%

0.310%

0.210%

0.100%

0.550%

0.100%

2.650%

0.140%

0.110%

1.180%

1.370%

0.130%

0.110%

0.460%

0.110%

0.100%

0.150%

0.140%

1.250%

0.140%

0.100%

CHF

11'500

179'300

45'900

11'500

10'400

38'600

111'600

26'100

24'000

10'400

15'600

11'500

12'500

29'200

33'400

110'500

60'500

45'900

235'600

11'500

35'500

340'900

10'400

143'900

11'500

15'600

10'400

66'700

32'300

21'900

10'400

57'300

10'400

276'300

14'600

11'500

123'000

142'800

13'600

11'500

48'000

11'500

10'400

15'600

14'600

130'300

14'600

10'400

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Palestine

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Romania

Russian Federation

Rwanda

Saint Lucia

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Republic

Tajikistan

Thailand

The former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Country Name

UN 2016-

2018

Per cent

0.009%

0.103%

0.604%

4.463%

0.010%

0.079%

0.023%

0.001%

0.571%

0.058%

0.010%

0.007%

0.004%

Approved 2019 scale

Per cent

0.110%

0.240%

0.810%

4.560%

0.110%

0.210%

0.130%

0.100%

0.780%

0.180%

0.110%

CHF

11'500

25'000

84'500

475'400

11'500

21'900

13'600

10'400

81'300

18'800

11'500

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United Republic of Tanzania

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Member or associate member

Andean Parliament

Arab Parliament

Central American Parliament

East African Legislative

Assembly

European Parliament

Interparliamentary Assembly of Member

Nations of the Commonwealth of

Independent States

Inter-Parliamentary Committee of the

West African Economic and Monetary

Union

Latin American and Caribbean Parliament

Parliament of the CEMAC

Parliament of the ECOWAS

Parliamentary Assembly of the

Black Sea Economic Cooperation

Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe

Total

UN 2016-

2018

Per cent

Approved 2019 scale

Per cent

0.020%

0.010%

0.060%

0.030%

0.010%

0.030%

0.010%

0.030%

0.050%

CHF

2'100

1'000

6'300

3'100

1'000

3'100

1'000

3'100

5'200

10'515'200

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Cooperation with the United Nations system

List of activities undertaken by the IPU between 15 March and 15 September 2018

Noted by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

Building on the biennial Report of the UN Secretary-General, on 22 May the UN General Assembly

(UNGA) adopted a new and comprehensive resolution on

Interaction between the UN, national

parliaments and the IPU -

www.ipu.org/sites/default/files/documents/72-278-e.pdf.

UNGA President,

Mr. Lajcak, chaired the meeting, which was also addressed by a number of UN Member States and by

the IPU President. The resolution came to fruition after a number of inter-governmental consultations in

New York led by Ambassador Camacho of Mexico. The resolution is substantive and forward looking,

and identifies modalities of interaction and cooperation in a variety of areas. Among other things, it

establishes a new International Day of Parliamentarism, calls for closer and more systematic

engagement between the UN Country Teams and national parliaments, and reiterates the need for IPU

and the UN to work together with parliaments in the implementation of the SDGs.

Democracy and human rights

The IPU continued to contribute to the UN processes for a Global Compact for Migration and another on

Refugees that will be adopted this year. Following the Declaration on migrants and refugees adopted by

the 138 Assembly on 28 March, the IPU advocated incorporating language on parliaments in the texts

being negotiated in New York (migration) and in Geneva (refugees). This resulted in several

acknowledgements of the role of parliaments in both documents.

On 17 May, the Human Rights Council issued a comprehensive report entitled the

Contribution of

parliaments to the work of the Human Rights Council and its universal periodic review.

The report draws

from responses to a questionnaire for parliaments sent by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights to Member States, United Nations agencies and other stakeholders. It

contains recommendations regarding the setting up of a parliamentary human rights committee and the

strengthening of engagement with the international human rights mechanisms, especially the universal

periodic review.

In addition to helping engage parliaments in the Universal Periodic Review during the HRC annual

session (18 June

–

6 July), the IPU organized a workshop and a side event during the session to

highlight concrete experiences of parliamentarians to protect and promote human rights.

On 23 May, the UN General Assembly designated 30 June as the International Day of Parliamentarism.

This date commemorates the first ever meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary

Union in 1889. At the IPU’s

suggestion, a number of parliaments were already able to organize events to celebrate the first

International Day of Parliamentarism on 30 June 2018, and the IPU will continue to work with the UN to

reinforce efforts to promote this Day in the future.

The IPU also pursued its regular efforts to engage parliaments to celebrate the International Day of

Democracy on 15 September. In 2018, the IPU proposed, as an overall theme, that of "oversight"

–

core function of parliaments and a vital part of the checks and balances of any healthy democracy.

On 18 September, the IPU contributed to a side event convened by the Permanent Mission of Ecuador

in the context of the 39 session of the UN Human Rights Council, which focused on "the impact of

corruption in the full enjoyment of human rights at all levels". This provided an opportunity to share with

the broader UN community in Geneva the main findings of the recent IPU-UNDP Global Parliamentary

Report on Oversight.

UNDP and the IPU continued their project of assistance to the Parliament of Myanmar. The two

organizations also continued their collaboration in support of the parliaments of Djibouti, Georgia, and

Vanuatu.

The IPU and UNDP also continued cooperation to develop a methodology for Sustainable Development

Goal indicator 16.7.1, which measures the proportions of positions (by age group, sex, persons with

disabilities, and population groups) in public institutions, compared to national distributions. The IPU and

UNDP have drafted metadata for this indicator and initiated a pilot test in August with selected

parliaments. If the pilot is successful, the next step is to submit the methodology for approval to the

Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs).

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

–

Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

IPU and UNDP continued their efforts to disseminate the 2017

Global Parliamentary Report

parliamentary oversight. These include the presentation of a Serbian-language version of the Report,

prepared by UNDP’s office in Serbia, at a regional seminar on the SDGs held in Belgrade on

24-25 May.

Gender equality

The IPU pursued its collaboration with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against

Women (CEDAW Committee) to promote the role of parliaments in advancing implementation of the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The IPU

Member Parliaments have been regularly informed and invited to contribute to their State review by the

CEDAW Committee. The IPU communicated the recommendations of these reviews to the parliaments

of the countries

under review for them to take them into account in their work. The IPU’s work in this

area has also consisted of ensuring that the CEDAW Committee understands the key role of parliament

in implementation of CEDAW and has access to IPU’s data on women

in politics, and increasingly

stresses both issues during their dialogue with States.

IPU, in collaboration with USAID and UNDP, supported the Parliament of Georgia in carrying out a

gender self-assessment

in June 2018 based on the IPU’s

Evaluating the gender sensitivity of

parliaments: A self-assessment toolkit.

The exercise brought together men and women, members of

parliament and staff. Priorities were identified for future reform, including measures to increase the

number of women members of parliament and to tackle sexism and harassment. The conclusions of the

exercise will also inform the development of the parliament’s strategy and plan of action.

Representatives from UN Women and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

(CERD) took part in the 12 Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament, which was held in

Cochabamba, Bolivia, in April 2018, and co-hosted by the IPU and the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies.

The Summit focused on the theme

Working so every voice counts.

A Cochabamba Declaration affirmed

the link between women’s equal participation in politics and more prosperous, peaceful and inclusive

societies and called for the achievement of gender parity in politics and the adoption and

implementation of specific legislation to combat violence against women in politics (see section under

Objective 2 of main report).

Youth empowerment

At the 138 IPU Assembly, a dialogue session was organized in collaboration with UNAIDS during the

meeting of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians. The panel session focused on the role of young

parliamentarians in addressing harmful laws and politics in order to end AIDS by 2030, with activists

and civil society also taking part.

On 28 June 2018, the UN General Assembly released the report of the Office of the High Commissioner

for Human Rights on Youth and Human Rights (A/HRC/39/33). Informed by IPU activities at the Human

Rights Council, such as at the 2016 UN Forum on Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law, the

report heavily references the 2016 IPU report on

Youth Participation in National Parliaments,

the Forum

of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU, and related IPU recommendations on youth participation in

parliaments.

For International Youth Day (12 August 2018), the IPU partnered with iKNOW Politics for an interactive

Twitter Chat that took place on 10 August 2018. The Twitter Chat engaged with parliamentarians,

experts, activists and the general public to get feedback and generate buzz on a series of questions

related to youth and young

women’s participation in politics. IKNOW Politics is a joint project, with

UNDP and UN Women taking part (see section under Objective 6 of main report).

International peace and security

An IPU delegation participated in the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Peacebuilding

and Sustaining Peace on 25 April. The IPU delivered a statement at the Sixth Review of the United

Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy that was held on 27 June in New York.

The IPU and UNODC continued to develop a joint programme on countering terrorism and preventing

violent extremism, which seeks to facilitate the incorporation of international commitments into domestic

legislation and promote regional parliamentary cooperation. The two partners organized the second

meeting of the specialized group on counterterrorism, where the budget and the activities of the joint

programme where approved. Following this event, the IPU and UNODC engaged in consultations with

the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) in order to formalize a trilateral agreement,

through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU will be presented to the Governing Bodies

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at the 139 IPU Assembly for approval. In addition, the joint secretariat started drafting the first

parliamentary report on countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, which will be launched

at the First Global Parliamentary Summit tentatively scheduled for February 2019 (see section under

Objective 4 of main report).

Sustainable development

On 12 April 2018, the IPU Secretary General and UN Environment Executive Director signed an MoU

setting out their joint cooperation on the SDGs, especially those related to environment and climate

change. Work on a joint Policy Brief for members of parliament on the green economy continued during

the summer, with the aim of launching the paper at the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in early December (see section under Objective

7 of main report).

On May 21-22, the IPU participated in the biannual session of the UN Development Cooperation Forum,

with a delegation of eight members of parliament. The IPU also followed the annual Financing for

Development Forum and related side events. The IPU Secretary General was a presenter at a special

meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council on sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies on

23 May.

On 25 May in Geneva, the Director General of WHO took part alongside the IPU Secretary General in a

technical briefing on "the role of parliamentarians in achieving universal health coverage and global

health security as two sides of the same coin".

On 5 June, an IPU delegation took part in the multi-stakeholder hearing providing input to a high-level

meeting of the General Assembly on non-communicable diseases in September. The IPU was asked to

contribute to this meeting by a resolution of the General Assembly. Building on this, the IPU was invited

to contribute to the high-level meeting on universal health coverage in September 2019.

As a contribution to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development, the IPU

encouraged the participation of some 90 members of parliament in the main proceedings and organized

an official side event on 16 July, the first day of the HLPF ministerial segment. The side event discussed

the main theme of the HLPF on environmental sustainability. On 17 July, IPU and UNDP held a

parliamentary workshop on their self-assessment toolkit for the SDGs. The IPU President delivered a

statement during the general debate of the HLPF later in the week. In the months leading up to the

HLPF, the IPU surveyed the parliaments of the 47 countries presenting Voluntary National Reviews

(VNRs) as a way of encouraging greater parliamentary engagement in this key monitoring process (see

section under Objective 7 of main report).

The IPU and UNDP continued to support SDG self-assessments in parliaments through the IPU-UNDP

SDG Self-Assessment Toolkit. During the reporting period the parliament of Argentina began plans for a

workshop using the IPU-UNDP toolkit.

The IPU participated actively in several working group meetings of the Global Partnership for Effective

Development Cooperation (GPEDC), which includes UNDP. The IPU provided input to two working

groups of the GPEDC, helped establish the new business leaders caucus, helped define new indicators

of progress on development cooperation, and participated in the launch event of the GPED’s 2018

Global Monitoring Exercise 11-12 September in Paris (see section under Objective 7 of main report).

Honorary President of the IPU, Saber Chowdhury, presented on a panel of the UN Department for

Economic and Social Affairs on the contribution of audit institutions to the SDGs in New York on 29 July.

On 18 July the IPU Permanent Observer spoke at a UNDP side event on parliamentary engagement

with civil society organizations on the SDGs.

Senior-level interaction

A high level panel on migration and refugees was held on 23 March at the opening of the

138 IPU Assembly in Geneva. The panel featured the High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Filippo

Grandi, the Director of the International Organization for Migration, Mr. William Lacy Swing, and the

High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussain. Other

UN officials participated in the

workshops, special events and committee sessions throughout the Assembly.

The UN Secretary-General contributed to the celebration of the first ever International Day of

Parliamentarism on 30 June with a special video message to all parliaments and parliamentarians. The

video message was featured on the IPU web site as part of a broader effort to celebrate the day, which

also coincides with the founding of the IPU.

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On 19 July, the first working level meeting of IPU and UN staff took place following a recommendation

of the Senior Leadership meeting held in November 2017. Sixteen entities or bodies of the United

Nations were represented at the meeting co-chaired by the IPU Permanent Observer at the United

Nations and a senior officer from the UN Department of Political Affairs. The meeting explored potential

new synergies between the IPU and the United Nations at the working level and identified a number of

questions regarding cooperation at the country level.

On 9 July a meeting was held at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva to discuss preparations for a new

MoU on political and technical cooperation between the IPU and WHO. Both organizations committed to

deepening their partnership, which in future would extend beyond the traditional area of cooperation of

women’s, children’s and adolescent health (WCAH) to universal health coverage (UHC) and global

health security (GHS).

On 31 July, the Head of the Office of the Permanent Observer of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the

United Nations met with the President-elect of the 73 Session of the General Assembly, Ms. Maria

Fernanda Espinosa, for a first informal exchange of views on the upcoming session. The meeting

helped place the IPU and parliament more firmly on the agenda of the President elect of the General

Assembly. It also included a first discussion on the possible theme and timing of the 2019 Parliamentary

Hearing at the United Nations.

Report of the Committee on Middle East Questions

Noted by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

The Committee held two sittings, on 14 and 16 October 2018. The Committee’s President,

Ms. S. Ataullahjan (Canada), Mr. H. Julien-Laferrière (France), Ms. A. Makonda Ridley (Malawi),

Mr. A.N.M. Al-Ahmad (Palestine), Mr. F. Müri (Switzerland) and Mr. M. Al-Mehrzi (United Arab Emirates)

attended both of the sessions. Mr. N. Shai (Israel) attended the sitting on 14 October. Ms. B. Grouwels

(Belgium) and Mr. R. Munawar (Indonesia) attended the sitting on 16 October.

The Committee heard a report on the latest general developments in the Middle East. In this context,

the Committee was informed about the situation in Libya, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. The

Committee was also informed about the recent developments on the Israeli/Palestinian situation and

about the numerous communications which had been sent to the IPU leadership in that regard.

The Committee heard the views of both Israel and Palestine regarding the recent developments, namely

the announcement by the US Administration to end all funding to the United Nations Relief and Works

Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the passing of a law by the Israeli

Knesset defining the State of Israel as the nation of the Jewish people. While noting their differences,

both parties underscored their commitment to the Committee’s work as all efforts to foster peace must

be pursued for the good of future generations.

The members had a discussion on science as an enabler of dialogue. They agreed on the importance of

projects like the IPU

Science for Peace Schools,

and expressed support for their implementation. The

first session of the IPU

Science for Peace Schools

project had been designed for staff of the

parliamentary secretariats and would take place from 18 to 24 November 2018. The invitations had

already been sent and many registrations had been received. The Committee noted the importance of

legislation in regulating science so as to avoid any negative impacts or outcomes (e.g. atomic bombs,

artificial intelligence, etc.).

The Committee also heard two presentations, the first from the Yemeni delegation and the second from

Mr. N. Gouda, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan. The Yemeni delegation gave the members a

short update of the current situation in the country. The delegation highlighted that, as had been the

case in March, it was attending the 139 Assembly as a single, united delegation. The delegation

further explained that, due to the dire situation in the country, many parliamentarians had been forced to

flee the capital Sana’a but that they remained committed to their role as MPs.

Mr. Gouda presented a

short summary of the situation on the ground in Jordan and highlighted the important role his country

had played in welcoming refugees from the different conflict zones in the region. Mr. Gouda

underscored the importance of not marginalizing the Israeli/Palestinian situation as it had a ripple effect

on many other relations in the region and in the world.

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The members concluded that they would undertake a visit to the Middle East region, most likely early in

2019, in order to gain a better understanding of the realities on the ground. The members emphasized

the need to include visits to refugee camps in Jordan. The Secretariat took note of that request.

IPU High-Level Advisory Group on

Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism

Terms of Reference

Endorsed by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

Mandate

The IPU High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (HLAG-CTVE)

shall serve, under the authority of the Executive Committee and the Governing Council, as the global

parliamentary focal point for counter-terrorism related parliamentary activities.

Building on the resolutions adopted by IPU Assemblies and Members’ wish to see enhanced

cooperation with the United Nations in this field, the IPU has devised a Member-driven plan of action for

parliaments to address terrorism.

Purpose

The role of the Group shall be to guide the Member-driven plan of action for parliaments to address

terrorism and prevent violent extremism, as well as to bridge the significant gaps in the implementation

of relevant IPU and UN resolutions.

The plan of action will also draw on relevant UN instruments such as the 2006 UN Global Counter-

Terrorism Strategy and the 2016 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review, which includes counterring

the spread of violent extremism conducive to terrorism.

The Group shall focus on supporting parliamentary measures and legislative work necessary to

implement existing IPU and UN resolutions and strategies relating to terrorism and the prevention of

violent extremism.

The main expected outputs are: organization of regional and global inter-parliamentary conferences; the

establishment of a Global Parliamentary Network to foster cooperation among national parliamentary

security committees related to counter-terrorism; the organization of capacity-building programmes for

parliaments on counter-terrorism; the production of an annual parliamentary report on implementation of

relevant IPU and UN resolutions; the elaboration of best practices and guidelines for parliamentarians;

and the mapping and consolidation of existing IPU activities in the field of prevention of violent

extremism.

The work of the Group is expected to facilitate the coordination and implementation of the IPU’s

counter-terrorism efforts by supporting the parliamentary processes to translate international

commitments into national laws, and ensuring implementation at the national level.

An IPU support team will coordinate the proposed activities, with technical support from the UNODC.

Membership

The Group shall be composed of 21 members of national parliaments, nominated by their respective

geopolitical groups on the basis of expertise and on the formula used for the composition of the

Preparatory Committee of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (Executive Committee

geopolitical group allocation plus one per group). The composition of the Group shall be gender

balanced in accordance with the provisions of Art. 21(f) of the IPU Statutes. In addition, the President of

the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians and the President of Board of the Forum of Young

Parliamentarians shall be ex officio members.

International organizations, in addition to UNODC, with relevant expertise will be associated to the

Group.

African Group: 5 members; Arab Group: 2 members; Asia-Pacific Group: 4 members; Eurasia Group:

2 members; GRULAC: 3 members; and Twelve Plus Group: 5 members.

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High-Level Advisory Group members shall serve for a single four-year term.

The mandates of members or their representatives who fail to participate in three consecutive meetings

of the High-Level Advisory Group shall be automatically terminated.

One international organization active in the area of counter-terrorism, the United Nations Office on

Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shall be part of the joint support team servicing the Group.

Chairperson

The Group shall elect its Chairperson for a period of one year. He/she shall be eligible for re-election for

one further one-year term.

The Advisory Group may also elect a Vice-Chairperson for one year following the same procedure as

for election of the Chairperson.

Sessions

The Group shall normally meet twice a year in regular session, on the occasion of IPU Assemblies. Its

sessions shall be held

in camera.

The Group shall set the dates for its sessions based on the proposals

made by the Secretary General. Additional meetings may be held if the Group so decides outside IPU

Assemblies.

Agenda

The provisional agenda of the Group shall be drawn up by the Group Chairperson in consultation with

the Secretary General.

Decisions

As a general rule, the Group's decisions shall be taken by consensus. In other cases, the main

recommendations, as well as diverging opinions, shall be conveyed to the Council.

Missions

The Group may decide to carry out field visits, principally to examine the role played by a given national

parliament in addressing the issues that fall within the Group’s mandate. Such missions shall be

conducted in accordance with agreed rules and principles.

Reporting

The Group shall report twice a year in regular session on its work to the Governing Council, of which it

shall be a subsidiary body.

Statistics of the Gender Partnership Group

Status of participation of women delegates at the 139 Assembly of the IPU (at 17 October 2018)

Composition of delegations at the last eight IPU statutory meetings (March 2015 - present)

Meeting

Total

delegates

Total/percentage of

women delegates

Total

delegations

Total/percentage

of all-male

delegations

(2 or more)

12.1

12.7

11.8

9.6

11.5

15.8

9.9

13.7

Total all-

female

delegations

(2 or more)

Total single-

sex delegations

(2 or more)

Total single-

member

delegations

(male and female)

Geneva (17/10/18)

Geneva (27/03/18)

St. Petersburg (10/17)

Dhaka (04/17)

Geneva (10/16)

Lusaka (03/16)

Geneva (10/15)

Hanoi (03/15)

751

745

829

612

693

636

647

675

247

227

249

193

228

190

210

189

32.9

30.5

30.0

31.5

32.9

29.9

32.5

28.0

149

148

155

126

141

126

133

128

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Single-sex, multi-member delegations present in Geneva (status on 17 October 2018)

Geneva

10/18

Women MPs

Men MPs

N°

Country

Andorra

Azerbaijan

Bolivia (Plurinational

State of)

Burkina Faso

Czech Republic

Denmark

DPR Korea

Fiji

Haiti

Ireland

Liechtenstein

Micronesia

Morocco

Myanmar

Paraguay

Peru

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Somalia

Sri Lanka

Yemen

Total

Geneva 03/18

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

St. Petersburg 17

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Dhaka 17

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Geneva 16

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Lusaka 16

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Geneva 15

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Hanoi 15

Men MPs

Women MPs

total

Men MPs

total

absent

2 3

absent

2 2

absent

1 1

absent

1 7

1 5

0 8

0 4

suspended

0 2

1 4

absent

0 3

1 7

1 5

absent

1 2

absent

1 4

absent

1 1

0 3

1 7

absent

0 3

absent

0 2

1 4

absent

Single-member delegations present in Geneva (status on 17 October 2018)

Geneva

10/18

Women MPs

Men MPs

N°

Country

Central

African

Republic

Congo

El Salvador

Nicaragua

Panama

Samoa

Slovenia

Sweden

Tonga

Total

Geneva

03/18

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

St. Petersburg

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Dhaka 17

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Geneva 16

total

Women MPs

Men MPs

Lusaka 16

total

Men MPs

Geneva 15

Women MPs

Men MPs

total

Hanoi 15

absent

1 1

1 4

1 0

0 2

absent

1 1

5 3

absent

suspended

absent

suspended

absent

suspended

absent

suspended

absent

1 4 5

absent

1 3 4

absent

3 4 7

absent

Amendments to the IPU Statutes and Rules

Approved by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

New Article 1.4

The IPU has legal personality and has the authority to enter into international agreements,

including cooperation agreements with national parliaments and inter-parliamentary

organizations, as well as with international intergovernmental and non-governmental

organizations.

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Amend

Article 5.3

(loss of IPU membership)

When a Member or Associate Member of the IPU is three years in arrears in the payment of its

contributions to the IPU, the Executive Committee shall consider the situation,

on a case-by-case

basis, and in close consultation with the Member or Associate Member concerned,

and express

an opinion to the Governing Council. The Governing Council shall take a decision on the suspension of

the

rights

affiliation of that Member or Associate Member to the IPU.

Amend

Article 18

(Governing Council)

The Governing Council shall be composed of three representatives from each Member of the IPU

(cf. Governing Council, Rule 1.2). The term of office of a member of the Governing Council shall last

from one Assembly to the next.

Amend

Article 26

(Executive Committee)

The Executive Committee shall perform the following functions:

(e)

Propose to the Governing Council the

five-year IPU Strategy, as well as

its annual work

programme and budget (cf. Financial Regs., Rule 3.4),

and examine the progress made

in meeting IPU objectives, as stipulated in Article 1 of the Statutes.

(ebis)

Examine and submit for approval of the Governing Council the Organization’s

policies on transparency and accountability, as well as its communications

strategy, in keeping with the overall five-year IPU Strategy;

Amend

Article 28

(Secretariat)

The Secretariat shall perform the following functions:

(f)

Prepare proposals for

the five-year IPU Strategy, the annual

work programme and

budget for the consideration of the Executive Committee (cf. Financial Regs., Rule 3.2,

3.3 and 3.7);

Prepare for the consideration of the Executive Committee policies and reports on

transparency and accountability to be approved by the Governing Council;

(fbis)

Preparations for the Fifth World Conference of

Speakers of Parliament in 2020

Composition of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth World Conference of

Speakers of Parliament

Noted by the Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

African Group

Mr. Aabdelkader Bensalah

Ms. Margaret Mensah-Williams

Mr. Tinni Ousseini

Ms. Rebecca Kadaga

Mr. Haroun Kabadi

Arab Group

Ms. Amal Al Qubaisi

Mr. Marzouq Al Ghanim

Speaker

Federal National Council of the United Arab

Emirates

National Assembly of Kuwait

President

Speaker

President

Council of the Nation of Algeria

National Council of Namibia

National Assembly of Niger

Parliament of Uganda

National Assembly of Chad

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Asia-Pacific Group

Ms. Jiko Luveni

Mr. Li Zhanshu

Lord Fakafanua

Ms. Sumitra Mahajan

Eurasia Group

Mr. Mikhail Vladimirovich

Myasnikovich

Vacancy

Chairman

Council of the Republic of Belarus

Speaker

Chairman

Speaker

Parliament of Fiji

Standing Committee of the National People's

Congress of China

Legislative Assembly of Tonga

Lok Sabha of India

Group of Latin America and the Caribbean

Ms. Elizabeth Cabezas

Mr. Silvio Ovelar

Ms. Maya Fernández Allende

President

National Assembly of Ecuador

Senate of Paraguay

Chamber of Deputies of Chile (to be replaced

in March 2019 by the new President

Mr. Gabriel Silber)

Twelve Plus Group

Mr. Demetris Syllouris

Mr. Trevor Mallard

Ms. Maja Gojkovic

Ms. Ana Pastor

Vacancy

President

Speaker

President

House of Representatives of Cyprus

House of Representatives of New Zealand

National Assembly of Serbia

Congress of Deputies of Spain

Representatives of the Executive Committee

Mr. Konstantin Kosachev

Mr. Kenneth M. Lusaka

Ms. Hege Haukeland Liadal

Russian Federation

Kenya

Norway

* * * * * *

Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the IPU

High-level representative of the United Nations Secretary-General

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Calendar of future meetings and other activities

Approved by the IPU Governing Council at its 203 session

(Geneva, 18 October 2018)

Parliamentary Workshop and events in the context of the

World Investment Forum 2018

Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit at the G20

Regional seminar on climate change and disaster risk reduction for

Parliaments of the Caribbean

Seminar on the Achievement of the SDGs for the Parliaments of

the Twelve Plus Geopolitical Group and East Asia

Follow-up regional seminar on the contribution of parliament to

combat child trafficking and labour on the occasion of the

ECOWAS Parliamentary session

Regional workshop on the Parliament’s contribution to the

work of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for African

English-speaking parliaments, organized by the IPU and the

WTO

World e-Parliament Conference 2018

GENEVA

22-24 October 2018

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina)

1-2 November 2018

Suriname

5-6 November 2018

JERUSALEM (Israel)

20-22 November 2018

ECOWAS Parliament HQ

ABUJA (Nigeria)

20-22 November 2018

GABORONE (Botswana)

November 2018

(Dates to be confirmed)

GENEVA

3-5 December 2018

GENEVA

6 December 2018

GENEVA

6-7 December 2018

RABAT (Morocco)

6-7 December 2018

KRAKOW (Poland)

9 December 2018

BAKU (Azerbaijan)

13-15 December 2018

CAIRO (Egypt)

(Dates to be confirmed)

Egypt

January 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

GENEVA

29 January

–

8 February 2019

GENEVA

8 and 9 February 2019

43 session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary

Conference on the WTO on the occasion of the annual WTO

session

Annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO

Parliamentary Meeting at the Global Compact on Migration

Parliamentary Meeting at the United Nations Climate Change

Conference (COP24)

Fifth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians

Capacity-building workshop on countering terrorism and violent

extremism for countries from the MENA region

Third Roundtable convened by the Committee on Middle East

Questions

158 session of the Committee on the Human Rights of

Parliamentarians

First meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth World

Conference of Speakers of Parliament

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First Global Parliamentary Summit on Countering Terrorism

and Violent Extremism

February 2019

(Venue and dates to be

confirmed)

NEW YORK

February 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

BRUSSELS (Belgium)

European Parliament

February/March 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

NEW YORK

March 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

DOHA (Qatar)

6-10 April 2019

Niger

(first half of 2019 - dates to be

confirmed)

GENEVA

(first half of 2019 - dates to be

confirmed)

ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia)

May/June 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

GENEVA

May/June 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

WROXTON (United Kingdom)

27-28 July 2019

NEW YORK

July 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

BELGRADE (Serbia)

Autumn 2019

(Dates to be confirmed)

Côte d’Ivoire

(Dates to be confirmed)

Venue and dates to be

confirmed

MEXICO CITY (Mexico)

(Dates to be confirmed)

Annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations

44 session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary

Conference on the WTO

Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of the 63 session of

the Commission on the Status of Women

140 Assembly and related meetings

Capacity-building workshop on countering terrorism and

violent extremism for the Sahel countries

Workshop for parliamentary human rights committees

Second regional seminar on the achievement of the SDGs for

the Parliaments in the Asia-Pacific Region

Information seminar on the structure and functioning of the

Inter-Parliamentary Union for English-speaking participants

Fourteenth Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and

Parliamentarians

Parliamentary side event at the High-Level Political Forum for

sustainable development (HLPF)

141 Assembly and related meetings

Regional seminar on the achievement of the SDGs for African

Parliaments

Sixth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians

Leadership seminar on strengthening democracy through

electoral processes

IPU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 3: Resultat af IPU-session efterår 2018

Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Reports, decisions and other texts of the Governing Council

Agenda of the 140

Assembly

(Doha, Qatar, 6-10 April 2019)

Election of the President and Vice-Presidents of the 140 Assembly

Consideration of requests for the inclusion of an emergency item in the Assembly agenda

General Debate

Non-admissibility of using mercenaries as a means of undermining peace and violating human

rights

(Standing Committee on Peace and International Security)

The role of fair and free trade and investment in achieving the SDGs, especially regarding

economic equality, sustainable infrastructure, industrialization and innovation

(Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade)

Reports of the Standing Committees

Approval of the subject items for the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security

and for the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade at the

142 IPU Assembly and appointment of the Rapporteurs

Amendments to the IPU Statutes and Rules