Geneva, 3 March 2020
Office of the
Secretary General
Dear Madam President,
Dear Mr. President,
We continue to make preparations for the 142nd IPU Assembly (16–20 April 2020) in
Geneva.
However, we also continue to monitor developments concerning the worldwide spread
of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We are following the daily updates from the
Swiss
Federal Office of Public Health
and the
World Health Organization.
Despite the
preventive measures in place, we are seeing that large international events scheduled
to take place in Geneva have already been cancelled, such as the Geneva Auto Show
and the International Watch Fair (this latter event was scheduled to take place in late
April). As of 28 February 2020, the Swiss Federal Authorities have banned the
holding of large meetings (of 1,000 participants and above) until mid-March. This
decision could be extended.
The United Nations, in turn, has cancelled or postponed a number of meetings in both
Geneva and New York. In Geneva, all side events of the current session of the UN
Human Rights Council have been cancelled. The annual session of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which was scheduled to start next week
in New York, has been postponed to later this year (dates to be determined), with only
one procedural meeting with diplomats based in New York taking place for a day on
9 March to adopt the CSW Declaration and related resolutions.
The IPU accords top priority to the health and well-being of the representatives of its
Member Parliaments, of other delegates to IPU events and of its staff. For this reason,
and in light of concerns expressed by several IPU Members, it has been decided to
consult the IPU Executive Committee on the best course of action for the Assembly.
We will keep you posted on developments and promptly inform you of any decisions.
In the meantime, Members may wish to ensure that their travel and accommodation
arrangements for the Geneva Assembly are flexible, and to refer to their national
health advisories for specific information.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary General