PARLIAMENTS HAVE 'CLEAR ROLE' IN ADVANCING ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN MESSAGE TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION
Press Release
SG/SM/6327
PARLIAMENTS HAVE 'CLEAR ROLE' IN ADVANCING ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN MESSAGE TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION
19970915 Following is the text of a message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the 98th Inter-Parliamentary Conference held at Cairo from 11 to 15 September. It was delivered on his behalf by Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva:It gives me great pleasure to convey a message to the many parliamentarians who have journeyed to Cairo for this 98th Inter-Parliamentary Conference.
I would like first to express sincere gratitude to President Hosni Mubarak and the people of Egypt for hosting this eminent gathering, which contributes to dialogue and harmonious relations among peoples and nations.
I would like also to stress again the importance I attach to building close ties between the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations. The cooperation agreement our two organizations signed last year was only a beginning. It reflects a most welcome and promising development -- the emergence of new actors on the world stage and their growing influence in shaping the international agenda.
As usual, your own agenda includes some of the urgent concerns of the day.
The trend towards democratization has been accelerating for some time. At the United Nations, the phenomenon is seen in the requests we receive for electoral assistance. Their number has increased dramatically, with no fewer than 80 in the past five years. So has the diversity of tasks with which the Organization is entrusted. Our electoral assistance work now encompasses not only observation and verification, but also the drafting of electoral laws and constitutions and the formation of political parties.
In addition, as part of our "good governance" efforts, United Nations technical assistance programmes focus increasing attention on the creation and sustainability of democratic institutions, such as judiciaries and national human rights bodies. Indeed, supporting democratization has joined our work for peace and development as a major enterprise.
- 2 - Press Release Sg/SM/6327 15 September 1997
Employment was one of the main themes of the Work Summit for Social Development, held in 1995 in Copenhagen. There, Member States committed themselves to promoting the goal of full employment as a basic priority of their economic and social policies. It was agreed that all men and women should be able to attain secure and sustainable livelihoods.
More than two years later, employment remains a major concern of the United Nations system, especially given the rapid pace of globalization. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that close to a billion people are either unemployed or underemployed -- a startling 30 per cent of the global work force. Within this broad problem are particular agonies: young people, including those with formal education, who have little hope of finding productive work; child labourers forced to enure back-breaking working conditions and exposure to hazardous chemicals; and migrant workers who face discrimination, social and cultural handicaps and arbitrary expulsion.
The role of parliaments in these areas is clear. You can ensure that these issues stay at the forefront of national debate. You can pass legislation and allocate national resources -- personnel, as well as funding -- to support such legislation. You can establish parliamentary commissions to monitor the effectiveness of legislation and recommend new or reboubled efforts where necessary. And you can share your experiences and expertise through inter-parliamentary conferences such as this one, and through expanded involvement with the United Nations.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union is also uniquely placed to contribute to the process of reform at the United Nations -- which will be high on the agenda of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly that begins next week. As we continue reshaping and re-tooling the Organization for the new global era, this promises to be one of the most momentous periods of debate and decision in United Nations history.
I look forward to working with you in our joint efforts towards democratization, full employment and renewal of a vital instrument of common progress and global service. In that spirit of enhanced cooperation and collaboration between us, I wish you the best for a successful conference.
* *** *