REVIEWING COOPERATION BETWEEN UNITED NATIONS AND INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION, SPEAKERS IN ASSEMBLY URGE EXPANDED AND STRENGTHENED RELATIONSHIP

28 October 1998

Press Release
GA/9489

REVIEWING COOPERATION BETWEEN UNITED NATIONS AND INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION, SPEAKERS IN ASSEMBLY URGE EXPANDED AND STRENGTHENED RELATIONSHIP

19981028 Support Heard for IPU Proposed Conference in Year 2000 of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments to Complement Millennium Assembly

If the international community was convinced that there existed no better system of government than democracy, then it must fully support the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the representative of Uruguay told the General Assembly this morning, as it considered strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU.

Without political parties there could be no democracy or human rights, he continued. The Union reflected the voices of authentic political parties, while the Organization represented the voices of governments. Cooperation between the two resulted in the broadest representation.

The representative of Chile said that the IPU was a visionary initiative representing more than 100 democratically elected parliaments worldwide. The Organization could not treat the IPU as if it were just one more non- governmental organization. Such an attitude could not stand up to political analysis of the IPU's importance, an organization which predated even the League of Nations.

One of the weaknesses of the United Nations was that at times it overlooked the interests of a single citizen in favour of a solution more advantageous to a Government, said the representative of San Marino. The IPU had a different perspective on the issues, as it united representatives of individuals or groups of people.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, the representative of Austria said that the proposed conference of the presiding officers of national parliaments in the year 2000 would provide participants with an opportunity to express their views on how national parliaments and their world organization -- the IPU -- could work with the United Nations in the new millennium.

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A draft resolution welcoming the conference initiative and urging continued cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU was introduced by the representative of Spain.

In other action this morning, the Assembly decided to include in its current agenda two new items entitled: "Armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo" and "Dialogue among civilizations". The latter would be taken up directly in plenary session.

Statements on cooperation with the IPU were also made by the representatives of Tunisia, India, Egypt, Malta, Azerbaijan, Andorra, Norway, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, Jordan, Namibia, Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Republic of Korea and Armenia.

The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. this afternoon to take action on the draft resolution on cooperation with the IPU, consider the report of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and conclude its consideration of the implementation of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to review cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and to consider recommendations of its General Committee to include two new agenda items on the current agenda of the Assembly.

Report of the General Committee

The Assembly, in taking up the second report of the General Committee (document A/53/250 Add.1), will consider the Committee's recommendations to include two new items, as follows: "Armed Aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo" and "Dialogue among Civilizations", and that the latter item be considered directly in plenary session.

Cooperation with Inter-Parliamentary Union

The relevant report of the Secretary-General (document A/52/456) highlights the increasing collaboration between the United Nations and the IPU, while outlining specific cooperative activities undertaken by the two bodies. Cooperation has been significantly facilitated and assisted by the opening of the IPU Liaison Office in New York in March. As part of actions to provide parliamentary support for the work of the United Nations, the IPU is planning a conference of speakers of national parliaments in the year 2000, to be held in conjunction with the proposed millennium Assembly.

Cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU has been strengthened, the report says, noting that the IPU has concluded formal cooperation agreements in 1997 with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Also, discussions have begun on an agreement between the IPU and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

At a conference in April, the IPU expressed support for the United Nations work in the area of conflict prevention and the restoration of peace in war-torn countries, the report continues. Conference participants urged support for the strengthening of the United Nations mechanisms relating to conflict-prevention and early warning. In addition to offering recommendations for the protection of and assistance to refugees, the Union expressed support for United Nations efforts to solve the problem in Cyprus.

The United Nations system works particularly closely with the Union and its permanent programmes to promote representative democracy, the report continues. Taking stock of its experience in that field, the IPU concluded a study on democracy, its principles and achievements. At the national and international levels, the IPU has further supported the Organization on issues such as: the participation of women in political life and the elimination of

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all forms of gender discrimination; technical assistance and advisory services to parliaments; promotion of good governance; and the harmonization of national legislation corresponding to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The report also highlights follow-up to major United Nations conferences as another area which receives support from the Inter- Parliamentary Union.

The Secretary-General notes the increased cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations, saying he looks forward to advancing cooperation between parliaments and governments at the international level. The Secretary-General states in his programme for reform that parliamentarians are significant in the constituencies of the Organization which warranted special consideration. National parliaments which work together at the world level through the IPU have a major role to play in the pursuit of United Nations goals, he says.

By the terms of the 94-Power draft resolution (document A/53/L.12), the Assembly would recommend that the cooperation between the two organizations be further strengthened, to support the United Nations in meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century.

By the draft, the Assembly would welcome the initiative of the Inter- Parliamentary Union to hold a conference of presiding officers of national parliaments at the United Nations Headquarters, in conjunction with the millennium Assembly in 2000 proposed by the Secretary-General. The Assembly would also ask that the Secretary-General report to the Assembly during its next session on various aspects of continued cooperation, including preparations for the proposed conference.

The sponsors of the text are Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

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Report of the General Committee

The Assembly decided to include, in the agenda of the current session, two additional items entitled "Armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo" and "Dialogue among civilizations". It also decided to hold the dialogue among civilizations directly in plenary session.

Statements on Inter-Parliamentary Union

INOCENCIO F. ARIAS (Spain), introducing the draft resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU, said the two organizations had conducted a number of activities which strengthened their cooperation at a time when the United Nations was preparing to tackle problems of the twenty- first century. The potential inherent in broad cooperation between the two organizations was supported by more than 100 Member States who sponsored the draft before the Assembly. He noted that several additional co-sponsors had joined the list, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Rwanda, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Viet Nam and Zambia.

VOLKER KIER (Austria), on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Iceland, said, for the first time, all 15 member States of the Union would co-sponsor the draft resolution. The European Union was confident that the draft before the Assembly would be adopted by consensus. The task of facilitator taken on by the IPU could not be underestimated. It was the link between national parliaments and the United Nations General Assembly, and thus contributed to make that natural partnership even more valuable and effective.

He said the results achieved at IPU conferences held this year were of global relevance and therefore important for the Assembly. In April, the European Union adopted numerous resolutions of topical interest; among them: foreign debt as a factor limiting the integration of developing countries into the process of globalization; and the situation in Kosovo -- measures to ensure a lasting and peaceful solution to the crisis. Of particular relevance was the resolution adopted last September urging strong action by national parliaments to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in order to ensure the promotion and protection of all human rights in the twenty-first century.

The proposed conference of the presiding officers of national parliaments in the year 2000 would provide participants with an opportunity to express their views on how national parliaments and their world organization -- the IPU -- could work with the United Nations in the new millennium.

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SAMIRA BELHAJ (Tunisia) said the Inter-Parliamentary Union brought together 130 national parliaments, which aimed to provide reciprocal support. Parliaments were direct expressions of popular will. There were three areas in which the complementarity between the United Nations and the IPU could be seen: the advancement of representative democracy; actions for peace and security; and contributions for sustainable development.

The advancement of representative democracy was an area of specialization of the IPU, she said. Within the principles of representative democracy, the IPU supported the Organization's work, rendering assistance to new democracies. The IPU, at its meeting held in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Harare this year, discussed the contributions of parliaments to democracy in Africa.

The maintenance of peace and security was another area of cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations, she said. That was particularly important to Tunisia, since the post-cold war era had seen bloody conflicts on Africa. Other areas to which the IPU was contributing included the strengthening of the United Nations early-warning capability, the total ban on landmines and the process of reconciliation in Cyprus. She also hailed the IPU's commitment to providing support for major United Nations conferences, particularly on sustainable development.

NAJMA HEPTULLA (India) said that the ideals of development, democracy and peace, to which the IPU was committed, were fully shared by the United Nations. The Inter-Parliamentary Union included representatives from governments as well as opposition parties, which provided a unique flavour to its deliberations. Promotion of democracy was a field of particularly close cooperation between the two organizations. The IPU had participated in normative work, promoting a better understanding of democracy, and was involved in field-level institution-building projects. Also, negotiations were soon to be concluded on a multi-year parliamentary support programme between the IPU and the UNDP.

Political empowerment of women was one of the guarantees of democracy, she continued. India had enacted socially emancipating legislation and had reserved one third of seats in locally elected municipal and village bodies, through constitutional amendments. The IPU was also looking forward to the event to be jointly convened by the IPU, the United Nations and UNESCO in December 1999, at which an equal number of women and men would study the input and impact of women on the democratic process.

Speaking about the financial situation of the United Nations, she said that bankruptcy or even chronic poverty of the Organization would have an adverse impact on all its activities, including cooperation with IPU. The Union could play a role in redressing that situation by mobilizing the necessary political will to support the United Nations. Similarly, the IPU

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could work to generate renewed political interest in promoting multilateral development cooperation through the United Nations.

ABDELFATTAH EL-DALY (Egypt), noting aspects of the cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU, said that the Egyptian Parliament fully supported that cooperation. The United Nations had faced many criticisms, while grappling with numerous international issues. Some of those criticisms focused on a double standard applied by the United Nations, which had contributed to discrediting the Organization.

He said the proliferation of nuclear weapons had come to the forefront of the question on peace and security. There was a need for all States to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). He cited the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as an example of the inconsistencies in United Nations policy. The United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) had been established to ensure the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) had been entrusted with helping to validate compliance. According to the Charter and relevant Council resolutions, those procedures were to ensure that Iraq had no weapons of that type and to support establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. However, when the same logic was applied to Israel's weapons of mass destruction, the Council did not display the same type of enthusiasm.

He said every effort was necessary to ensure that the NPT regime was strengthened. The United Nations also needed to refrain from a policy characterized by double standards. The peace process in the Middle East had stagnated for two years, due to negative changes in Israeli policy and that country's non-compliance with peace accords. He hoped that the interim agreement of 23 October reached in Washington, D.C., would constitute a positive turning point in the stance of the Israeli Government. He hoped it would also put the peace process back on track, so that permanent peace would reign in the Middle East. He stressed the vital role of the United Nations in ensuring the success of the peace process. Addressing terrorism, he said that States that sheltered terrorists, under various pretexts such as human rights and religious persecution, should desist from such practices.

GEORGE SALIBA (Malta) said the IPU had been very active in the promotion of democracy. The adoption of the Universal Declaration on Democracy by IPU members was an important and significant step. The consolidation of the democratic process, with all that it entailed, was a major move forward towards the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms. During the recently concluded general debate, Malta's Prime Minister had said that there was a significant deficit in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was an instrument with no judicial mechanisms and sanction. He asked if the time had arrived to learn from the experience of regional human rights conventions -- in particular the European convention which had instituted the

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Europe Court of Human Rights, and the right of individual petition that guaranteed a judicial process aimed at ensuring effective enforcement.

He said the cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), as well as other initiatives of the IPU in that field, would be supported through the cooperation of national parliaments. His country noted IPU's increasing interest in gender issues. Unfortunately, women had always been the ones that had benefited the least from the exercise of individual human rights. Greater participation in national parliaments by women should be an important impetus for that development. Malta's last national election had resulted in an increasing number of women in its parliament. While the proportion was still at a low level, those results showed an increasing participation by women in the decision-making process of his country.

MURTUZ ALESKEROV (Azerbaijan) said that since restoring its independence, his country had taken the course towards building a secular, democratic State, based on the rule of law, as well as a market economy. In its foreign policy, it established relations with all countries on the basis of peaceful coexistence. Abolition of the death penalty in Azerbaijan had no precedent in the East. His country had also become a member of numerous international organizations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Cooperation between international organizations was necessary for solving problems arising during regional conflicts, he continued. Speaking about the Nagorno Karabakh region, he said that the support from international organizations in that matter was extremely important to his country. Violation of the territorial integrity of States, their dismemberment and flagrant non-compliance with norms of international relations must not be allowed.

He welcomed the development of ties between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Practical interaction between those two organizations should take the form of a conference of speakers of national parliaments at United Nations Headquarters in the year 2000.

JULI MINOVES-TRIQUELL (ANDORRA) said the age of globalization -- a time of complex international economic and political relations -- required that governments and parliaments absorb scores of new information and set up structures able to cope with new global challenges. Parliaments were doing their part and adapting their information gathering methods, as well as their day-to-day relationships with respective branches of government. While expressing the will of the people in representative democratic societies, parliaments must have at their disposal advanced tools and information to cope with an interdependent world. The IPU provided a way for parliaments to know each other better, and to interact and learn from other's experiences.

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An increased presence of the IPU at the United Nations would give parliaments the necessary information to react at home to the challenges the Organization faced, he said. The United Nations suffered from a lack of exposure -- sometimes appearing too remote in its daily work -- for a continuous evaluation of its actions by parliaments in national jurisdictions. The yearly visits to the Organization's Headquarters organized by the IPU was an excellent initiative that must be encouraged. The meetings enhanced the transparency necessary for the future health of the Organization.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said the cooperation agreement between the United Nations and the IPU provided parliaments with an opportunity to get more actively involved in the work of the United Nations. Adding a parliamentary dimension to the planning of future work of the United Nations might not only benefit the activities of the Organization, but also enhance the understanding of its principles and the relevance of its decisions. The IPU support in areas like conflict prevention, human rights and promotion of representative democracy had increased the effect and relevance of United Nations activities in those areas.

Furthermore, he said, it was evident that the multilateral system handling the current global economic instability needed to be strengthened. His Government believed that the time had come to rethink the role of existing international institutions in that regard. There was also an urgent need for innovative measures to influence speculative activities in the financial markets.

Some financial crises hardly reached the headlines, he continued, including those that were caused by the severe debt burden of many of the poorest countries. His Government had recently presented a comprehensive debt-relief strategy for the poorest and most heavily indebted countries. The strategy envisioned unilateral Norwegian debt forgiveness, on top of multilaterally agreed debt relief in cases where a credible exit solution had been established. He encouraged other creditor countries to introduce similar arrangements. His Government invited parliamentarians and the IPU to join forces with the United Nations in an effort to maximize the positive effects of globalization, while minimizing its negative effects.

ABDUS SHAHID (Bangladesh) said since 1996, there had been increasing interaction between those two organizations. The opening of the IPU Liaison Office in New York this year had greatly facilitated the process. The IPU annual meetings at the United Nations were also very useful.

The IPU played the supportive role for activities of the United Nations aimed at the promotion of global peace and security, prevention of conflicts, promotion of representative democracy and institution building. The IPU could contribute effectively to integrating a gender perspective in the United Nations work on better governance and increased representation of women in

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politics. The two organizations should also look for ways and means to increase their cooperation in the field of human rights and national implementation of international human rights mechanisms. As legislators, the parliamentarians had a key role to play in that regard. Another issue where cooperation would be useful was the promotion of the right to development.

AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) said a positive impetus to participation of civil society in international activity would be provided by the holding, in the year 2000, of a conference of speakers of national parliaments. That initiative was intended to be held in conjunction with, and to provide parliamentary support for, the proposed millennium Assembly in September 2000.

From the podiums of the Union's international forums, Kazakhstan's parliamentarians had declared the intention of continuing its progressive movement towards a market economy and a democratic society, giving real content to the rights and freedoms of citizens, she said. Parliamentarians played important roles in maintaining peace and security, promoting economic and social development, and in coordinating emergency measures to cope with extremely severe environmental crises.

An important area of cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU was the promotion of representative democracy, she said. In that context, Kazakhstan's leadership was currently taking steps to build a democratic State ruled by laws, which would undoubtedly strengthen its cooperation with the IPU. She highlighted several of those steps, which included new wording of the Constitution which provided for democratic standards. Further cooperation between national parliaments at the international level would play a significant role in achieving the purposes of the United Nations.

AMINULLAH IBRAHIM (Indonesia) said the awesome force of globalization was being used to press the advantage of the strong over the weak, widening the gap between the developed and the developing world. The world economy was on the brink of recession. It was against those hard realities that cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations should be further enhanced. Through follow-up to United Nations conferences, the bodies should cooperate towards the promotion of peace and security, representative democracy and sustainable development.

The channels of deliberations between the developed and developing countries needed to be revived, he continued. The international community should renew its commitment to the 1997 Agenda for Development because in the long run, positive changes in the welfare of the peoples of developing countries would be in the best interests of the international community as a whole.

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Intensified cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU was essential to ensure an effective, reformed United Nations, he continued. Nonetheless, reforms could not be a substitute for provision of adequate resources to the United Nations. Nor could they simply be a cost-cutting exercise. In that context, numerous conferences of the IPU had called on the international community to provide the United Nations with requisite financial, human and technical resources.

JUAN SOMAVIA (Chile) said the IPU held a special position as the world's only parliamentary institution. It represented more than 100 democratically elected parliaments worldwide, backed by millions of democratically represented people. The Organization could not treat the IPU as if it were just one more non-governmental organization (NGO). Such an attitude could not stand up to political analysis, for the IPU tradition predated even the League of Nations. The international community needed to reflect seriously upon the status that the IPU had in the Organization.

The United Nations needed to involve the parliaments of the world in its debates, he said. He recalled that at the 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the IPU had called for a new foundation for human security at home, work and in the environment. More than three years had passed since Copenhagen and the dangers of globalization were unfortunately coming true. No multilateral organization had the slightest chance of stabilizing the world's uncertain economy and sectoral solutions no longer worked. Instead, an integrated approach was required to yield solutions.

His Government wished to submit to the Assembly for consideration the following four proposals in response to today's agenda item: to increase the interaction between Assembly delegates and parliamentarians; to initiate, following the proposed conference of national parliaments in 2000, annual meetings between the IPU and the Organization on a selected agenda of pertinent topics; to expand work on the idea for a permanent parliamentary chamber in the Organization's structure; and to elaborate two or three annual themes of importance for discussion between the Organization and its specialized agencies with parliaments. The IPU should have a status within the Organization equal to its position as the oldest multilateral political organization in the world.

GIAN NICOLA FILIPP BALESTRA (San Marino) said that the cooperation between the two organizations was essential, since they were closely connected and complementary to one another. One of the weaknesses of the United Nations was that, at times, it overlooked the interests of single citizens in favour of solutions advantageous to a government. The IPU had a different perspective on the issues, as it united representatives of individuals or groups of people. It also took the work of the United Nations to the national level.

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Through a cooperative relationship, the IPU and the United Nations could contribute to new or restored democracies, he continued. The relationship would support implementation of programmes of information and support new governmental systems. The IPU experience, spread through reliable United Nations channels, could facilitate the assertion of democratic institutions in the new parliaments.

ALEKSANDR V. ZMEEVSKI (Russian Federation) said the period since the Assembly last took up this item had been marked by a growth of activities by both the United Nations and the IPU, in such areas as conflict prevention and gender aspects. The Moscow Forum held this year had broad repercussions for further strengthening cooperation between the two organizations. The resolution adopted in Moscow by the IPU provided an assessment of the progress achieved in the last 50 years in the field of human rights.

The UNHCR and the IPU had reached an agreement in Moscow for continued cooperation, he said. Proposals to ensure the active participation of women in public life were also drawn up at that conference, as well as measures to combat illegal drug trafficking and crime. The positive initiative to hold a session for parliamentarians jointly with the millennium Assembly had to be supported. The efforts to enhance cooperation between the Organization and the IPU served as an impressive example of cooperation for other international organizations.

ZAID AL-HADIDI (Jordan) said the challenge of joint action was to arrive at a society based on peace and security. That required the establishment of new moralities, and the move from citizenship based on competition to the concept of global citizenship. The United Nations had started that process of openness through its cooperation with civil society. That had enhanced development processes, supported democratization in various countries and encouraged positive continuity among the various levels of civil society. States should now avoid conflicts and differences and build their societies in conformity with peace and security, and in line with the principles of the Organization.

Jordan supported a forum in which the Organization and a world parliament would continue interacting in conjunction with States and people, he said. That would affect a new partnership which could become a part of the new work of the United Nations. There was also a need to strengthen the concept of institutional democracy to ensure justice and peace for all.

JORGE PEREZ-OTERMIN (Uruguay) said since the signing of a cooperation agreement in 1996, the association between the two organizations facilitated mutual complementary activities and made it easier to collaborate on humankind's work. The Union reflected the voices of authentic political parties, on the one hand; on the other, the voices of governments were heard in the Organization. The achievements of the two organizations over the past

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year represented increased coordination on topics on the international agenda. He supported holding the conference of national parliaments to take place simultaneously with the millennium Assembly in the year 2000.

The Parliament of Uruguay was resolutely committed to the objectives of the IPU and followed very closely its handling of the Latin American parliaments, including a parliamentary code of conduct, he said. If the international community was convinced that there existed no better system of government than democracy, then it must fully support the IPU. Without political parties, there could be no democracy or human rights. His country fully endorsed the IPU's aims.

MARTIN ANDJABA (Namibia) said the struggle of the Namibian people was based on the principles of democracy, freedom and self-determination. The Government was working on creating a new society based on social justice, equality, and economic and social prosperity for all Namibians.

During the IPU Conference in Windhoek, hosted by his country, the IPU had discussed and taken decisions on support for the work of the United Nations system, he said. It has also expressed support for the Secretary- General's initiatives, particularly those for conflict resolution. Another decision taken during the Windhoek Conference was on the promotion of representative democracy, and greater partnership between men and women in that process. Such concrete collaborations would pave the way for implementing the goals of major conferences.

He also applauded the efforts of the IPU to emphasize the empowerment of women. Another milestone was the opening of the IPU Liaison Office in New York, which would serve to facilitate cooperation between it and the United Nations and facilitate a greater parliamentarian presence at the Organization.

ALBERTO SALAMANCA (Bolivia) said, since its inception, the IPU had been the most important forum for multilateral dialogue, the promotion of peace and security and of international arbitration. The Union's relevance in achieving the purposes and goals of the United Nations and other international bodies made coordination crucial. Bolivia, which had now embarked on a process of democratization, belonged to four parliamentary groupings within the Union: the Latin American Parliament; the Andean Parliament; the Amazonian Parliament; and the indigenous Parliament. His delegation supported the proposal to hold a conference of officials of the IPU during the millennium Assembly in the year 2000. He hoped the resolution today would be adopted by acclamation.

PABLO MACEDO (Mexico) said the contribution of parliamentarians was unquestionably invaluable, since they were the voices of the aspirations of people. Mexico gave importance to strengthening the links between the executive and legislative branches, which was indispensable for democracy.

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That same principle should apply in international relations, he said. Bolstering the links between the international reach of the legislative branch and the United Nations gave a boost to the democratic nature of the Organization. The IPU reflected the international interests of legislators. As the representative of Chile had said, the IPU was created before the United Nations was and could not be treated as just one more NGO, he noted. It deserved special treatment. He hoped the Assembly would adopt the draft resolution.

ZURY RIOS-MONTT (Guatemala) said it was an honour to take part in the discussion with a view to strengthening the relationship between the IPU and the United Nations. The value of parliamentarians could be seen in the characteristic roles they played, acting on the basis of popular support. They played a substantial role in political life and were the representatives of the people. The relationship between governments and parliaments constituted a division of labour and cooperation. They sometimes overlapped, but parliaments were a vital institution for democracy. Parliaments must not be confined to peripheral roles, involving publicity for parties in power. She hoped the resolution would be adopted unanimously.

RICARDO LUIS BOCALANDRO (Argentina), said his delegation was pleased that the United Nations received increasing support from the IPU. Cooperation between both entities should be encouraged. The signing of an agreement between the Organization and the IPU in 1996 had made it possible to lay the foundation and establish an institutional framework underpinning and highlighting democratization. The resolution today gave fresh impetus to ideas and should bolster cooperation between the two entities. The idea of convening a conference of parliamentarians in the twenty-first century should be welcomed and Argentina supported it. His delegation would sponsor the draft in the conviction that it would contribute to the ideals sought by the Union.

SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said that last February, for the first time in his country's constitutional history, the people had demonstrated their aspiration for real democracy by voting for the opposition party to accede to power. The close cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU would better serve the purpose of a peaceful and democratic world, for both organizations could bring their vast experience to the task of promoting the globalization of democracy. His delegation was pleased to note that cooperation between them had been strengthened and facilitated by the opening of the IPU Liaison Office in New York this year.

He went on to note the support extended by the IPU to the United Nations efforts for the prevention of conflicts and restoration of peace. As this year augured the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was rewarding to know that the IPU and the UNHCR had also chosen to establish close cooperation.

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MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia) said that his country highly valued the role of parliamentarians in promoting pluralistic democracy and attached great importance to the cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU. The possibilities of cooperation between those two organizations were enormous. The importance of conflict prevention for global peace was now a universally recognized fact. In that connection, he welcomed the resolution on the prevention of conflicts and restoration of peace in war-torn countries adopted at the IPU conference last April.

He said that it was with deep regret that his country had received the news of cancellation of the meeting between the speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia and Azerbaijan and representatives of the leadership of Nagorno Karabakh, which had been scheduled to be held in Strasbourg under the auspices of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Armenia was convinced that the ultimate settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict could be achieved only through direct negotiations between the conflicting parties. It was discouraging to see that the Azerbaijani parliamentarians had declined that opportunity for direct talks.

He stressed the importance of adding a parliamentarian dimension to the tasks carried out by the United Nations. The proposed conference of speakers of national parliaments in 2000 would provide parliamentarian support to the millennium Assembly, he said.

Before adjourning the meeting, MIKHAIL WEHBE (Syria) the Acting President of the Assembly, said that action on the draft resolution on cooperation with the IPU would be taken up as the first item at the meeting this afternoon.

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