PRESS CONFERENCE BY INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION PRESIDENT

At a headquarters press conference today, Sergio Paez, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), briefed correspondents on the annual parliamentary hearing at the United Nations, which brought together global parliamentarians to discuss subjects of great importance to the international community at the current time.

The Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly had inaugurated the meeting, he continued.  Three main subjects were being addressed, and the main aim of the meeting was to discuss the role of the Union in supporting the work of the United Nations over the past year.  The IPU was an institution of parliaments, not only parliamentarians, he said, and represented the popular will of peoples around the world.

The IPU had observer status and wished to provide the United Nations with political support and to contribute its experience, he stressed.  In particular, the Union hoped to be able to assist in reconstruction efforts such as those Afghanistan.  Similarly, the IPU hoped to cooperate with the United Nations to avoid further bloodshed in Iraq.

Elaborating on the three subjects being considered, he said that the IPU was discussing political support from parliaments for the resolutions and actions of the United Nations.  It was also discussing the reform of the Organization, as well as how to make progress in the fight against terrorism.  It was also important to solve the problems in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.  The conclusions of the debate would be submitted to the President of the General Assembly.

Of the parliamentarians here today, who, aside from the five permanent members of the Security Council, were especially influential? a correspondent asked.

There were many parliamentarians here today whose governments were represented in the Security Council, he replied, but that did not increase or decrease the influence of the IPU.  The IPU’s opinion was important because it was representative.  The Union itself was an organization that should be listened to because of what it represented -- it was among the world’s oldest multilateral organizations, having existed for 115 years.  The organization by itself was important and that fact should be highlighted.

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