Month: November 2014

Roundtable

Sharing perspectives with Romania on EU cooperation issues

BGIPU hosted a parliamentary delegation from Romania from 24-28 November 2014 led by Mr Dumitru Oprea, Chairman of the Democratic Liberal Party in the Senate. The key focus of the visit was on bilateral relations, EU cooperation and migration issues, providing valuable opportunities to explore the contribution being made by the Romanian community in the UK against the backdrop of the current UK debate regarding free movement provisions within the EU.

UNHearing1.jpg

Parliamentary Hearing at the UN debates post-2015 SDGs

This year’s Parliamentary Hearing at the UN, jointly convened by the IPU and the UN from 19-20 November, was entitled, “Ensuring a people-centred approach to the new SDGs: A shared responsibility”. Key issues which drove the discussion included: how economic and social inequality, as well as discrimination, risked undermining people-centred development; the need to strengthen transparency and accountability to the people in both the public and private sectors; the responsibility of governments vis-à-vis the market; and how countries could deal more effectively with their human rights responsibilities and obligations.

Meeting with Congress Representative in Honduras

UK Delegation gains new insights into Guatemala & Honduras

A little bit of BGIPU history was made when a Parliamentary delegation from our Parliament visited Guatemala and Honduras in the second week of November. We had not sent a delegation to Guatemala since 2008 and Honduras had never had a visit from the BGIPU. The visit highlighted the key difficulties Guatemala and Honduras are facing in the light of the current security situation and social inequalities, in addition to seeing potential opportunities for British investment and economic engagement.

Prison in Honduras

Why Human Rights in Guatemala and Honduras Matter

It’s difficult to comprehend the size of the human rights issues that face people in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as related countries. It’s often difficult to see how state funded and run human rights groups can effectively put pressure on national governments and one is left with the view that strengthened civil society and effective democracy will be much more effective.