Activities: IPU Activities & Conferences

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UK delegation plays leading role in 128th IPU Assembly deliberation

The 128th IPU Assembly in Quito, Ecuador from 22 to 27 March 2013 was attended by more than 1350 participants from over 118 parliaments. The UK delegation was prominent and active throughout the Assembly, including as a member of the Emergency Item Drafting Committee, as moderators of panel discussions, in detailed Committee work and in a range of targeted bilateral exchanges.

The mission, led by Lord Judd from the UK House of Lords met UN officials and PLC members to hear their views on security, human rights and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip.

Time for Talks is Now, Says IPU Middle East Committee

A delegation from IPU’s Committee on Middle East Questions says there is an urgent need for regular and inclusive dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian legislators to begin now. It would help ensure progress on peace negotiations by capitalizing on political developments in the region. The statement follows a recently concluded visit to the West Bank and Israel as the second part of a mission to the Middle East

The meeting heard perspectives from Lord Harrison and Baroness Hooper who represented the BGIPU at the 2012 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Geneva held 15-16 November 2012 which was jointly organized by the IPU and the European Parliament

WTO and Parliaments – Parliaments should be active in debating global trade developments

BGIPU convened a roundtable discussion on 13 March to discuss multilateral trade with a specific focus on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the role of Parliaments.  The meeting heard perspectives from Lord Harrison and Baroness Hooper who represented the BGIPU at the 2012 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Geneva held 15-16 November 2012 which was jointly organized by the IPU and the European Parliament.

Roberta Blackman-Woods MP & Mary Macleod MP attended CSW57 for BGIPU

BGIPU ensures UK Parliamentary voice is heard at CSW 57

This was an excellent visit that really benefitted from the preparatory work undertaken before the visit. The briefing meetings with the Gender and Equalities Office and the meeting with representatives from NGOs attending the conference were particularly beneficial. Both meetings helped us to focus on key issues that would be discussed at the conference and […]

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Visit to Liberia to meet the UN Secretary General’s “High-Level Panel” on Post-2015 Global Development Goals

On 30 January in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, Hugh Bayley MP joined senior parliamentary colleagues from Liberia, Bangladesh and Uganda in a roundtable discussion to convey to the post-2015 High Level Panel the IPU’s perspectives on the importance of democratic governance, particularly the role to be played by parliaments, in determining any future international development goals.

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Hugh Bayley MP visits UK and World Bank aid projects in Liberia

In addition to the primary role as a member of the IPU delegation to meet the UNSG’s High Level panel on post-2015 Global Development goals, Hugh Bayley MP also had the opportunity to have a number of other meetings  during my visit to Liberia which provide valuable insight into the current situation in Liberia, including UK interests in the country.

The BGIPU sent two delegates to the Annual UN Parliamentary Assembly on Peacebuilding at UN Headquarters in New York , Craig Whittaker MP and Lord McConnell.

Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations

‘A road less travelled: parliamentary approaches to conflict prevention, reconciliation and peace building’; By focusing on the role that Parliamentarians and Parliaments can play in conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, the Conference dealt with an element of peacebuilding that receives too little attention in the normal course of events.