‘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.
The annual 2012 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO was held in Geneva on 15-16 November 2012. An interactive debate with exceptional speakers took place on the following issues: Trade as a tool of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation; Analysing 21st century trade challenges; Trade in services: time for political decisions.
Jointly hosted by the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK, the conference took place in the Houses of Parliament 6-8 November 2012, and was attended by parliamentarians from 50 countries.
The 127th IPU Assembly in Quebec City from 21 to 26 October 2012 was attended by more than 1300 participants from over 120 parliaments including over 40 Speakers a strong UK representation to the 127 IPU Assembly in Quebec 21 – 26 October was led by Robert Walter MP, Chairman of the British Group. The 5 day conference included discussions on the use of social media to enhance citizen engagement and democracy, Parliaments’ role in safeguarding civilian lives and innovative finance for sustainable development.
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The Steering Comittee for the IPU Parliamentary Conference was held in Geneva on 25 September 2012. The meeting threw up some very interesting issues throughout the day including; Should the WTO continue? Should we continue to support Multilateralism? Was the proliferation of Institutions holding up trade liberalisation? Were the voices of the Business community too absent from the WTO? The ever changing nature of Trade. The Importance of Domestic Competition Laws. Has Global Co-operation Failed?
The international Day of Democracy 2012 was marked by statements and events from world leaders and politicians across the world and the BGIPU also held a series of events in Westminster to mark the occasion as part of BGIPU week in Parliament. The Chair of the BGIPU, Robert Walter MP, gave a statement to mark the Day at a reception for Diplomatic staff and parliamentarians on 11 September.
The BGIPU, in cooperation with the All Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group co-hosted a discussion on ‘Defending the Rights of Parliamentarians’ Chaired by Robert Walter MP – Chair of the BGIPU. The discussion took place during BGIPU week as part of the BGIPU marking the International Day of Democracy.
In the first of the series of events, Mr Speaker and the Lord Speaker, along with Members of the Executive Committee of the BGIPU met to commemorate the work of the co-founder of the IPU, and first British citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Sir William Randal Cremer.
The BGIPU will be marking the International Day of Democracy (15 September) and promoting the work of our membership with a series of thematic events across Parliament during the week of 10 September. Events will include a lunch time lecture on the threat to the Human Rights of Parliamentarians globally, a panel debate on the challenges facing democracy in an inter-dependant world, an information stand on the work of the IPU and other associated events.
The Parliamentary meeting organised by the IPU on the occasion of the XIX International AIDS Conference “AIDS in 2012: What will it take to stop the epidemic?” provided an opportunity for Parliamentarians from over 20 countries to discuss the role that they can play in tackling the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
