Region: Global Issues

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 […]

BGIPU Executive Committee Member, Mr John Robertson MP, also a member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, provided a report on his perspectives on COP18 saying that while ambitions had been admittedly low, progress made was sufficient in setting up a way forward which maintained momentum for global action and encouraged governments to continue to focus on how best to find agreement on areas to be progressed

Good COP / Bad COP: Parliamentary Perspectives from COP18

The two week long climate talks in Doha came to a close on 8 December with 194 countries agreeing to implement a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, from 2013 through 2020. The Doha round of talks mark the beginning of a transition to a new global climate change regime that will come into effect from 2020 and include within its ambit all countries. The BGIPU held a lecture to discuss: Good COP / Bad COP: Parliamentary Perspectives from COP18.

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.

The annual 2012 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO was held in Geneva on 15-16 November 2012.

Back to basics: Connecting Politics and Trade, 2012 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO

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.

Quebec Assembly 2012

127th IPU Assembly, Quebec

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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IPU Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO

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?