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Theme: Human Rights

IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron meets the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York

IPU President and SG meet UNSG to discuss future cooperation

On 22 February 2018, IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron and Secretary General Martin Chungong met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to review the status of UN-IPU cooperation. The meeting took place in New York in the context of the 2018 Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations on migration designed to bring a parliamentary perspective to the UN negotiations, and set the stage for active parliamentary engagement in the implementation of the Global Compacts for migration and refugee protection.

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
Members of parliament from some 50 countries attended the UN Parliamentary Hearing in New York.JPG

UK members highlight evidence & data for fair migration

Four British parliamentarians, Tim Loughton MP, Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP, Kate Green MP and Lord Dubs, travelled to the United Nations to participate in the UN Parliamentary Hearing , entitled ‘Towards a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration’ held 22-23 February 2018 and attended by representatives of some 50 parliaments. Significant focus was on the need for fair treatment of migrants with UK members highlighting the importance of evidence-based policies.

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
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IPU convenes MPs on migration at the United Nations

The need for a global compact on migration was emphasized at the Annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations in New York from 22 to 23 February 2018. The Hearing allowed MPs to provide a parliamentary perspective on the new UN Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration (GCM) currently under negotiation.  Migration is a reality the world over, too often governed in an ad hoc manner. Migrants need more regular pathways to reduce irregular migration and ensure better integration in their host country and its labour market.  

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
The UK delegation led by Rt Hon Ann Clwyd MP meets with the President of Iraq, HE Fuad Massoum.JPG

UK delegation visits Iraq at pivotal time for its future

A UK parliamentary delegation which visited Iraq 13-16 February 2018 saw the country poised at a crossroads in which the upcoming elections will be crucial. The policy approaches and political stability of any government resulting from these elections will be a key determinant in whether a largely positive trajectory on the back of the victory over Daesh will continue. Political stability, addressing corruption and economic/social progress are pre-conditions for the full delivery of the $30 billion pledged recently to rebuild the country. 

Middle EastHuman RightsOutward Delegations
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IPU Committee denounces wide scale repression of opposition MPs

The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians condemns the exclusion and repression of opposition MPs in the lead-up to critical elections in Cambodia and Venezuela, and the pattern of intimidation against opposition parties worldwide.  The IPU Committee, during a recent meeting, adopted decisions on 18 cases of violations against 252 MPs in 14 countries. A majority of these cases concerned opposition MPs.

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
Migration.JPG

IPU-UN Parliamentary Hearing to focus on migration

The United Nations is in the process of negotiating a Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration that will be formally adopted at a conference in Morocco in December.  This year’s IPU-UN Parliamentary Hearing will contribute from a parliamentary perspective to the Global Compact. The Hearing, on 22-23 February in New York, will build on a number of parliamentary debates since the landmark 2015 IPU Declaration on “The imperative for fairer, smarter and more humane migration”.

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
Lord Dubs with represented of the IPU's joint host, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Meditteraneanen, and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.JPG

MPs commit to promoting fair, smart and humane migration

A conference, co-organized by the IPU with the Parliament of Malta and PAM took place in Valletta, Malta, from 16 to 17 November 2017. It concluded Parliaments can play a vital role in ensuring safe and humane migration through the ratification and effective implementation of international treaties. They can also help to change the negative discourse around migration by putting in place and strengthening legislation against xenophobia and racism and by promoting balanced and empirically sound public debate.

EuropeHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
Violations of the human rights of MPs in 2017.jpg

IPU links democracies in crisis & human rights abuses against MPs

Human rights abuses against parliamentarians reached a new high in 2017, according to IPU statistics. Parliamentarians from Cambodia, Maldives, Turkey and Venezuela alone, where the political situation has been worsening in recent times, account for 35% of the cases.  Cases of abuses against women MPs have also reached a record number this year, having tripled since 2014. The IPU’s annual review reports that, in 2017 the Organization’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians examined the cases of 507 MPs in 41 countries.

Global IssuesHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
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MPs worldwide call for end of intolerance, mistrust and violence

Parliamentarians from 155 countries have committed to pursuing cultural pluralism and peace through interfaith and inter-ethnic dialogue.  In a declaration issued at the close of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly (#IPU137) in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, IPU Member Parliaments have called for transparency, accountability and respect for human rights and the rule of law to serve as the basis for building sustainable and peaceful diversity.

EuropeHuman RightsIPU Activities & Conferences
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Key perspectives on social issues in Peru from UK visit

During its recent visit to Peru the UK delegation looked at the impact of a range of social issues in Peru.  This included measures and social models to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in Peru.  The delegation also met with the Minister for Women’s Affairs to discuss womens rights and domestic abuse and heard about efforts to achieve justice for past abuse of indigenous peoples through forced sterilsation in the 1990s.  There was also discussion of the Ombudsman network designed to tackle human rights issues in the country.  

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