Whoever one meets in politics in Costa Rica and El Salvador, the gloomy presence of the drugs trade will eventually emerge in discussion. Previously by-standers in the drugs wars, these two countries now have Mexican drug cartels who have relocated in order to avoid detection and invest their profits.
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 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.
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.
The BGIPU in conjunction with ActionAid’s Parliamentary Network on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan, held a panel discussion on Tuesday 3 July discuss practical steps towards addressing key challenges on Women, Peace and Security. The Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza CMG, opened the discussions with John Spellar MP, Margot James MP and Lucia Fry, ActionAid Head of Policy formed the Panel, which was chaired by Anushka Asthana of The Times.
Mr Zayar Thaw MP, National League for Democracy (NLD) member of the Burmese Parliament and Mr Nay Chi Win, a Communications Adviser with the NLD, were welcomed to the Parliament on 25 June 2012 by the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU).
The aim of this delegation was to gain an understanding of Mexican issues in this election year, discuss trade, development, human rights and environmental issues, including energy and climate change. The delegation was very keen to understand the Federal nature of Mexico and thus travelled outside Mexico City to the State of Puebla. The delegation found this to be a very successful visit for all involved.
Our visit to Chile in July 2011 must have been one of the most detailed and comprehensive itineraries that a delegation from the IPU-British Group has undertaken in many years. Our visit coincided with celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Chilean National Congress which is based in Chile’s second city and Pacific port of Valparaiso.
The turmoil in the Arab world dominated debates at the IPU Assembly in Panama in April which was attended by a delegation from Britain led by Robert Walter MP. Mr Walter – Chair of the British Group of the IPU – told delegates from over 100 countries in the IPU that recent events in North Africa could spread to other countries in the region.
Overall a great deal has been achieved in a short period in Georgia. There are very grave difficulties, but these are being tackled by an able, innovative and optimistic people. Understandably the Russian presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia was the main theme on the minds of the parliamentarians whom the delegation met.
