Parliaments and Soft Power Diplomacy
On Tuesday 29 January the BGIPU and the British Council came together to discuss Parliaments and soft power diplomacy.
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On Tuesday 29 January the BGIPU and the British Council came together to discuss Parliaments and soft power diplomacy.
The President of Tunisia, HE Dr Moncef Marzouki, visited Parliament on Monday 26 November to meet with UK Parliamentarians for a BGIPU-hosted discussion entitled “Perspectives on Tunisia’s Democratic transition”. With the President providing a brief opening statement but preferring to respond directly to questions from the floor, the event was highly interactive and provided a unique opportunity to engage with a pivotal figure in the evolution of political transition following the events of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and the wider region.
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.
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 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.
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.
This parliamentary event was organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women on the occasion of the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The theme was: The role of Parliaments in promoting access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology.
