2023-10-27 18:01:08
Joint resolution on child protection adopted; no agreement on urgent resolution on the situation in Gaza
Vienna (PK) – The Angolan capital Luanda hosted the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union this week. From October 23rd to 27th, around 700 parliamentarians from 130 countries met at the invitation of the National Assembly of Angola to discuss the issue of peace, justice and strong institutions – one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The general debate focused on questions of the rule of law, trust in public institutions and maintaining social peace.
The assembly also adopted a final declaration in which the parliamentarians noted the essential importance of good governance in curbing poverty, war and environmental destruction. The trust in public institutions that is crucial for this must be strengthened through transparency, effective state administration and the inclusion of particularly disadvantaged groups in political processes. In this sense, it is also crucial to ensure the rule of law principles at national and international level, in particular to protect human rights, as emphasized in the declaration.
In a joint resolution, the participants also called for measures and international cooperation in the fight once morest trafficking in orphans. The resolution reaffirms the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly regarding trafficking in children, child prostitution and depictions of child abuse. The IPU calls on parliaments and other relevant partners to work together to reform national legal frameworks in this regard, monitor progress and develop preventative mechanisms.
However, due to the different views of the participating delegates regarding the situation in Israel and Gaza, no agreement might be reached on an urgent resolution.
The Austrian delegation consisted of Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP), Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic (Greens) and Nikolaus Scherak (NEOS). As part of the assembly, Lopatka assumed membership of the Committee on United Nations Affairs. It was also decided that he would also be a member of the IPU Task Force for the Peaceful Resolution of the War in Ukraine.
Austria’s delegates “disillusioned” by disagreement over the situation in the Middle East
In the general debate, Lopatka emphasized the importance of parliaments in implementing international standards at the national level. It is important to strengthen the trust of the population through good governance and the involvement of civil society. Lopatka saw it as pleasing that Austria was in 5th place out of 166 countries in the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s 2023 Sustainable Development Report. He was “disappointed” that it was not possible for the assembly to condemn the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas and that the motion submitted by Austria and 10 other states did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority of the votes of the 130 parliaments present .”
Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic gave the IPU an important role in developing peaceful solutions, particularly in this “extremely tense foreign policy situation” – even if the debates and votes on this were sometimes “sobering”. The global community is divided, especially when it comes to the war in the Middle East. It is all the more important to maintain the dialogue and for Europeans to realize that a purely Eurocentric perspective leads to a “stalemate,” said Ernst-Dziedzic. In this context, she welcomed the election of a new President, who for the first time in the history of the IPU would be a woman from an African country.
Nikolaus Scherak condemned the “heinous crimes committed by the terrorist organization Hamas.” It is clear to the Austrian delegation that they are on Israel’s side and support its right to self-defense, said Scherak.
If international association of parliaments Founded in 1889, the IPU is a global forum for parliamentary dialogue in close cooperation with the United Nations. Its goals are to secure peace, protect human rights and promote the understanding of democracy. The Bahamas was admitted to the IPU as the 180th member parliament at this meeting. Tanzania’s parliamentary speaker, Tulia Ackson, was elected as the new president of the IPU. (End) wit
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