The 136th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly chaired by Uganda's Rebecca Kadaga, ended on Wednesday with the adoption of the Dhaka Declaration calling for urgent international action to save millions of people from famine and drought in parts of Africa and Yemen.
The five-day assembly in Dhaka also took a resolution on the role of parliament in respecting the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of states, promoting enhanced international cooperation on the SDGs, financial inclusion of women in particular.
Presenting the remarks of the African Geo-Political Group to the Assembly, Kadaga thanked the people of Bangladesh for the conducive environment and organization of the 136th Assembly.
She expressed gratitude to the assembly for adopting the emergency item on famine and drought, which she said was prevalent in many African countries, including Uganda.
Kadaga applauded Bangladesh for their role in peacekeeping missions and to the recognition accorded to women. "This country has a female Head of State and Government, a female Speaker, a female Leader of the Opposition, which has for a long time maintained a large contingent of women peacekeepers serving with the Blue Helmets," she said.
In their Dhaka Communique, the Assembly urged parliamentarians to play their role in bringing relief to the millions of people facing starvation and death, which also put pressure on their governments to fund humanitarian relief operations to avert the crisis. Over 650 Members of Parliament from 132 countries have been meeting in Dhaka from April 1 to 5, 2017.
"Our parliaments should be more representative, accessible and transparent. We must strengthen international cooperation to improve the quality and quantity of aid to Less Developed Countries, support fair trade practices, and to ensure fairer representation from LDCs in global economic and financial governances," the communiqué reads in part.
The President of the IPU, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, took pride for the successful organization of the Meeting, which he called a defining moment in the history of Bangladesh.
"We will always remember Dhaka as the city where the IPU Television started its journey. This is the first Assembly, which is also going to be a Green Assembly," he said.
He lauded the Assembly for pioneering the empowerment of women with new rules to the IPU where one third of Members of the Executive Committee will now be women, and young parliamentarians will have representation in the Executive Board of the IPU.
The Secretary General of the IPU, Martin Chungong, was reappointed for a four-year term to serve at the helm of the organization. Chungong called for an end to extreme inequalities which he said come at a high cost to society, stalling economic progress, undermining the democratic process and social cohesion and increasing the risk of violence.
"To reduce inequalities, efforts are needed at national and international levels, including strengthening legal frameworks, making parliaments more representative, making the economy work for all, strengthening social dialogue and human capital and improving international cooperation," Chungong said.
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