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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, this House adopts the Report of the 118th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly and Related meetings held in Cape Town, South Africa, between 13th and 18th April, 2008 and laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to give a brief summary of the proceedings and the resolutions of the 118th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting. In accordance with Article 11(1) of the Statutes and Rules of the IPU, you, on behalf of the Executive Committee of the Kenya National Assembly Group, nominated five hon. Members to represent our Parliament during the 118th IPU Assembly held in Cape Town. The delegation comprised the following hon. Members:- The hon. Kenneth Marende, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly and the leader of the delegation, The hon. Esther Mathenge, MP, The hon. Washington Midiwo, MP, The hon. Abdi Nassir Nuh, MP, The hon. Clement Muchiri Wambugu, MP, The hon. Peris Chepchumba, MP, Mr. Michael Sialai, the Principal Clerk Assistant and the Personal Assistant to the Speaker, Ms. Anita Thuranira, the Principal Clerk Assistant and Secretary to the delegation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the members of the delegation, I wish to thank you for giving us the opportunity to attend the international forum. During the conference, we were able to interact and exchange views with Parliamentarians from all over the world, most of whom sent messages of congratulations and goodwill to the people of Kenya for the newly formed Grand Coalition Government. The delegation had occasion to meet and hold bi-lateral talks with the Deputy Secretary of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the IPU, the United Kingdom as well as the South African delegations, among others. The delegation wishes to express its gratitude to the Clerk of the National Assembly for the financial, logistical and technical support provided. Our thanks also go to the High Commissioner and staff of our High Commission in South Africa for their invaluable support and presence during the entire conference. I, therefore, submit the Report to the National Assembly, together with the attached resolutions in accordance with Article 8 of the IPU Statutes, which states:- \"It is the duty of the National Group to submit the resolution of the Union to its respective Parliaments in the most appropriate form to communicate them to the Government, to stipulate the implementation and to inform the Secretariat of the Union as often and as fully as possible, particularly in the annual reports, as to the steps taken and the results obtained.\" Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the IPU is the sole international organisation that represents the legislative branch of the government on a global scale. The IPU membership currently stands at 146 national parliaments, and its main mission is to strife for peace and co-operation among peoples, and for the firm establishment of representative institutions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the 118th Parliamentary Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and its related meetings was held in Cape Town, South Africa between the 13th and 19th of April, 2008. The conference was attended by over 1,500 delegates, associate members, June 10, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1109 observers, representatives of various organs of the United Nations, including United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Parliament, the African Parliamentary Union, East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Southern Africa Development Corporation (SADC), among others. The main objective of the Union is to promote the globalisation of democracy and assist parliamentarians to exercise their shared responsibilities as global custodians of democracy and human rights. This forum enables parliamentarians to get better grasp of international issues, establish personal contacts and strengthen mutual trust through dialogue and exchange of ideas. Over the years, the IPU Assembly has served to provide the backdrop for parliamentary diplomacy. On numerous occasions, when relations between the executive branches of Government have reached a stalemate, parliamentarians have managed to negotiate a way out of this impasse. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the IPU has also become an organisation of parliaments who wish to foster through permanent dialogue, not only the universal establishment of human rights and democracy, but also the joint global elimination of undesirable developments such as organised crime and international terrorism which national governments can no longer counter on their own. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the policy making body of the IPU is the Governing Council. At least three members from every delegation can be members of the Governing Council during the Assembly. The Executive Council is the administrative arm of the organisation and it prepares recommendations for action by the Governing Council. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the Assembly, Women parliamentarians hold their separate meetings for at least two days. During which, they deliberate on topical global issues affecting women. They also participate in committee and plenary proceedings. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the bulk of the work of the Assembly is usually done in three Standing Committees and delegates can join any Committee of their choice. Committee resolutions are later presented to the full Assembly for adoption and implementation by IPU Member countries. All the Members of the Kenyan delegation actively participated in plenary, committees, meeting of Women Parliamentarians as well as panel discussions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the 118th IPU Assembly was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The inaugural address was delivered by the President of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, the Vice-President of IPU, Ms. Komi who was representing the IPU President, Mr. Fernando Cassini, the Speaker of the South African Parliament, Ms. Baleka Mbete, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro and a video recorded welcome message by the former South African President, Mr. Nelson Mandela. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in his address, President Mbeki asked parliamentarians to do everything in their power to intensify the struggle against poverty and underdevelopment, particularly in Africa. He said that it is not right that as half of the world lives in incredible affluence, the other half lives in poor, dehumanising, hopeless and desperate conditions. Parliamentarians, therefore, have an obligation to put in place measures that will restore people's dignity and empower them with resources that will free them from the fear of watching their children die of hunger. He also emphasised the need for nations to make efforts in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to ensure global food security, nurture gender equality and enhance the tenets of democracy and good governance. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Speaker of the South African Parliament urged 1110 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 10, 2008 parliamentarians to continue, not only holding their governments accountable for domestic policies, but also for their actions at international level. She said that it is the view of parliamentarians, all over the world, that they have relegated foreign policy to the executive and failed to ensure that the voices of the people they represent are articulated so as to help their countries foreign policies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in her address, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. Migiro said that to achieve the MDGs, there was need for political will to manifest in legislation and budget allocations. She urged parliaments in developed countries to contribute to government's efforts to honour their commitments to allocate 0.7 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to official development assistance. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Acting IPU President, Ms. Komi emphasised the need for parliamentarians to put in place policies geared towards alleviation of poverty. She also described poverty as the single most acute handicap affecting the world because for the poor the daily struggle for bare survival overshadows all other human aspirations and fulfilment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the conference, our delegation attended two panel discussions on maternal, newborn and child health; and reconciliation and peace building. As 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation, His Royal Highness (HRH), Prince Willem Alexander, Chair of the UN Secretary-Generals' Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation delivered an address to the Assembly. He reminded parliamentarians about the resolution adopted unanimously ten years ago at the 100th IPU Assembly on water and the means required to preserve, manage and make the best use of this resource for sustainable development. He said that water continues to demand undivided global attention and more effort is, therefore, required to tackle this worldwide crisis. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, according to UN statistics, 750,000 people are still dying daily for lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Rivers are polluted. There is very high competition between industrial, agricultural, domestic and various other water uses. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the conference there were five major items for discussion; namely: (i) The general debate on political, economic and social situation in the world with the overall theme of \"Pushing back the Frontiers of Poverty\"; (ii) The role of parliaments in striking a balance between national security, human security and individual freedoms and in averting the threat to democracy; (iii) Parliamentary oversight of state policies on foreign aid; (iv) migrant workers, people trafficking, xenophobia and human rights and emergency item was included. The role of Parliaments and IPU in ensuring an immediate halt to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in conflict areas and its environmental dimension in facilitating the Palestinians rights to self-determination, particulary by ending the blockade in Gaza and in accelerating the creation of a Palestinian State through viable peace processes. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of pushing back the frontiers of poverty and, particularly, in the Third World countries, Africa has the highest rate of poverty in the world. That is compounded by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and internal conflicts. They noted that despite many global initiatives geared towards eradication of poverty and encouraging signs, progress has been slow and uneven. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had resolved to reduce poverty and halve the number of people earning less than a dollar per day by the year 2015."
}