Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments Ends at U.N. HeadquartersThe Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments concluded Friday at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York.A declaration entitled "The Parliamentary Vision for International Cooperation at the Dawn of the Third Millennium" was adopted by the end of the conference. The declaration highlighted the main challenges facing the world community and the United Nations in the 21st century, described changes in international relations and outlined the national, regional and international parliamentary dimension of international cooperation. Addressing the closing session of the conference, Najma Keptulla, president of the conference and president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said the issues of common concern were debated during the course of the conference, including challenges of globalization, regional and international cooperation, poverty eradication, the worsening gap between the rich and the poor, armed conflicts, HIV/AIDS, denuclearization, sustainable development and protection of the environment. Parliaments and their members were called upon to assume increased responsibility in international relations, to reinforce parliamentary diplomacy and to play a more active role at the national, regional and global levels, the president said. Parliaments are uniquely placed to provide the United Nations with the political, human and financial support that it needs to act effectively and live up to its mandate, and the conference will thus provide the parliamentary contribution to the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations, the president said. There is no doubt that the conference represents a turning point for the IPU which will strengthen its links with both the parliaments and the United Nations, the president added. The three-day conference was organized jointly by the United Nations and the IPU in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions. At its 53rd and 54th sessions, the United Nations General Assembly welcomed the initiative of the IPU to hold the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments. |
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