IPU 105th Conference OpensThe 105th Conference of the Inter Parliamentarian Union (IPU) opened on Monday in the Havana Convention Palace.Nearly 1,500 representatives from 123 nations are expected to participate in the first round of debates, and President Fidel Castro, of Cuba, will also attend. The event will have, among its main issues, the preservation of the principles of international law towards peace and security in the world, as well as education and culture essential to promote the participation of men and women in political life as a necessary instrument for the development of peoples. A third supplementary issue and other urgent matters will be selected on Monday during the plenary session, among seven proposals coming from seven countries, including Cuba, who suggested to analyze the role of national parliaments in the fight against terrorism. During the opening ceremony of the conference, on Sunday evening, President Castro said that "it's up to us to have responsibilities and duties if we want to win the battle for the survival of our species, nowadays threatened by global risks never imagined before." After lashing the U.S. for its absence in the latest IPU conferences, he warned that there are signs of a new cold war and the beginning of a desperate arms race. The president of the IPU's Executive Committee, Najma Heptulla of India, referred to problems associated to the current stage of globalization and reiterated the need to establish a new world order based on justice and equity. The president of the Cuban parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, after welcoming participants, underscored the need to democratize international relations, including the United Nations and its Security Council, where the "veto power must be eliminated." Also on Sunday started the 5th Meeting of Parliamentarian Women, as well as the Parliamentarian Human Rights Committee, analyzing 31 human rights violation cases, some of them in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Honduras. The 105th Conference allows delegations to keep bilateral relations and to examine different conflicts taking place around the world, like in the Middle East, Cyprus and in the African region of the Great Lakes. This is the second time Havana headquarters this event, once in 1981 the 68th IPU Conference was held in Cuba. Created in 1889 and located in Geneva, Switzerland, the Inter Parliamentarian Union is the world's oldest political forum, and has 140 members and five regional legislative bodies. |
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