The Annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations was held on 20-21 November in New York and attracted a record number of over 200 parliamentarians. The high attendance marked a new beginning for the Hearing, as the first to be organized jointly with the United Nations by virtue of a resolution adopted by the General Assembly last year. The political message one can draw from this development is that parliamentarians are more than welcome to the United Nations: they are increasingly necessary to the long-term effectiveness of that organization as the main pillar in the edifice of international relations.
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As the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, stated in his opening remarks to the parliamentarians, "you are powerful opinion-formers, and are increasingly shaping international decisions. Your support is essential to promote more effective international relations based on the rule of law". Mr. Kerim himself was involved in framing the agenda of this year's Hearing on the key role of parliaments in "reinforcing the rule of law in international relations". Three broad topics were chosen for discussion under that rubric: disarmament, international criminal justice, and counter-terrorism.
As in past years, panels were composed of an eclectic group of people comprising UN officials, MPs, senior diplomats, and independent experts drawn from civil society. Among these, Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, moderated the first session on disarmament and made an impassioned statement for parliamentarians to join forces to help bring the NPT back in the spotlight and push for governments to abide by that landmark treaty in all respects.
Mr. Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, speaking at the session on international criminal justice, clarified the jurisdiction of the Court vis-à-vis national governments and called on parliaments to help ratify the Rome Statute (establishing the ICC) in some 80 countries where it is yet to be fully recognized. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (USA), a panelist at the counter-terrorism session, recounted her experience dealing with terrorism since the attacks of September 11th, when many of her own constituents died, and urged her colleagues to act resolutely in implementing the UN-sanctioned global counter-terrorism Strategy.
The debate that ensued was very lively, and helped bring forth a variety of perspectives. Although the Hearing is not a decision-making body of the IPU, the broad political and geographic spectrum of the parliamentarians in attendance (from all regions, and covering over 70 countries) provides a strong political sounding board that the United Nations can use to gauge the mood of public opinion with respect to virtually any issue of the international agenda.
In recognition of the value of such exchanges at the United Nations, Mr. Kerim announced that he would be seeking the views and contribution of parliamentarians when it comes to future thematic meetings of the General Assembly, such as the one being scheduled next February on climate change.
The Hearing was opened in the presence of the IPU President, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, and of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon. A summary of the discussion will be posted on the IPU website. It will also be circulated to the General Assembly of the United Nations.
