The 116th Assembly, held in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, from 29 April to 4 May, with some 700 MPs in attendance, was remarkable for many reasons. Perhaps the most important of these, though not necessarily the most visible, was the decision to go ahead with the establishment of a new body, to be known as the Parliamentary Committee on United Nations Affairs.
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This comes at a very crucial time in the relationship between the IPU and the United Nations. As the new United Nations Secretary- General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, intimated in a message he sent to the Assembly, the expectations placed on the growing cooperation between the two organizations are at an all-time high: "national parliaments can play a critical role in strengthening the work of the United Nations, and I welcome efforts to build a more strategic partnership. The recent cooperation agreement between the UN Democracy Fund and the IPU is an encouraging step. I look forward to further strengthening your collaboration with the Peacebuilding Commission, and establishing close cooperation with the Human Rights Council. I also count on your active engagement as the Economic and Social Council carries out its new functions. Indeed, the parliamentary "voice", and the experience of national parliaments in political dialogue, will be critical to ensuring that these institutional innovations get off to a strong start."
The IPU Committee on United Nations Affairs will be instrumental in implementing this ambitious cooperation plan. Issues of immediate concern to the Committee will include: developing a parliamentary input into the revitalization of the United Nations General Assembly; supporting the work of a revamped Economic and Social Council, and in particular its Development Cooperation Forum; and assisting in the elaboration of system-wide strategies to better mainstream and organize support by parliaments to the work of the United Nations. The Committee will meet for the first time at the 117th Assembly, scheduled to take place this autumn in Geneva. It will be a plenary body, whose work will be assisted by an Advisory Group composed of some two dozen prominent legislators, particularly well versed in United Nations affairs.
Other developments at the 116th Assembly include the adoption of four major resolutions on topics such as interreligious dialogue, employment creation, electoral standards, and terrorism.
The Parliament of Afghanistan, which the IPU has been assisting in an effort to help consolidate parliamentary democracy in that country, was re-affiliated as a full IPU Member after a 15-year-long absence.
