| The annual session of the General Assembly of the United Nations begins in September with a two-week General Debate during which world leaders come together to discuss a variety of global issues. Increasingly, national delegations to the opening of the General Assembly include members of parliament. This year's General Debate is preceded by a United Nations High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law, which will be held on 24 September. The High-level Meeting is expected to conclude with a Declaration establishing key principles as well as actionable recommendations on how to strengthen the rule of law both nationally and internationally.
The rule of law entails that no person or institution should be above the law, that the law should apply equally to all, without distinction for social and economic status, and that everyone ought to be able to appeal to the law for redress. The rule of law is therefore a key pillar of democracy and as such constitutes an important area of work for the IPU.
To capitalize on this important discussion at the United Nations, the IPU and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) have teamed up to hold a parliamentary meeting on Parliaments and the Rule of Law: toward justice for all. The meeting will provide an opportunity to review the Declaration of the High-level Meeting with UN officials while also engaging parliamentarians in a critical discussion on key aspects of the rule of law, including the question of access to justice.
As in previous years, the parliamentary meeting is open exclusively to parliamentarians attending the opening of the 67th session of the General Assembly as part of their national delegations, as well as to members of the United Nations community. The meeting is sponsored by the Mission of Italy.
The parliamentary meeting will take place on Wednesday, 26 September, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Conference Room 3 at the Temporary North Lawn Building (TNLB) of the United Nation Headquarters in New York (entrance at 1st Avenue and 47th Street).
For more information, please contact the IPU Office in New York:
Tel.: +1 212 557 58 80
Fax: +1 212 557 39 54
E-mail: ny-office@mail.ipu.org
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