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• 50th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to focus on Rights and Responsibilities

50th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to focus on Rights and Responsibilities

26 August 2004

"This conference is an important opportunity for Commonwealth Members to speak out for their constituents and their nations."

More than 500 members of parliament and legislature will meet in Canada for the 50th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to discuss global political issues and developments in parliamentary systems.

The conference, organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), runs from 1 to 9 September 2004 in Quebec City and Toronto. The theme will be 'Responsibilities and Rights of People and Parliaments in a Global Community'. It will be opened by the Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson at a ceremony in Quebec City.

On 4 September, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon will address delegates on the role of parliament in the international community.

The meeting brings together Commonwealth parliamentarians and officials from international bodies such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Also represented are the Caribbean Community and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Denis Marshall, CPA Secretary-General, said: "International decisions today directly affect most areas of domestic governance, from trade and development issues to responses to global health and security threats.  As the democratic representatives of a quarter of the world's population, Commonwealth MPs have a right and a duty to be heard by the organisations which make these decisions.

"This conference is an important opportunity for Commonwealth Members to speak out for their constituents and their nations."

Issues under discussion include: poverty reduction; HIV/AIDS; democratic relationships between Parliaments and the executive and judicial branches of government; free access to information; and public health issues. Officials from the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament have been invited to discuss the effects of multinational Parliaments on domestic democratic governance.

There is also a session devoted to the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality, including women's involvement in democratic governance.

The meeting is preceded by a Small Countries Conference from August 30 to September 1, in Quebec City.  Representatives from the Commonwealth Secretariat and international agencies will discuss taxation and development issues with parliamentarians from the Commonwealth's small states, provinces and territories.