The Inter-Parliamentary Union is convening the 3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament – a global summit focusing on democracy, the role of legislative institutions and their relationship with the United Nations. The broad theme for the 2010 Conference is Parliaments in a world of crisis: securing global democratic accountability for the common good.
The Conference will take place from 19 to 21 July. Unlike the two previous Conferences, held in New York in 2000 and 2005 respectively, the 2010 Conference will take place in the IPU’s home town, Geneva, on the premises of the United Nations Office known as the Palais des Nations.
The Conference will be preceded by the Sixth Annual Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament in Bern, Switzerland on 16 and 17 July 2010. The Meeting will focus on challenges faced in achieving gender equality and, in particular, in achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on child survival and maternal health.
The Conference of Speakers of Parliament is in many ways a unique event. It is an exclusive forum where leaders of legislative assemblies can network with colleagues from all over the world and discuss issues of primary concern to the global parliamentary community. It offers them an unrivalled opportunity to share experiences in legislative development and promote guidelines for democratic parliaments. The Speakers will also address the role of parliaments in international affairs and make proposals for providing a greater parliamentary dimension to the work of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions.
I take pride in the fact that our Organization is the driving force behind this process. Initially convened by the IPU on the occasion of the United Nations Millennium Assembly back in the year 2000, the Conference of Speakers has become an important factor helping parliaments assume a more proactive role on the global arena and thus bridge the democracy gap in international relations.
Theo-Ben Gurirab, IPU President