Speakers of Parliament from around the world begin a four-day conference at UN Headquarters in New York later on Monday to examine ways to effectively tackle global challenges to peace and democracy. About 180 parliamentary leaders, including more than 35 Deputy Speakers, from nearly 140 countries, including Pakistan, are taking part in the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (August 31-September 2).
Pakistan's 14-member delegation, led by the acting Speaker of the National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi, has arrived in New York to take part in the deliberations. Forest Whitaker, artist, humanist and Unesco Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, will deliver a keynote address to the conference, which will be officially opened by IPU President Saber Chowdhury and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Officials said the world's parliaments and their members would be urged to engage in concerted dynamic action with planet-wide impact, on issues such as conflict, terrorism, migration, discrimination and climate change. Efforts to re-engage young people in democracy also need to be stepped up and progress on gender equality and political representation accelerated. The conference is expected to place particular emphasis on achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to be adopted at a UN Summit in September. The SDGs will set wide-ranging targets to be met by 2030, including ending extreme poverty and hunger, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and ensuring sustainable patterns of development and consumption.
Delivery of the goals would necessitate political leadership and reform as never before, conference officials said. Acknowledged in the outcome document on the SDGs, parliaments' role in translating the goals into concrete action through passing legislation, making budget allocations and holding governments accountable to the people will be critical.
"Parliaments will have to rise to the unprecedented challenge of driving change to deliver on the most ambitious global effort yet to create a new reality for our world based on peace, equality and prosperity," IPU President Chowdhury said ahead of the conference. "IPU calls on all Speakers to commit to leading efforts in building a world the people want, demand and deserve." The Conference, organised by IPU every five years and supported by the UN, will adopt a declaration which will feed into the UN SDGs Summit.
Other members of the Pakistan delegation are: Senator Aitzaz Ahsan; Senator Agha Shahbaz Khan Durrani; Aftab Shahban Mirani; MNA, Zahid Hamid, MNA; Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry, MNA; Mohammad Shahbaz Babar, MNA; Shahzadi Umarzadi Tiwana, MNA; Arshad Khan Leghari, MNA; Mohammad Riaz, Secretary (NA Secretariat); Syed Pervaiz Abbas, Additional Secretary (Senate); Shafqat Ali Khan, Joint Secretary (IR) (NA Sectt); Mohammad Anwar Sial, DG (PR) (NA Sectt); and Ahsan Zaidi, Deputy Director (Protocol) (NA Sectt). Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, hosted a working dinner in honour of the delegation on Sunday night at which the members were briefed about issues before the conference as well as the arrangement.