National Parliaments, International Potential.

• Position: Brief Article

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a world organization of parliaments founded in 1889, held its first-ever Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments at UN Headquarters from 30 August to 1 September 2000. Convened on the eve of the Millennium Assembly, the IPU Conference, according to its Secretary-General, Anders Johnsson, sent a powerful message: "Parliaments embody the sovereignty of the people and can, in all legitimacy, contribute to expressing the will of the State in international spheres. It is the first important step on the long road towards a more democratic international order." The Conference adopted a final Declaration--The Parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium--which called on all parliaments to provide a parliamentary dimension to international cooperation and to work more closely with the United Nations system.

Following are some excerpts from the Declaration:

"... We, Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments, ... pledge our commitment to international cooperation, with a stronger United Nations at its core. We resolve to ensure that our parliaments contribute more substantively to this cooperation by making the voice of the peoples heard, thereby introducing a more manifestly democratic dimension into international decision-making and cooperation.

"... States must ensure that their conduct conforms to international law, especially human rights and international humanitarian law. Respect for the instruments of international humanitarian law is essential and we will continue to work for the establishment of an International Criminal Court that is non-discriminatory and universal.

"... Peace based on solid and sincere foundations requires a more just world, and we firmly believe that all future action must seek to ensure sustainable economic and social development that is people-centred. We must work to create national and international conditions conducive to social development, social integration, the eradication of poverty and the reduction of...