A TEAM of approximately 10 persons, representing the Parliament of Guyana, is in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, for the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which is slated to run from March 20-24, 2022, under the theme, “Getting to Zero: Mobilizing Parliaments to act on climate change”.

Headed by Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir, the delegation also comprises of government Members of Parliament (MPs), Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs; Savitri Sonia Parag, Minister of Public Service; and Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security.

They are appearing alongside their Opposition counterparts, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Chief Whip Christopher Jones, both of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC).

Representatives of the Parliament Office include Sherlock Isaacs, Clerk of the National Assembly; Carlleta Charles, Parliamentary Executive Officer; Alanzo Scipio, Public Relations Assistant; and Juleanna Chatterpaul, Confidential Secretary to the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

“All statutory bodies of the IPU are expected to sit at this year’s Assembly, according to a statement from the Parliament’s press office.

It explained that Speaker Nadir will be joined by both Ministers Nandlall and Hastings-Williams on the Governing Council, where consideration will be given to, “inter alia, strengthening accountability and relations between IPU and the United Nations, reports on the work of the IPU for 2021, and future meetings and operations of the IPU”.

Meanwhile, Minister Parag, who sits as a Member of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development of the IPU, will be tasked with addressing the advancement of technology in the education sector, giving special emphasis on the current pandemic.

Further, all female delegates of the IPU will be participating in the forum for women parliamentarians, where the discussion will centre on the experiences of female Members of Parliament in promoting women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health in a time of COVID-19, the local parliament office explained.

“All delegates will attend the General Debate, spanning four days, where Speaker Nadir and Hon. Opposition Chief Whip Jones will be adding their voices to the theme, ‘Mobilizing Parliaments to act on Climate Change’ later in the week,” the press statement added.

It further indicated that Isaacs is also slated to also participate in the Association of Secretaries General of Parliament Meetings at this Assembly. The 144th Assembly of the IPU will see the attendance of over 2,000 Delegates, inclusive of Speakers and Presidents of Parliaments, Members of Parliament, and staff, from across the globe.

The Assembly is expected to conclude with the adoption of an outcome document on the overall theme of the General Debate.

According to its website, the IPU, a global organisation of national parliaments, was founded more than 130 years ago as the first multilateral political organisation in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations.

Today, the IPU comprises 179 national Member Parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced, and more diverse.

“It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Twice a year, the IPU convenes over 1,500 parliamentary delegates and partners in a world assembly, bringing a parliamentary dimension to global governance, including the work of the United Nations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” the IPU said.

In facilitating parliamentary diplomacy, and empowering parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world, the world of the IPU revolves around eight strategic objectives.

These include building strong democratic parliaments; advancing gender equality and respect for women’s rights; protecting and promoting human rights; contributing to peace-building, conflict resolution and security; promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue and cooperation; promoting youth empowerment; mobilising parliaments around the global development agenda; and bridging the democracy gap in global governance.

Guyana’s participation in the forum has been deemed as timely, considering the challenges that have faced the country’s parliament and democracy in recent times.