PNND and IPU develop parliamentary action plan

Over 700 parliamentarians from around the world have gathered in Dhaka this week to consider key global issues and the actions that parliamentarians can take to address these.

PNND is participating in this the 136th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to discuss a draft Parliamentary Action Plan that has been developed to help parliamentarians implement a nuclear disarmament resolution adopted by the IPU in 2014. The resolution calls on parliamentarians to take action to eliminate reliance on nuclear weapons and to support negotiations to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The proposal to develop a parliamentary action plan came from Saber Chowdhury who is IPU President and also one of the PNND Co-Presidents. 

The draft action plan provides ideas and examples of actions parliamentarians can take nationally, regionally and internationally.

It highlights key nuclear arms control and disarmament processes over the next few years for which parliamentary action could play a pivotal role to ensure success. These include the US nuclear posture review, UN negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban treaty, resumption of the NPT Review Conference cycle with a two-week preparatory conference in May this year, and the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.

PNND has been conducting consultation meetings with parliamentarians, diplomats, academics, civil society leaders and youth in UN centres and key capitals to get feedback on the draft plan. The IPU Assembly in Dhaka provides an opportunity to widen the consultations to include parliamentarians from around the world, including youth active in the new IPU Network of Young Parliamentarians.

While in Dhaka, PNND will also be organising a Youth Forum on nuclear weapons, and a screening of the movie 'The Man Who Saved the World.' Click here for a full list of PNND events in Dhaka.