PNND joined over 700 members of parliament from 130 countries in Tashkent for the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global organization of parliaments established in Paris in 1889.
The presence of over 100 Speakers and Deputy Speakers of Parliament, along with the Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, underscored the increasing recognition of parliamentary diplomacy as a vital complement to traditional international relations, especially at a time of significant geopolitical tensions.
The assembly addressed a number of critical issues including climate change, weapons of mass destruction, international mediation and conflict resolution, impact of conflicts on sustainable development, supporting democratic process, achieving gender equality in parliaments, and approaches to long-lasting conflicts such as the two-State solution for Israel-Palestine. (See Parliamentarians champion social development and justice at Tashkent Assembly).
PNND and our partner organization the World Future Council (WFC), were invited to:
Tackling weapons of mass destruction: A humanitarian perspective
The IPU has been very active on issues of disarmament including in the adoption of resolutions on nuclear disarmament, landmines, cluster munitions and other weapons systems, and in the joint production with PNND, WFC and others of the online resource Assuring our Common Future: A guide to parliamentary action in support of disarmament for security and sustainable development.
In this special follow-up event, PNND Global Coordinator Alyn Ware spoke about Common security, humanitarian law, nuclear war prevention and disarmament in a turbulent world.
Mr Ware noted that a considerable number of countries representing over half the world’s population rely on nuclear deterrence for their security, in particular to prevent aggression and/or a nuclear attack against them. In order to convince these countries to join a regime for the abolition of nuclear weapons, alternatives to nuclear deterrence to address these security threats must be advanced.
Common security provides such an alternative. It aims to address the security needs of all countries, and elevates the roles of conflict resolution, diplomacy, mediation, arbitration and the rule of law.
The International Court of Justice plays an instrumental role in resolving international conflicts peacefully and in upholding the rule of law. A key recommendation from Mr Ware’s presentation was that all UN Member States should accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in order to build a global order based on the force of law, not the law of force.
For more information see Common Security v. Nuclear Weapons: How to replace the current reliance on nuclear deterrence with sustainable security for all.
2024 World Future Policy Awards on Peace and Future Generations
The World Future Policy Award was established 12 years ago by the World Future Council. It honours and promotes effective laws and policies protecting our society and the environment for current and future generations. The award is for policies which have been adopted and implemented for at least two years, and which have demonstrated effective outcomes.
In 2024 the award focused on Peace and Future Generations, and was cosponsored by IPU and the Geneva Centre for Security Policies. Videos and short presentations of winning and visionary awards were made at the IPU plenary on April 8. These included:
Parliamentarians, mediation and the World Future Policy Awards
Teresa Bergman, Project Manager for the 2024 World Future Policy Awards on Peace and Future Generations, was invited to speak in the workshop on Parliamentary Diplomacy and Mediation.
In her presentation, Ms Bergman listed the 12 finalist policies, many of which displayed successful uses of international mediation. She then undertook a deep dive into the New Zealand led Pacific Partnership for Mediation and Peace Monitoring in Bougainville, a policy which helped end a devastating 10-year long civil war in this Pacific Island territory.
Ms Bergman highlighted a number of key principles and approaches that ensured that this peacemaking attempt did not fail like previous attempts, but helped support a successful and sustainable, locally led peace process.
These principles, most of which were also reflected in the other finalist policies, form the basis of 11 reflections and recommendations for policy makers made in the Report of the Future Policy Awards on Peace and Future Generations.
