Inter-Parliamentary Union Holds 105th Meeting in Havana
The 105th conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union took place from April 1 - 6 in Havana, Cuba. More than 1,400 delegates from 120 parliaments around the world attended, representing a wide range of political ideas and parties. This is the second time in 20 years that the IPU has met in Havana. The main topics dealt with at the IPU this year were education, culture and guarantees for the observance of international law.
The president of the IPU, Najma Aknarali Jeptula, of India, opened the conference by stating that she had no doubt about Cuba's democratic system and heralded the social and economic achievements Cuba has made. Cuban President Fidel Castro participated in two work sessions of the conference, giving his views on the current international situation, including the poverty affecting countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America and appealed for concrete measures to reverse these dire circumstances.
The closing session was addressed by Ricardo Alarcon, the President of Cuba's Parliament. He pointed to the importance of nations gathering to discuss problems facing humanity in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Among the resolutions passed by the 105th IPU conference was one concerning the role of parliaments in the war against drugs. The next conference of the IPU will be held in Burkino Faso.
Only a week prior to the IPU meeting, the United States used the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva as a platform to launch an even more virulent attack than usual against Cuba on the front of human rights. On March 31, on the eve of the IPU conference, Fidel Castro addressed a mass rally in which he pointed out that the 200,000 people present must be the "enslaved" people to which the U.S. was referring. The rally was held to call for the elimination of the U.S. Cuban Adjustment Act and its economic blockade against the island.