INFORMATION SERVICE

November 2005

PNoWB Annual Conference in Helsinki

More than 200 members of parliaments from around the world assembled, from October 21 to 23, at the Parliament of Finland in Helsinki for the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB), which was chaired by Mr. Bert Koenders, MP from the Netherlands. The special features of the conference were the addresses from the World Bank President Mr. Paul Wolfowitz and Indonesian President HE Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono via video link. The conference discussed what parliamentarians could do to promote action on pressing development issues and to help strengthen the accountability and transparency of international financial institutions.
Three AFPPD alumni on PNoWB board
Parliamentarians from Asia, namely Mr. Suresh Prabhu, MP, India, Mr. Hideki Wakabayashi, MP, Japan, and Ms. Janette Garin, MP, The Philippines, were elected to the PNoWB Board on October 23. All of them are AFPPD alumni.
AFPPD leads discussion with World Bank President
On October 22, Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, led the discussion with Mr. Wolfowitz, on behalf of representatives of international and regional parliamentary groups and agencies working with parliamentarians who are part of the World Bank’s Vienna Initiative. Mr. Wolfowitz, during his discussion, recognized the need of parliamentarians’ involvement in the World Bank’s programmes.
Population issues raised
Asian parliamentarians’ caucus at the PNoWB annual conference, which had met earlier on October 21, informed Mr. Wolfowitz on October 22 that population and migration were two burning issues in Asia, apart from corruption and lack of transparency in development projects. Dr. Malinee Sukavejworakit, Senator of Thailand and Secretary General of AFPPD, who led the Asian caucus, asked these questions.

PGPD discussions on Australia’s future direction of the aid programme

On October 11, the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD) had a successful meeting with Hon. Bruce Billson, MP, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Bruce Davis, the Director General for AusAID, to discuss the future direction of the Australian Aid programme. As a consequence, Mr. Billson invited the group to make a submission of the White Paper, a review paper providing a medium-term blueprint for Australia’s future aid. The submission is available on the PGPD website – www.pgpd.asn.au.

PNG Minister speaks at State of the World Population Report launch in Canberra

Dame Carol Kidu, MP and Minister for Community Development from Papua New Guinea, gave the keynote address at the launch of the UNFPA State of the World Population Report, on October 12, which was attended by parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, and United Nations agency representatives. Mr. Ian Howie, the UNFPA Representative to Vietnam, officially launched the report. In addition, Dame Carol discussed with the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development about the dire HIV/AIDS and reproductive health concerns in Papua New Guinea. She also met with Hon. Bruce Billson, MP, the Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to discuss her portfolio responsibilities and some of the particular concerns around HIV/AIDS and health. Dame Carol also met Mr. Bob Sercombe, MP, the Shadow Minister for Overseas Aid and Pacific Island Affairs, to talk more broadly about Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.

8th AFPPD General Assembly in Jakarta

Over 150 parliamentarians and parliamentary-group officials from Asia and the Pacific, as well as Central Asia, will attend the 8th General Assembly of the AFPPD, to be held from November 12 to 13, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The theme of the Assembly is “Religion and Culture Matters”. Indonesian President HE Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Executive Director of UNFPA Dr. Thoraya A. Obaid, and former Secretary of the Japanese Cabinet Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, MP from Japan, will address the Assembly.

2006 IPCI on November 21-22, 2006, in Bangkok

Steering Committee Meeting of International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI) was held on October 17, 2005, in Tokyo, Japan. With the 2006 Bangkok IPCI one year away, the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), in close collaboration with AFPPD and UNFPA, hosted the Steering Committee meeting, attended by representatives from population and development-related, regional and international parliamentary organizations, and UNFPA. The Steering Committee decided that November 21 and 22, 2006, would be the dates of the conference. It also agreed to review the progress made in parliamentary advocacy since the 2004 Strasbourg conference at the 2006 Bangkok IPCI.

James H. Scheuer, former US congressman and population champion, dies at 85

Hon. James H. Scheuer, a 13-term former member of the House of Representatives from New York and one of the great leaders on parliamentary movement on population, passed away on August 30, 2005, at 85.