Members of the IPU Executive Committee visit new HQ

The members of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union met in Geneva in January for their 236th session. On that occasion, they were able to observe the progress in the renovation of the Gardiol villa which will become IPU's new headquarters.

The IPU Executive Committee met for a special session in Geneva on 21 and 22 January. Its purpose in meeting at the start of the year was twofold: to take stock of the various comments made at the Council debate held in Burkina Faso on the reform of the Union, and to discuss the attempt made the previous month to secure Observer status at the United Nations in New York.

On the subject of reform, the Committee took time to scrutinize the record of the Ouagadougou special session of the Council, and concluded that while some of the suggestions undoubtedly had to be incorporated into the architecture of the reforms, the basic plans drafted in 2001 should remain the same. In other words, the IPU meetings should continue to be clustered around two annual events, one of which would have the character of a five day plenary assembly with parallel committee debates while the other would involve a shorter three day event with panel discussions and committee work.

The Executive Committee will be putting its proposals to the Council in Marrakech. Much discussion was also devoted to the matter of the request for Observer status at the United Nations. In the event, the application failed at the eleventh hour, and the Executive Committee was keen to review the reasons for the disappointing outcome and to take steps to ensure success when the matter is back on the agenda of the General Assembly in the second half of 2002.

The Committee also reviewed the extensive list of activities planned or under consideration with a wide variety of United Nations agencies, programmes and other bodies.