ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani Thursday underscored need for enhanced parliamentary diplomacy and institutional cooperation among parliaments to promote the cause of peace and protection of human rights.
He called for boosting the existing linkages between Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Senate to strengthen democracy ideals and values besides achieving the benchmarks enshrined in the IPU Charter.
The Chairman Senate expressed these views while exchanging views with IPU Secretary General Mr Martin Chungong in a meeting on the sidelines of IPU annual session being held in Geneva, according to press release issued by the Senate Secretariat here.
He said that IPU was an important forum and provides them an opportunity to share views and learn from each other’s experience for consolidating the foundations of democracy in respective countries.
Raza Rabbani emphasized the need for more institutional linkages and inter-parliamentary cooperation.
“There is need to promote parliamentary democracy at national and international level for promoting peace and protection of the human rights,” he added.
He proposed a more vibrant role for IPU as issues and challenges being faced have a commonality and there was a dire need to make collective efforts to resolve those issues.
He also apprised the IPU Secretary General about the recent initiatives taken by the Senate to restore the majesty of Parliament and strengthen democracy in the country.
Raza Rabbani has been specially invited by the President of IPU Mr Saber Chaudhary to attend the session and deliver a speech on issues related to Human Rights.
The Chairman Senate also addressed the participants while deliberating in special segment to mark the 40th anniversary of the Committee on the Human Rights of the Parliamentarians at Geneva.
He said that international parliamentary forums, human rights organizations should move beyond the resolutions and verbiage to play a more protective role for implementing international laws and commitments and meeting the agreed commitments.
Mr Chungong appreciated the Chairman Senate views and expressed his desire to boost further cooperation.
Raza Rabbani said that the longstanding contentious issues and dispute needs to be resolved especially in the Asian region for restoration of peace not only in the region but also to the benefit of the world community.
The countries which are more focused to promote their economy through enhancing the production of their war industries does not seem interested in establishing the peace in the conflicted regions, he added.
The Chairman Senate said that attributing the struggle for the right of self-determination and human rights with the terrorism would not offer a tillable solution to the problem of unrest and will not be in the interest of the world.
He said that Kashmir was the oldest agenda pending with the UN and continuous human rights abuses and negating the peoples of Kashmir to their right to self-determination had made the region a flash point and a major source of instability in the region.
Brutalities being committed by the Indian forces in the occupied Kashmir are not new and unknown to the world.
He called upon the global community and International Parliamentary forums to come forward and play their role to ensure implementation of the international human rights laws and UN resolutions to resolve the long standing issue.
Raza Rabbani said that democracy gave better options to resolve issues through dialogue and discussion adding “We must engage in the process of dialogue and discussion to avoid war, show respect for human rights and give peace a chance to flourish to make the Asian region economically developed and strong.”
Source: APP
