ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ben Kalu, has called for the amendment of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly rules, which according to him, will accommodate more emergency items for consideration.
Kalu is part of the Nigerian delegation to the 148 IPU General Assembly in Switzerland.
Details of his proposal are contained in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Levinus Nwabughiogu, on Thursday.
The Deputy Speaker is proposing to amend section 11.1 of the IPU rule on the introduction of emergency items for consideration by the Assembly.
The amendment, if adopted, would allow every continent to present at least one emergency item for consideration.
According to the existing rule, only one emergency rule can be proposed and such must get a two-thirds majority of all members.
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“A request for the inclusion of an emergency item must relate to a recent major situation of international concern on which urgent action by the international community is required and on which it is appropriate for the IPU to express its opinion and mobilise a parliamentary response. Such a request must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes cast in order to be accepted.
“The Assembly may place only one emergency item on its agenda. Should several requests obtain the requisite majority, the one having received the largest number of positive votes shall be accepted,” Rule 11.1(an and b) reads.
About five emergency items were, however, proposed at the ongoing Assembly.
The rule allows multiple items on the same subject matter to be consolidated.
Meanwhile, there is a proposal by South Africa with support from the Arab group and the African group, titled; “Raising awareness of the International Court of Justice provisional measures for Israel in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, and of the need for urgent action on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Also, Israel has a proposal for the immediate release of the hostages in Gaza.
There also also a proposal by Indonesia and Malaysia on parliamentary diplomacy for peace in Palestine.
Also, Denmark, France, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom have a proposal for the “Call for urgent action regarding the conflict in the Middle East.”
Meanwhile, there is another proposal on Africa on the “Call for urgent action to end the aggression and massive violations of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Finally, Argentina, on behalf of the delegations of Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay also proposed Free, fair and transparent elections without prohibitions: Towards an orderly and peaceful democratic transition in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Premium Times reports
In line with the rule, the proposal on Gaza got the attention of the Assembly while the one on Congo was not considered.
Kanu in his debate, said that the existing rule does not favour Africa. He noted that the continent has several issues that require emergency interventions.
The deputy speaker further proposed that every continent should present one item at every Assembly.
“I am proposing one item per continent at every Assembly to energise the voices of concern across the globe”, he said.
Speaking further, Kalu said, “We must reconsider our approach to addressing emergency items. By reforming our processes, we can ensure parliamentary diplomacy truly reflects the world’s diverse needs.
“It’s concerning that Africa’s plight, where ongoing conflicts claim thousands of lives, hasn’t been addressed urgently. These crises in Africa have ripple effects that ultimately impact the world.”
He decried the poor percentage of women in politics, and called for gender equality and inclusion in governance, stressing that women’s underrepresentation in parliament impeded progress.