India’s senior state Legislature Speaker has been elected as Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive Committee during the Association’s General Assembly held in early September in Fiji Islands.
Hashim Abdul Halim, MLA, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly since 1982, was elected by the CPA General Assembly on 9 September during the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Nadi.
Shri Halim will chair the 35-Member Executive Committee for the next three years. The Committee directs the Association’s extensive collection of programmes and services to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy and the professional development of the Members and staff of the Commonwealth’s 180 national, state, provincial and territorial Parliaments and Legislatures.
Shri Halim pledged to work with all regions of the Association in contributing to the development of parliamentary practices and to the promotion of Commonwealth principles of respect for the rule of law, democratic governance, human rights and the right of all Commonwealth people to full economic and social development.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, chaired by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Speaker of the Fijian House of Representatives and 2005 President of the CPA, discussed the progress made to date in achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Members agreed that Parliaments must press their governments to speed up the rate of progress made to date and repeatedly noted that the eight goals are all interconnected so progress in one area will move the world closer not just to individual targets in all areas but to the attainment of a free and equitable world where wealth is common to all.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference of Members from Small Countries and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians also met during the Conference in Nadi. The Small Countries Conference called for the Commonwealth’s larger nations to assist them to promote their rights in the international community, especially in terms of fair and equitable treatment in areas such as trade. The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians discussed ways to increase the representation of women in parliaments, noting that the Commonwealth goal of having women occupy 30 per cent of parliamentary seats by 2005 has been extended to 2015. Women members argued that the achievement of gender equity in areas such as education and employment would contribute substantially to the achievement of all of the Millennium Development Goals.
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