(V) The 78th Conference of the Interparliamentary Union was held in Bangkok, Thailand from October 12-17, 1987. Attending were members of parliament from 93 countries, as well as observers from international organizations, most affiliated with the United Nations. In all, 683 delegates, including 409 members of parliament, participated. (Annex A lists the countries and international organizations represented at the Bangkok Conference.) The established agenda of the Bangkok meeting focused on two main issues: human rights and refugee problems, and the elimination of apartheid and colonialism. The supplemental item for consideration, adopted at the beginning of the conference focused on the crisis in the Persian Gulf and bringing an end to the Iran-Iraq war. The U.S. delegation played an active role in the debate on each of the three agenda items and was directly involved in the drafting of the resolution on human rights and refugee problems. The U.S. Group submitted a draft resolution on this issue as well as on the Iran-Iraq war and security in the Gulf. Members of the U.S. Group made speeches in either Plenary or Committee on all three agenda items. All these efforts were aimed at achieving as balanced and substantive resolutions as possible on these agenda items, which the delegation succeeded in doing in two of the three. (Annex B includes the formal statements of each U.S. delegate; Annex C, the U.S. draft resolutions presented.) The resolution on human rights and refugee affairs was adopted unanimously and contained certain positive language on respect for human rights with which it was not expected the Soviet Union and certain other countries would agree. The supplementary agenda item on the crisis in the Persian Gulf encountered surprisingly few problems. The resolution on this issue was adopted without dissent and contained no anti-U.S. provisions on the naval build-up in the Gulf region. The resolution on apartheid and colonialism unfortunately, as have resolutions on these issues at previous IPU conferences, contained several blatantly anti-U.S. provisions dealing with alleged "colonialism". Consequently, the United States and several other groups were forced to vote against the resolution in its entirety, despite relatively constructive language on apartheid and South Africa. (Annex D includes the procedural votes on the apartheid and colonialism issues. Annex E, the final resolutions adopted at the end of the conference.) In addition to these specialized agenda items, Representative Pepper chaired the initial session of what promises to be a series of informal meetings within the IPU on the problems of the elderly. The meeting was well attended and received and a decision was reached to hold another such meeting at the next IPU Conference in Guatemala City, Guatemala in April 1988. Beside the formal meetings the IPU Conference offered numerous opportunities to share with parliamentarians from many nations their experiences, goals and perspectives on an informal basis. These exchanges hopefully contribute to better understanding throughout the world of Department of the US motivations and actions and help U.S. delegates, in turn, to receive valuable insights into the policies and motivations of other states. U.S. DELEGATION The U.S. delegation which attended the meeting in Bangkok was composed of Representatives Claude Pepper, James Scheuer, Ron de Lugo, and Ben Blaz. Mr. Pepper served as leader of the delegation and attended all the meetings of the Executive Committee. Together with Mr. Scheuer, he also attended all meetings of the IPU Council. All four members were present throughout the conference. These members were aided by former Representative Robert McClory in his capacity as an honorary member of the IPU. Meetings of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments, held simultaneously with the IPU Conference, were attended by Donnald Anderson, Clerk of the House of Representatives. Staff support for the delegation was provided by Martin Sletzinger and Julie Illsley of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Frances Campbell, Administrative Assistant to Representative Pepper; Ann Fletcher, Administrative Assistant to the Clerk of the House; and Yvonne Hopkins, Assistant Director of the Office of Interparliamentary Services, U.S. Senate. The delegation was also ably assisted by advisers from the Department of State, David Ettinger and Ann Bolton; and by Vita Bite, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Logistic support was provided by the Department of the Navy, under the direction of Lt. Col. William Frizell, USMC. (3) |