State Symbols of IPA CIS Member Nations

Due to the increased questions on placing the state symbols of the IPA CIS Member Nations, on the territory of the IPA CIS headquarters, the IPA CIS Council Secretariat notes the following.

The IPA CIS was established by parliaments of the CIS Member Nations who signed the relevant Agreement in Almaty on 27 March 1992. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine acceded to the Agreement on the IPA CIS Member Nations on 3 March 1999, about which a relevant notice was sent to the depository of the agreement – the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

In accordance with international practice, the state flags of all the parties to the Agreement on the IPA CIS are placed on the territory of the IPA CIS headquarters.

The Agreement stipulates the procedure of withdrawal from it by a party by submitting a respective notification to the depositary. The Agreement terminates for this party upon the expiry of six months from the date of receipt of such notification by the depositary. To date, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has not sent any notification of withdrawal from the Agreement and thus is a member of the Assembly.

In this connection the use by the IPA CIS of the state flag of Ukraine or its image along with the state symbols of other IPA CIS members is conditioned by legal requirements, corresponds to the norms of international protocol and practice. Similarly, these symbols are used in the CIS Executive Committee and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The fact that the IPA CIS headquarters is located on the territory of the Russian Federation does not affect or override the international commitments of the Assembly. The Convention on the IPA CIS, signed by the Heads of States of the Commonwealth, including Russia, on 26 May 1995, stipulates that the Interparliamentary Assembly enjoys in the territory of the member countries the same privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations in accordance with the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities, including the principle of extraterritoriality, adopted in 1946.

The independent nature of the IPA CIS activities and the obligation to ensure favorable conditions for these activities are also guaranteed by the Agreement between the IPA CIS and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conditions of Stay of the Interparliamentary Assembly in the Russian Federation of 28 August 1997.