CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Turns 28 Years

Today the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States celebrates the 28th founding anniversary. On 27 March 1992, in Almaty (Republic of Kazakhstan) the heads of the parliaments of the founding members signed an agreement establishing the Assembly as a parliamentary body of the Commonwealth. Since then, the IPA CIS continues to work and develop actively.

What has marked the 28th year of the organization?

23 model laws have been adopted 

Model lawmaking is one of the main activities of the IPA CIS. Among the documents adopted over the last 12 months there are Model Laws on Mortgage, on Inheritance Entitlement, on Pricing, on Ecotourism, on Scientific and Technical Information, on Common Principles of Dividing Property of the State, its Subjects and Municipal Districts, on Social Tourism, on Civil Protection, CIS Code of Inland Water Transport, Model CIS Tax Code (Part III - Tax Administration), Recommendations on Nanotechnology Ethics, etc.

More than 40 draft model laws are currently being developed by the IPA CIS Permanent Commissions.

50th Anniversary Plenary Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly

The 50th Plenary Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly was held in November 2019. Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko said at the Anniversary Plenary Session that the IPA CIS has become a real platform for dialogue between MPs of the Commonwealth countries. She emphasized that over the years the organization has done a lot to harmonize the legal framework of the CIS countries in various fields.

IPA CIS observers monitored elections in five CIS countries

IPA CIS Observer Teams monitored the elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (June 2019), as well as the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (November 2019), the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (December 2019), the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic (February 2020), the Majlisi namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan (March 2020).

The Conference on Countering International Terrorism brings together more than 30 countries

The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly pays special attention to the organization of international congresses and conferences with the participation of MPs, representatives of the executive branch, business, and the expert community. In 2019, the Conference on Countering International Terrorism became a central event. It was co-organized by the IPA CIS, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In total, the conference was attended by more than 500 people from 31 countries.

Among the recent major events organized by the IPA CIS are the International Conference “Young Voters and Candidates: from the Right to Vote to Right to Be Elected”; an Information Session on the Development of the Healthy Cities Program in the Commonwealth of Independent States, held jointly with the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization; XIII Annual International Scientific Conference “Current Issues of Parliamentarianism: History and Modernity”, IV St. Petersburg International Labour Forum.

Cooperation with international organizations is being developed

The signing of the Memorandum of understanding with the Office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees last year became one of the main events in the international activity of the IPA CIS. . On 5 June, Secretary General – Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat Dmitriy Kobitskiy and Director of the Global Refugee Forum at the UNHCR Daniel Endres held a bilateral meeting at the Tavricheskiy Palace. The purpose of the Memorandum is to establish mutually beneficial working relations between the organizations.

Preparation of the events dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War

At the initiative of the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations, the project “Lines of Memory” is being developed. The project includes a series of poetic video messages from the IPA CIS countries. Other projects dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are being prepared.

Future-oriented work continues

This year, the anniversary of the Interparliamentary Assembly came at a difficult time for the entire international community. The coronavirus pandemic has caused the postponement of planned international events, travel restrictions, and strengthening security measures in the Commonwealth countries. In this regard the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly was also forced to adjust its work in March-April. Nevertheless, the work in the main areas continues, notably via remote access technologies.

IPA CIS will resume international meetings as soon as the risk of spreading the epidemic in the Commonwealth countries is eliminated.