Tavricheskiy Palace Hosted 16th Meeting of Youth CIS Interparliamentary Assembly
20 May 2021
Today, the Tavricheskiy Palace in St. Petersburg hosted the 16th meeting of the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (YIPA CIS).
The event brought together the young MPs from the national parliaments of all IPA CIS Member Nations: the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the representatives of the legislative authorities of the regional and local levels, heads of youth parliaments, civil society organizations and associations.
The meeting was chaired by Coordinator of the Youth CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, member of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Science, Education, Culture and Sport Mukhammad Valiyev.
The agenda was focused on the issue of environmental education and protection. The members of youth parliamentary delegations exchanged experience on implementation of the youth policy in the field of environmental culture and education in the CIS countries and told about the youth legislative initiatives and civil society environmental projects implemented in their countries.
Member of the Committee of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on International Relations and Interparliamentary Connections, member of the Committee of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic for Family and Women’s and Children’s Affairs, Head of the delegation Emin Hajiyev told that the youth education was one of the priorities of the Azerbaijan Republic, where young people under the age of 29 make up one third of the population.
Head of the youth delegation of the Republic of Belarus, member of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Economic Policy Svetlana Gorval stressed the commitment to the UN Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and informed the colleagues on the main environmental projects implemented in the Republic of Belarus.
Member of the Committee of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Issues of Ecology and Environmental Management Madi Akhmetov highlighted the relevance of the issue and told about the program “Zhasyl el” (“Green Country”) that has been implemented in Kazakhstan since 2015.
Member of the municipal council of the town of Sunzha of the Republic of Ingushetia, member of the Chamber of Young Legislators at the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Adam Kalimatov raised the issue of “environmental dictatorship”, which implies the introduction in Europe of an import tax on the production from the countries, which exceed greenhouse gas emissions. This tax will cause substantial damage to the economy of Russian and other countries exporting goods to Europe. Therefore, the parliamentarian called on his colleagues to join efforts to reduce the potential damage.
Member of the council of deputies of the city of Dushanbe, Head of the Department of the Faculty of Geology of the Tajik National University Dilorom Nazirova stressed the environmental challenges, such as changing of natural landscapes, the problem of preservation of biodiversity, natural disasters caused mainly by the climate change, etc.
Speaker of the Youth Parliament at the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chief Researcher of the Institute for Studying Youth Problems and Training Prospective Personnel Mokhistara Mukhammadyunusova noted the global scale of the environmental damage in the 21st century.
Moreover, the participants discussed the preparation for the 30th anniversary of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and proposals on the organization of activity for 2022. It is expected to hold the Second CIS Youth Interparliamentary Forum on the topic “Young Parliamentarians – Looking to the Future of the Commonwealth”.
The participants also discussed the results of the international videoconference “Youth Against Glorification of Nazism” and outlined the use of the conclusions and recommendations of the conference in their work. The members of the YIPA also considered the draft Concept of Recommendations on Measure to Identify and Support Talented Children and Youth, heard a briefing on the results of the St. Petersburg International Youth Labour Forum and outlined the prospects for participation in this event.
