Arenas

Parliamentarians can engage in international disarmament arenas by:

• Getting appointed to regional and international Parliamentary Assemblies such as the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly
• Joining your government’s delegation to disarmament treaty negotiations and review conferences such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conferences and the Biological Weapons Treaty Protocol negotiations
• Attending international conferences as an observer

Arenas in which PNND members engage:

• International Parliamentary Bodies
• United Nations General Assembly
• Conference on Disarmament
• Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conferences
• Nuclear Weapon Free Zone bodies

Arenas > International Parliamentary Bodies

The following bodies can launch studies, pass resolutions and pressure the international community. Information on each, as well as suggestions for parliamentarian involvement, is provided below.

• Inter-Parliamentary Union
• OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
• NATO Parliamentary Assembly
• The Latin American Parliament
• Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
• Interparliamentay Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States
• European Parliament
• Asian Pacific Parliamentary Forum
• Parliamentary Assembly for the Western European Council

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union (www.ipu.org)
 
The IPU is open to every parliament of a sovereign state.  It has close relations to the United Nations and promotes peace, co-operation and the establishment of representative democracy.
 
The General Conferences, the IPU’s principle statutory body, are held annually.  Delegates are selected by the IPU member, and the number of delegates varies in proportion to national population.  The IPU committee most relevant to issues of nuclear disarmament is Committee 1 on Political Questions, International Security and Disarmament.  The General Conferences have adopted resolutions on issues concerning nuclear testing and the NPT. Parliamentarians can get involved in the IPU by getting appointed as a delegate or by contacting the delegate representing their national parliamentary body.
 
Contact details: Inter-Parliamentary Union, C.P. 438 1211 GENEVA 19 Switzerland, email postbox@mail.ipu.org     
 
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NATO Parliamentary Assembly (www.nato-pa.int)
 
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is another forum addressing issues of nuclear disarmament.  The national parliament of each NATO member or associate member state is allowed to delegate a specific number of delegates (this number not being equal for each nation) to this assembly. 
 
A parliamentarian from a NATO member state may get involved in the Assembly by becoming a delegate themselves or by contacting their parliaments appointed delegates.  Such efforts may concentrate on getting the Assembly to give more attention to disarmament issues- NATO’s nuclear policy in particular.   The Assembly holds biannual sessions. The committee most relevant to issues of nuclear disarmament is the Defence and Security Committee, which has issued documents such as a General Report on National Missile Defence in 2000
 
Contact details: Secretariat NATO Parliamentary Assembly 3, Place du Petit Sablon 1000, Brussels, Belgium, email secretariat@naa.be. 
 
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OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (http://www.osce.org/pa)         
 
All state members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are entitled to be represented at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly proportional to their size and population.  The full assembly meets annually, however the OSCE also consists of an elected bureau, general committees, the standing committee, the Secretary General, and the International Secretariat.   

A parliamentarian of an OSCE state may get involved by becoming a delegate or contacting the delegates representing their parliamentary body.  The general committee most relevant to the field of nuclear disarmament is the General Committee on Political Affairs and Security (the First Committee). 
Contact details: The Secretariat of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly • Raadhustraede 1 • DK-1466 Copenhagen K • Denmark • tel.: (+45) 33 37 80 40 • fax: (+45) 33 37 80 30 • e-mail: osce@oscepa.dk 
 
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The Latin American Parliament (www.parlatino.org.br)

The Latin American Parliament consists of representatives from democratically elected parliamentary bodies of the Latin American regions.  The Assembly meets biannually at its permanent headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil. National delegations are not to exceed 12 representatives and are to be proportionally representative of the political parties within each body. 

Contact details: Av. Auro Soares de Moura Andrade, Nº 564, 4º Andar, Sala 12 - CEP: 01154-060 Barra Funda Sao Paulo Brazil, email sgeneral@parlatino.org.br.  

There is also a Central American Parliament (www.parlacen.org.gt), an Andean Parliament (www.parlamentoandino.org) and an Amazonian Parliament (www.webmediaven.com/parlamaz).

Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (www.e-fipa.org) 

The Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) is an independent network composed of the national legislatures of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose purpose is to promote parliamentary participation in the inter-American system and to contribute to inter-parliamentary dialogue in dealing with issues on the hemispheric agenda.

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (stars.coe.fr)

PACE is made up of representatives from European parliaments in countries which uphold pluralistic democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.  The number of representatives for each member is determined by the size of the countries.  Political groups within the Assembly have been promoted and given certain privileges in order to develop non-national outlooks.  The Political Affairs Committee might be the most relevant PACE committee to nuclear disarmament, however there are environmental and legal committees which could address such issues. 
The assembly holds four part sessions generally held in held in January/February, April/May, June/July and September/October. 

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The Interparliamentay Assembly of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA) (www.iacis.ru)

The IPA consists of former republics of the Soviet Union.   IPA CIS sessions are called twice a year.  The sessions are attened by parliamentary delegations, and the resolutions are subject to general consensus.  The IPA adopts model legislative acts giving consideration to coordinated ratification of treaties made within the CIS, and the compatibility of national laws with international treaties accepted by the Commonwealth.  The most relevant commission to nuclear disarmament is the Commission on Defence and Security Issues. The IPA has adopted acts put forth by the above committee regarding nuclear disarmament and the banning of nuclear testing.

Contact details: Secretariat of the IPA 193015, Saint Petersburg, Russia Fax: 812 326-68-22, 326-69-81.

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The European Parliament (www.europarl.eu.int)
 
The European Parliament, representing the citizens of the European Community, is the only government-established international organization where the members are directly elected by universal suffrage. Elections are held every five years, the first election held in 1957.  The Parliament is also the only institution of the European Community that meets in public.  The European Parliament exercises democratic supervision over all European Community bodies, it is very involved in appointing the European Commission, and actively participates in the creation of Common Foreign Security Policy (CFSP).  The standing committee most relevant to issues of nuclear disarmament is the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security, and Defence Policy. The European Parliament has adopted several resolutions on the issues of nuclear disarmament, such as nuclear weapons testing and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

Parliamentarians of state member of the European Community can influence the European Parliament by petitioning the parliament and speaking with their respective representatives.  Means of petitioning the parliament, as well as the contact information for member parliamentarians can be found on the parliament’s website. 

Contact details: Brussels at- Rue Wiertz B-1047 Bruxelles/Wiertzstraat B-1047 Brussel,  Luxembourg at- Plateau du Kirchberg B.P. 1601 L-2929 Luxembourg, and  Strasbourg- at Allée du Printemps B.P. 1024/F F-67070 Strasbourg Cede.

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The Asian Pacific Parliamentary Forum (www.appf.org.pe)

The APPF is open to parliamentarians appointed as delegates from their member states, as well as to individual parliamentarians from member states.  It holds annual meetings and also consists of a president, executive committee, and working groups.  Politics and security is one of the Forum’s six stated areas of interests.  The parliament has passed several resolutions on issues concerning nuclear disarmament, such as the banning of the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons, nuclear testing, and non-proliferation of missiles for weapons of mass destruction. 

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The Parliamentary Assembly for the Western European Council (www.assemblee-ueo.org)

This council is a treaty based counterpart to the Western European Council.  WEC members, associate members countries, observer countries and associate partner countries send appointed delegates from their parliamentary institutions to the assembly.  Only WEC member representatives have full rights; however other representatives have close to full rights including extensive voting rights.  This Assembly deals with mostly with security issues particularly through its Political, Defence, and Technological and Aerospace Committees. 
Contact details: WEU Assembly Press and Information Office,  43, avenue du président WILSON 75775 Paris cedex 16, France, phone: (0033) 1 53 67 22 00, fax : (0033) 1 53 67 22 01, email at assembly@weu.int.  

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Arenas > Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Bodies

Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco, 1967)

Treaty Body: OPANAL
Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
http://www.opanal.org/

South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985)

Treaty Body: The treaty does not establish a separate body for administering the zone but vests such responsibility in the South Pacific Forum.
http://www.sidsnet.org/pacific/forumsec/default1.htm

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji
Tel : +679-312 600 Fax : +679-305 573
Email : info@forumsec.org.fj

Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (Bangkok Treaty, 1995)

Treaty Body: Commission for the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone

African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty, 1996)

Treaty Body: African Commission on Nuclear Energy

The Commission will be situated in South Africa once the Treaty enters into force. In the meantime issues regarding the treaty are handled by the Organisation of African Unity P.O. Box 3243, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Phone: 251 1 51-7700. Fax: 251 1 51-2622 / 51-3036

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