Kuwait campaigns to enlist Rohingya in ILO’s conference
SAINT PETERSBURG: Kuwait has played a pivotal role in enlisting the Rohingya’s crisis as an emergency item on the agenda of the InterParliamentary Union conference held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation played an effective role to reach consensus during sideline meetings by the Arab and Islamic groups on enlisting the Rohingya crisis as an urgent topic on the agenda of ILO’s conference, said the Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali AlGhanem.
Seven States, including Kuwait, have requested that the Muslim Rohingya plight be listed on the agenda as an urgent matter, he added The parliamentarians representing the Arab and Islamic states have also reached an understanding on other topics, namely need to support nominee for the chairmanship; supportive of Arab and Islamic causes, and backing modifications to ILO’s constituent law where violators must face penalties, Ghanem said in his statement as he emerged from the coordination talks.
Ghanem said the Arab and Islamic legislators agreed to meet the Mexican and Uruguayan candidates and determine whether they are committed to the Arab and Islamic issues. “We will choose the one with stronger support for the Arab and Islamic causes,” he said. On amending the charter, Ghanem said the Arab and Islamic groups agreed to a Kuwaiti proposal to address ILO’s charter amendment in the next session in Geneva. He indicated that such a move was necessary to restrain the Israeli Knesset, which repeatedly breached ILO’s regulations.
Delegations of the Arab parliamentary group met earlier yesterday to discuss topics on the agenda of the IPU conference. The main topic discussed in the meeting was having a unified stance on supporting a candidate in the union’s elections, head of the Tunisian delegation Lutfi Al-Nabli said.
The participants also discussed developments in Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Myanmar and means of ending conflict and aiding those in need in these countries, he added. Moreover, he noted that the delegations are set to present a request to recognize the Arabic language as an official language in the union, and establish an Arabic version of its website. The conference is held with the presence of delegations from over 150 countries. — KUNA