BEIJING, Sept. 2 -- More than 150 Speakers of parliaments are due to attend the Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7 to 9 September 2005. They will bring their vision of multilateral cooperation to the hub of international politics.

    The IPU President, Chilean Senator Sergio P¨¢ez, and the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping, will open the summit, which will also be addressed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. The Conference will present its Declaration directly to the Summit of Heads of State and Government that will take place at the same venue from 14 to 19 September 2005.

    "The presence of Speakers of national parliaments offers a reminder that democratic governments are subject to the scrutiny of their parliaments, and anything their leaders decide in the multilateral sphere will - sooner or later - have to be debated in parliament if it is to be put into force" said the IPU President. He added that "at a time when the United Nations is in the throes of reform, the need for more stringent democratic oversight of the work of multilateral organizations is being expressed more and more openly".

    The first Speakers' Conference took place in 2000, on the eve of the Millennium Summit. According to the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, "since then, the world has changed enormously. Tensions that have always lain beneath the surface have broken out, often in very ugly forms. Across the board, there have been calls for more robust global governance along with stronger democratic guarantees. The world's parliaments are directly concerned by these appeals".

    The Speakers of parliaments will bring the concerns of their citizens to the United Nations. In so doing, they will discuss ways to deepen the involvement of parliaments in international affairs and to support efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. They will also review a proposed new framework of criteria and good practices to advance democracy through the institution of parliament.