Geneva. 24 – 27 March 2024. Participation in the 148th IPU Assembly

From 24th to 27th March 2024, the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) participated in the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which held in the Geneva International Conference Center, with topic «Parliamentary diplomacy: Building bridges for peace and understanding». The IAO Scientific Assistant, Mr. Evangelos Parras, represented the IAO in this event.

In this context, the IAO -which enjoys observer status in the IPU- for the first time actively participated in the Special Accountability Segment of the General Debate of this year’s Assembly. This is an important part of the Assembly, where the Member Parliaments and Associate Members of the IPU get the floor to refer to activities they undertake to implement the IPU decisions and resolutions. It is pointed out that the IAO presentation marks the first time that an International Parliamentary Institution under the observer status participates in this process.

In his intervention, the IAO representative conveyed to the IPU Bureau the greetings of the IAO Secretary General, dr. Maximos Charakopoulos. Subsequently, he described the initiatives undertaken by the IAO for the promotion and visibility of the Marrakesh Communique, adopted by the IPU during the Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, on 15th June 2023. For whom it may concerned, the IAO presentation can be accessed on the official IPU YouTube channel via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJv0FHXGlu4 (timeframe: 3:00:36 – 3:03:13).

Moreover, the IAO was represented at the IPU panel discussion on interfaith dialogue: “Building bridges through interfaith dialogue for more peaceful and inclusive societies”. It was a high-level thematic panel with participation by the Ambassador Mokhtar Omar, Advisor to the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Michael Wiener, representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, member of the Italian Senate, Mr. Mastourah Al Shammari, representative of the Arab Parliament and the IPU expert on issues of interfaith dialogue, dr. Sarah Markiewicz.

On the sidelines of the Assembly, the IAO representative had the opportunity to meet with the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Martin Chungong, as well as the IPU Director for Member Parliaments and External Relations, Ms. Anda Filip, and to inform them about the upcoming initiatives of the IAO in the framework of its 30+1 years of activity.