Senate President David Mark

By Onwuka Nzeshi

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has endorsed  international military efforts to flush out  armed rebel groups in northern Mali and regain control of the occupied territory.

In an emergency resolution  adopted at the closing session of its  127th  Assembly in Quebec City, Canada, the  IPU threw its weight upon  ongoing efforts by the United Nations, France and the  European Union  to help Mali recover the large  territories occupied by  armed rebels  and terrorist groups.

In a resolution tagged “Quebec City Declaration”, IPU urged  Mali’s armed forces to fully cooperate with international forces when they are deployed. It also urged  the Malian transitional government to hold free and fair elections once the current precarious  security situation in the country  has been brought to an end.

The IPU Assembly comprises  about 1,400 parliamentarians  drawn from 125 countries including Nigeria. The 127th Assembly hosted by the Canadian Parliament  featured debates  on Mali, women’s political empowerment and the  protection of  diversity in the global community.

The  IPU  strongly condemned the killings, abuses and serious human rights  violations against civilians,  particularly  women and children by the rebels.

The parliamentarians also condemned  the wanton pillaging and destruction of several  cultural, religious and  world heritage sites in Mali, insisting that the time had come for the international community to take action.
These resolutions  were adopted following debates on    the theme of the session - Citizenship, Identity, Linguistic and Cultural Diversity.

The resolution  called  on parliaments across the world  to do all they can to protect diversity as a global value.