The World Parliamentary Forum (WPF) from January 22 to 24, 2003, as part of the World Social Forum, was held in Porto Alegre for the third consecutive year. This meeting has taken place a few days after the election, as a president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, of Luis Inácio “Lula” da Silva who has been one of the protagonists of the previous forums. Lula’s triumph represents for millions of men and women in Brazil, Latin America and the world a hope that the day will come for a new form of government and social and economic development, centred on social inclusion.

The setting-up of the International Parliamentary Network (IPN), which is able to strengthen solidarity among the social and citizens’ movements in the long term, was one of the main goals adopted in the previous meetings of the World Parliamentary Forum. The first WPF, in January 2001, defined the foundations and perspectives. The second, in February 2002, specified forms for its structure (around regional poles, the coordination of which will assure the international dimension) and operation (with the creation of international and regional electronic lists).

In the declaration of the first WPF, completed by the second one, the chosen campaign themes fed a number of interventions and initiatives from the members of the network in their national and regional parliaments (for a kind of Tobin Tax, against the patenting over life forms, for peace, etc.). The latter have also given their support to the process of the social forums, in full respect of the Charter of Principles of the WSF, and have participated in their world, regional and thematic meetings.

During 2002, the network started to “intervene” in a more collective way with the declaration prepared for the Johannesburg Conference (‘Rio+10”) and the campaign against the domination of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over public services (GATS, currently in negotiation). Regional centres of the IPN have been created, particularly in Europe.

However, there is an unbalanced development of the Parliamentary Network across regions and countries. Expanding and strengthening the IPNs capacity to act is essential, as a continuation of the resolutions of the Final Declaration of the first WPF (January 28, 2001) and the resolution concerning the IPN adopted during the second Forum (February 2, 2002). Therefore, national networks of the IPN will have to be created in order to allow national or regional MPs from different countries to co-ordinate their efforts within the regional centres of the IPN.

The IPN will act in 2003 on both legislative ground and in cooperation with campaigns launched by social and citizens’ movements:

Against war. This is the primary urgency. Act immediately to avoid war in Iraq and put an end to the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories.
The parliamentarians of the member countries of the Security Council of the United Nations must demand their governments that they firmly oppose war and challenge the concept of “preventive war”. In that case, all countries benefiting from the veto privilege within that UN Council must use the “veto for peace”. A clear refusal of any attack must be expressed, an attack which would be a threat to peace and would take away the credibility that the UN needs to achieve its mission. We call for the UN to take all initiatives favouring peace. The UN inspectors must get sufficient time needed for their mission.

In a broader context, we are opposed to the new world military order being imposed by Washington and the US doctrine of “preventive war”, whose effects can already be felt, directly or indirectly, in Latin America, Middle East (Palestine...), Europe (Chechnya...) Africa (Ivory Coast...) and Asia (Philippines...). The IPN will be tuned in with the new anti-war movement, which is taking form on an international scale, particularly during the massive mobilisations planned for February 15, 2003. The IPN proposes that a succession of parliamentary delegations should go to Iraq, on the basis of a radical opposition to war, and in solidarity with the Iraqi people, victim of the economic embargo and of military threats from Washington. It does not imply at all a support of the Iraqi regime.

The IPN will also ask to be received by the Security Council of the UN to express its opposition to the war and will meet, during this trip, members of the Congress of the United States as well as the American anti-war movement to show them its support. A debate on the threats of war must be organised very soon in all parliaments.
The IPN also proposes to assure a presence in Palestine for the protection of the civilian populations. It expresses its support to all forces and movements, in Israel and in the Middle-East, working for just and lasting peace.

Cancun. The ministerial conference of the WTO in Cancun (Mexico), from September 10-14 2003, will be very important for all social movements against liberal globalisation.

The engagement taken in Doha to revise the TRIPs agreement on intellectual property, that this agreement will not prevent developing countries from conducting public health policies, must be respected. This is one of the prerequisites to the launch of a new commercial round. The fact that poor people being denied access to medicine in the name of patent rights or profit requirements is unacceptable.

The IPN should widen its campaign that has been on since automn 2002 against the General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) and in defence of public services (the petition initiated in Europe has already collected 215 signatures from Parliamentary members). The deadline to send proposals for liberalisation is March 31 2003, a month that represents a very important moment for mobilisation that will culminate in September, when the summit will be held.

The Cancun conference will be an occasion to reaffirm that commercial law must be subordinated to social and ecological demands, that the agreements on labor rights and on environmental protection must be abided by the WTO. The commercial system and the international financial system must be profoundly reformed in order to become more democratic. Common goods (such as water) cannot be treated like merchandises. We recall our opposition to the negotiation within the WTO, of a multilateral agreement on investment to the benefit of multinational companies. The WTO and the financial institutions cannot rule.

The Mexican MPs, present at the forum, call for the organisation of a strong political initiative, a few days before the ministerial conference in Cancun, in co-ordination with the IPN.

After Johannesburg. The Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (Rio+10), held from end of August to beginning of September 2002, was a blatant failure. The ratification of the Kyoto protocol, although so limited, has not even been achieved. New environmental and social disasters, like those provoked in the sector of maritime transport of hazardous materials, have happened again. The International Appeal initiated by the IPN and signed at the time by 233 Parliament members from many nations, is thus still appropriate. Therefore, the IPN will distribute this appeal to a broader audience (“After Johannesburg the urgency is to save the Earth”, attached to this text) and it will start collecting signatures again in order to prepare new actions and plans on this area.

Taxation of capital movements. Facing the need of financing development and the necessity of supporting the access for all to the common public goods, the IPN will amplify its campaigns in favour of redistributing wealth on a world scale, in particular for a kind of Tobin Tax on the international financial transactions. Such a tax would establish a democratic and political control on the financial markets and would contribute to the fight against monetary speculation. The IPN will support the co-ordination of the campaigns in parliaments, particularly in favour of an international treaty establishing a tax on currency markets to the benefit of the UN funds.

Transparency of negotiations, a condition for democracy. With liberal globalisation, democracy is more and more drained of its meaning. Secret negotiations of agreements, which is decisive for the future of people, has become the rule. The members of the IPN will intervene in their respective countries to demand that the documents discussed within those negotiations, the deliberations, and the positions defended by each government be made public. Transparency is not the only necessary condition to the true implementation of democracy, but it is one of the most essential.
The parliamentarians of the Northern countries in particular, must interpellate their governments about their policies (including within the IMF) towards the Southern countries struck by the crisis of liberalism and ask publicly how to support the implementation of programs that can fight against hunger on a global scale.

Parliaments should be able to play their role as legislator, in controlling on the executive and the budgetary policies, and should reflect the political life of the country. They must be open to the movements of their society and their aspirations.

Solidarity. We reaffirm our opposition to the current project of FTAA that would result in the economic subordination of Latin America to the United States. We ask for another type of regional democratic and economic integration. The IPN will have to closely follow the current negotiations in order to prevent any agreement of an inequitable nature.

We also reaffirm our support to a political solution to the conflict in Colombia, by the promotion of social justice and without any foreign military intervention.

The WPF expresses its support and solidarity to the Bolivian farmers, condemns the bloody repression against them the past few days, and ask for a solution in favour of their legitimate demands.

The WPF expresses its support to the will of the Cuban people, to its inalienable right to independence, sovereignty and self-determination. They must be in control of their own destiny. We demand the abandonment, without conditions, of the blockade of the United States on Cuba, as well as the Torricelli, Helms-Burton and “Ajuste Cubano” laws, and their implementation decrees.

The WPF supports the peasant organisations of Mexico, “El campo no aguanta mas”, which ask for re-negotiation of the agriculture and fisheries section of the free trade treaty (NAFTA) signed with Canada and the United States.

Within the framework of the future UN commitments, we are asking for the implementation of the UN resolutions on self-determination and independence of the Sahraoui people, particularly through the holding of a referendum.

Mobilisation. In the context of its commitment against war and unequal globalisation, members of the IPN will participate in important mobilisations planned for 2003 by social and citizens’ movements. That includes the activities related to the G8 meeting in Evian (France).

A discussion on the relations between political parties and social movements is necessary. We put as an element to it the contribution written by the working group, which has dealt with this question during our forum.

The IPN will also actively prepare the next World Parliamentary Forum, which, in India, should assess the campaigns and activities developed by the organisation during 2003, prepare the 2004 initiatives, and allow real political exchanges.

(See also the resolution adopted on Venezuela)