The Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) is a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the
CIS. The IPA CIS was established on 27 March 1992 in
Almaty (
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
) under the terms of the Agreement signed by Heads of founding parliaments. On 26 May 1995, CIS leaders signed the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States eventually ratified by nine CIS parliaments. The overarching mission is law-making and alignment of national laws in the CIS. The IPA is housed in the
Tauride Palace
Tauride Palace (russian: Таврический дворец, translit=Tavrichesky dvorets) is one of the largest and most historically important palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Construction and early use
Prince Grigory Potemkin of Tauride ...
in a historical landmark of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Mission
The IPA CIS acts as the consultative parliamentary body of the
CIS established to discuss problems of parliamentary cooperation.
The activity of the IPA concentrates on the development of the model legislation, which could then be implemented by the Member States on the voluntary basis, and serve as a tool of dissemination of the best practices across the CIS. The Assembly is involved in the development of integration processes in the CIS. The IPA CIS regularly hosts specialized conferences, seminars and symposiums, which provide a platform for debate of the governmental and non-governmental actors.
Another mission of the IPA CIS is election monitoring. Monitoring is organized by the International Institute for the Monitoring of Democratic Development, Parliamentarism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IIMDD IPA CIS). It was established by the decision of the IPA CIS Council of 10 February 2006. In accordance with the invitation of the national election commission the IPA CIS form an international Observer Team in order to perform long- and short-term monitoring of the preparation and holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections. Together with experts, international observers from the IPA CIS analyze the electoral legislation to assess its consistency with international democratic elections standards, check availability and readiness of technical means necessary for the voting process, visit polling stations and summarize the results.
Membership
Member parliaments:
*
Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic
*
National Assembly of Armenia
The National Assembly of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային ժողով, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also infor ...
*
National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
*
Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
*
Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic
*
Parliament of the Republic of Moldova
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period of 4 years. Parliamen ...
*
Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
*
Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan
* ''
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
'' (
status unclear)
*
Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Composition
The IPA CIS includes the delegations of the parliaments of its Member States and operates on the basis of consensus (each delegation is assigned one vote). A Parliamentary Delegation consists of representatives elected or appointed by the Parliament of a Member Nation. The IPA CIS also includes 10 Permanent Commissions:
* on Social Policy and Human Rights
* on Economy and Finance
* on Practices of State-Building and Local Government
* on Political Issues and International Cooperation
* on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology
* on Defense and Security Issues
* on Culture, Information, Tourism and Sport
* on Legal Issues
* on Science and Education
* Budget Oversight Commission
and Joint Commission at the IPA CIS for the Harmonization of National Laws Related to Security, Countering Emerging Threats and Challenges.
Their mandate is to draft model laws, recommendations and other legislative instruments for subsequent approval at the sessions of the IPA CIS Council and the Assembly.
IPA CIS Council consists of Heads of Chambers of National Parliaments and is responsible for the organization of work of the Assembly. The Council is presided over by the Chairperson. On 12 April 2018, the Speaker of the
Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko has been reelected the Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council.
The IPA CIS Council Secretariat is the permanent administrative body to assist the Assembly, the Assembly Council, permanent and ad hoc commissions. Secretary General – Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat is Yury Osipov.
The Assembly has established partnership and signed cooperation agreements with leading international bodies, such as the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The Assembly is made up ...
,
,
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...
,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is an international organization established in 2005 by the national parliaments of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. It is the legal successor of the Conference on Security an ...
,
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishi ...
,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
,
UNIDO
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...
, the
Latin American Parliament
The Latin American Parliament (''Parlatino'') is a regional, permanent organization composed by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a consultative assembly similar to the early European Parliament. Currently the institution ...
, the
Central American Parliament, the
Pan-African Parliament and many others.
References
{{reflist
External links
Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States WebsiteInternational Democracy WatchFederation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
Politics of Europe
Organizations established in 1992
Commonwealth of Independent States
Post-Soviet states