CASE No - Inter-Parliamentary Union

- 33 - CL/183/SR.1
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the draft resolution relating to the
case of 11 parliamentarians, which had been submitted to it by the Committee on the
Human Rights of Parliamentarians. 11
Lebanon
In the past three years four members of parliament had been assassinated in Lebanon.
The recent assassination in a car bomb attack of Mr. Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the
Lebanese Democratic Party, showed that the string of assassinations of prominent Lebanese
politicians had not come to an end and continued to deter others from speaking out on critical
issues. The Committee believed that the agreement reached between the main Lebanese
political stakeholders in Qatar in May 2008 offered them a significant opportunity to help the
course of justice and turn the tide of violence. The Committee remained convinced that the
Parliament of Lebanon had a specific responsibility to ensure that the murder of four of its
members did not go unpunished. It trusted that the National Assembly was monitoring and
facilitating action and cooperation between the national judicial system and the international
independent investigation commission, which was examining the assassination of the former
Prime Minister Hariri, and was also looking into the four cases, and ensuring a smooth
transition to the prompt establishment of the Special Court.
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the draft resolution relating to the
case of Mr. Gibran Tueni, Mr. Walid Eido, Mr. Antoine Ghanem and Mr. Pierre Gemayel,
which had been submitted to it by the Committee on the Human Rights of
Parliamentarians. 12
Mongolia
Mr. Sanjasuuren of Mongolia had been murdered in 1998. The Committee’s efforts had
focused on arranging the technical assistance necessary for the Mongolian authorities to
conduct an effective investigation. In response to an official request from Mongolia, the
German Government, thanks largely to the German Parliament, was providing assistance and
had conducted analyses of certain pieces of evidence. The Committee hoped that with that
help, and some assistance form the Japanese Government, the new Mongolian Government
and the Parliament would vigorously pursue their efforts and soon elucidate the murder.
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the draft resolution relating to the
case of Mr. Zorig Sanjasuuren, which had been submitted to it by the Committee on the
Human Rights of Parliamentarians. 13
Myanmar
A year previously the military in Myanmar had ruthlessly repressed peaceful
demonstrations and arrested thousands of protestors, including parliamentarians elect. The
Members of the IPU had firmly denounced those acts and shown great unity in their public
disapproval of the military regime’s despicable methods and in their wish for change in
Myanmar. One year later, many of the parliamentarians who had been arrested in the autumn
of 2007 had gradually been released, but their release had often been immediately offset by
11 See Annex XX for the text of the resolution.
12 See Annex XXI for the text of the resolution.
13 See Annex XXII for the text of the resolution.