Senate President David Mark
said on Monday that Nigeria
would always back any initiative
to bring about a nuclear-free
world.

The Senate President
noted that to achieve this,
parliaments all over the world
must contribute to the building
of a peaceful world.

Mark spoke in Geneva,
Switzerland, at the opening of
the 129th Assembly of the Inter-
Parliamentary Union.

He also canvassed an early
resolution of the Syrian conflict.

“Parliaments can intervene to
bring the Syrian crisis to an end.

We believe that the world
should be free of nuclear
armament. We want an end to
the Syrian crisis,” he stated.

The Senate President, who led
the Nigerian delegation to the
IPU, also said that Nigeria was
committed to fighting cyber
crimes.

Mark, who attended the IPU
meeting in company with the
Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Emeka
Ihedioha, some senators and
House members, lauded the
increasing participation of
Nigeria in international
discussions.

According to the Senate
President, regular participation
in such events will ensure that
Nigeria’s voice is heard on
issues of global challenges.

IPU members started voting on
Monday on items to be treated
as “emergency” and requiring
urgent global attention.

One of the items was the need
for parliamentarians to
“safeguard the fragile
democracy in Haiti.”

It was
proposed by Haiti.
A second item was to address
“criminal acts of deliberate
destruction of world heritage in
countries in a situation of
armed conflict or fighting
terrorism.”

Morocco and Palestine brought
up this item for voting.

There was also the “role of
parliaments in supervising the
ban on the use and destruction
of chemical weapons.”

Similarly, an item on enhancing
the role of parliaments in
maintaining global peace was
listed.

Syria, which proposed the item,
explained that this was to be
achieved by “refusing any
manner of aggression or threat
of aggression, violation of state
sovereignty and interference in
Syria’s affairs that exceeds the
framework of international
legitimacy.”

On its part, France raised the
issue of the security and
humanitarian crisis in Central
African Republic.

It proposed “facilitating
assistance for the population
and promoting the transition to
democracy.”

Source:- The Punch