The Soviet Union occupied a sixth of the land and in size was one of the largest states that ever existed on the planet. After its collapse, a large number of republics were formed with weak economies, small populations and unclear plans for the future. It was then, in the early nineties of the last century, that a new union appeared that tried to resurrect the closeness of relations, while maintaining the independence of states. It is this union, or rather, one of its main governing bodies, that will be discussed in this article. The topic of the article is the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS States, or the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
What is CIS
Founded by the CIS in 1991, on the eighth of December, when representatives of Ukraine, Belarus and the RSFSR signed an Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwe alth of Independent States in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Another name for the treaty, which can sometimes be found among journalists and in textbooks, is the "Belovezhskaya agreement".
In the documents signedrepresentatives of these three states, it was said that the USSR ceases to exist as a geopolitical unit. But, given the historical roots of the peoples, the proximity of cultures and languages, the Commonwe alth was created on the site of the Soviet Union that had sunk into oblivion, initially consisting of the three countries listed above. Later, the CIS included all the former Soviet republics, with the exception of the B altic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) and Georgia (joined in 1993).
On December 21, 1991, a declaration was signed in Alma-Ata, which set out the goals of creating a new union, as well as the principles on which relations between states would be built. The general command of the armed forces, control over nuclear weapons were preserved, and a common economic space remained. At the same time, the relations of all states were to be built on mutual respect and equality. It was the signing of this document that, one might say, confirmed the fact of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of the Commonwe alth of Independent States.
Goals of the CIS
Among the main goals of this organization are:
- political cooperation and mutual assistance;
- creation of a single economic space;
- cooperation for peace, military and humanitarian assistance;
- peaceful resolution of all conflicts between CIS countries;
- coordinating their actions in relation to other states (not members of the CIS);
- fighting crime, pollution;
- development of transport, communications, opening of borders for free trade and movement, etc.
CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly: Creation
This body carries out parliamentary cooperation of the CIS states, and also develops various proposals from the national parliaments of the participating countries that are of mutual interest.
It was formed by signing documents on the formation of the IPA CIS on March 27, 1992 in the city of Alma-Ata. Representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the creation of this body.
The following year, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova joined the above. In 1999, Ukraine joined the IPA CIS Agreement. On January 16, 1996, the Convention entered into force, according to which the Assembly receives the status of a recognized interstate body as an international parliamentary organization of the CIS, which means it has the right to participate as an equal in all aspects of international relations.
Since then, the body has been working without interruption, and the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was recently held in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg.
Activities and structure
The first meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was held on September 15, 1992 in Bishkek. Organizational issues were raised at the meeting, including the headquarters. It was decided that the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in St. Petersburg would holdtheir constant meetings, or rather - in the Tauride Palace. In general, for the period from 1992 to 2012, the IPA held thirty-eight meetings, at which documents were discussed and adopted, laws were prepared, and changes were made to existing ones.
The organization of all activities of the Assembly is carried out by the Council, which consists exclusively of the heads of parliamentary delegations of all states participating in the meeting. At the head is the Chairman, who is elected by secret ballot. In addition to St. Petersburg, visiting meetings of the CIS IPA are held in Kyiv or Bishkek.
For the development of documents of any type, there are commissions: for law, for finance and economics, for social policy, for natural resources and ecology, for international affairs, for defense, for science, for culture, for tourism and sports, for construction, agricultural policy, and budget control. In these structures, work is underway to create model documents and prepare them for consideration by the entire Assembly. These committees usually meet twice or even thrice a year. Also, in addition to these organizations acting on a permanent basis, the Assembly may establish an additional commission on any issue.
Any documents are accepted after discussions, which allows for mutually beneficial positions.
The Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS states publishes reports on its meetings. You can read about the activities of the body in the international journal "Bulletin of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly", as well as in any political journals and collections that reflect this topic. For example, inIn recent issues of political publications there were many articles about how the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Assembly took place.
Lawmaking
Not least among the main issues considered by the Assembly is the question of the law. To "bring together" the legislation as much as possible is one of the tasks, because similar laws greatly facilitate the cooperation of the internal affairs and security agencies of the participating countries.
Also, "unity" of laws concerns not only criminal codes. General norms for the trading sector have a very positive effect on the creation of a single trading zone. Laws on freedom and law, on the independence of a person and the protection of his rights on the territory of any CIS state are also adopted.
The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is successfully coping with the task of creating worthy conditions for mutually beneficial trade, for the development of the market. Laws on cooperation in the field of environmental protection are also modeled on the territory of all CIS states, as well as under water and in space. Science and education are not left aside either - scientific relations between the CIS member countries are maintained at the highest level.
One of the important points is the reforms. The Inter-Parliamentary Union, dealing with the settlement of all types of laws between the participating countries, if necessary, does not change certain norms, but reforms them, listening to the voices of representatives of all states that are members of the Assembly.
Of course, the ideal is a single legislation adopted on the territory of all countries thatare members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Formation of legal norms in the CIS countries
Joint fight against crime is one of the key tasks of the union. Too often the inhabitants of these countries face violence, trafficking in arms, drugs and people, and terrorism. Over the entire period of existence and work, the Assembly has adopted a number of projects that help to solve the problems of combating crime together.
You can select individual documents:
- 1999 Anti-Terrorism Treaty.
- Consumer Protection Treaty 2000
- 2000 Anti-Drug Trafficking Agreement
- Agreement on the creation of conditions for the expansion of leasing activities for 2005.
- Agreement on combating money laundering for 2007.
And also:
- Peacekeeping Regulations 1996
- Regulations on the flag and emblem of the CIS for 1996.
- Military Housing Regulations 1996
Promoting peace and security
Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly have made a huge contribution to the establishment of peace throughout the former Soviet Union. It is worth remembering how many hot spots arose immediately after the collapse of the USSR, and it becomes clear what a huge amount of work has been done. Representatives of the IPA CIS carried out peacekeeping activities, establishing peace, regulating conflicts.
In 1999-2000, the Assembly had to do a lot of workto achieve peace in the Caucasus. At that time, the tasks were as follows: the expulsion of terrorists or their destruction, as well as the establishment of peace in the Caucasus. Both tasks, of course, with losses, were completed. Now the situation is able to escalate, but it is no longer possible to get out of control.
In 2004, representatives of the IPA CIS monitored the situation in Kosovo. Also, it was the members of the Assembly who were the first of the international observers who visited the war zone in South Ossetia in 2008.
If necessary, the CIS IPA maintains contacts with OSCE, UN or NATO observers. The Assembly also adheres to the principle of not resolving conflicts through the introduction of troops and force, but tries to bring both sides to the negotiating table. The resolution of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in such situations usually reads: do without bloodshed, without victims. Such a tactic of a peaceful settlement is, of course, difficult, but it bears fruit and deserves respect.
Promotion of democracy in the CIS
The desire for democracy in all post-Soviet republics is one of the directions supported by the Assembly.
Since the mid-nineties, its representatives have been observers in elections in which the results may be in doubt due to difficult situations (for example, due to war or crisis). So it was in Yugoslavia. Also, members of the Assembly were on duty at all polling stations in Crimea when a referendum was held there, the main question of which was whether the peninsula should remain inpart of Ukraine or "join" with Russia. The difficulty was that the conflict took place between the members of the CIS - the Russian Federation and Ukraine. But, one way or another, the referendum took place, and Crimea became part of the Russian Federation.
subject conversations, discussions. In 2012 alone, the Institute for Democracy under the Assembly ensured the legality of the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, then deputies to the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, and also controlled the elections of deputies in Belarus and Ukraine.
Activities to advance science
The Assembly made a great contribution to the development of relations based on science. Over twenty years of joint work, more than three hundred scientific events have been attended by more than seven thousand scientists, public figures, politicians and specialists in various fields.
The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly acted as the organizer of nine St. Petersburg economic forums, which hosted the formation of an international economic summit, which would later be recognized and appreciated throughout the world.
Many laws have been prepared on the market, on its development and expansion. Since 2000, the Assembly has been holding summits and meetings that touch on key dates in the history of not only the former Soviet Union, but the whole world. For example:the tercentenary of St. Petersburg (June 17, 2003), the sixtieth anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany (April 15, 2005), the centenary of the State Duma in Russia (April 28, 2006) and so on.
In November 2008, a meeting was held with representatives of the Red Cross, at which questions were raised about the technical supply of the organization from Russia.
Humanitarian-cultural cooperation
Here, the main task of the Assembly is, of course, the strengthening of cultural ties between the peoples of the CIS. And in this case, figures of culture and art come to the rescue, who once created, and now left their legacy, loved by millions.
The Assembly initiated such holidays as:
- 150th anniversary of the birth of the Russian composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov;
- 150th anniversary of the birth of the national poet of Kazakhstan A. Kunanbaev;
- centenary of the birth of the Kazakh writer M. O. Auezov;
- 80th anniversary of Azerbaijani composer K. A. Karaev;
- declaration in the CIS of 1999 - the year of A. S. Pushkin, and 2003 - the year of St. Petersburg;
- celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Kazakh folk poet - akyn Dzhambul;
- 1000th anniversary of the foundation of the Samanid state;
- 1000th anniversary of the Kyrgyz epic Manas;
- 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko;
Dozens of festivals and competitions of music, poetry, painting, prose are held. In the autumn of 2012, an international scientific congress was held “The legacy of Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov and the fate of the peoples of Eurasia: history, modernity,perspectives”, as well as “The World of Chingiz Aitmatov”.
International activities and external relations
All over the world, the Assembly has connections that one way or another have to use while solving certain problems. The CIS countries, although they always stand a little apart, due to belonging in many respects to one force that united them in the twentieth century, still have many partners in all corners of the earth.
In the Tauride Palace, where the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is being held, frequent guests were representatives of the United Nations, the Security Council of Europe, the Northern Union, the Red Cross and many other associations, whose efforts are largely aimed at increasing ties between countries around the world and settling conflict situations on the planet.
Among the key partners of the IPA CIS in the performance of any financial transactions are the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. And also dozens of banks and banking groups on a smaller scale.
The Assembly has very close cooperation, of course, with law enforcement agencies of almost all countries of the world. Nevertheless, the problem of international terrorism, and therefore violence, is one of the key ones; it requires increased attention and maximum joint efforts.
Facts
The emblem of the Commonwe alth of Independent States is often referred to as the logo of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. How it looks is shown in the photo below.
ChairmanInter-Parliamentary Assembly today - Matvienko Valentina Ivanovna.
Currently permanent members of the IPA: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine.
