DHAKA: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president Saber Chowdhury stressed on the contribution of parliaments and lawmakers in guaranteeing international human rights standards at the national level, said a press release Sunday.

Saber was addressing the inaugural session of the Second World Forum on Human Rights at Marrakech in Morocco on Thursday where he presented the keynote paper.

He said that without parliamentary action, be it at the legislative or oversight level, recommendations produced by UN human rights mechanisms will be difficult to implement.

“A parliament that truly represents the full diversity in society and that has the means at its disposal to represent the views of its constituents and hold government to account is a very powerful tool to avoid conflict, overcome divisions and uphold human rights,” Saber added.

With this in mind, both parliaments and governments had to take a people-centred approach in addressing human rights in the coming decades, an issue that would be deeply influenced by the post-2015 development agenda.

Saber highlighted IPU’s belief in the need to shape a new set of development goals from a rights-based approach. More than 5,000 people from about 100 countries are taking part in the four-day event (27-30 November) aimed at assessing progress and challenges in the human rights arena.

BDST: 1251 HRS, NOV 30, 2014