ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 2 September 1977 |
Preceded by | ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization |
Leadership | |
President | |
Secretary General | |
Structure | |
Seats | |
Committees | 8 configurations
|
Motto | |
One Vision, One Identity, One Community | |
Meeting place | |
ASEAN Secretariat Heritage Building Jakarta, Indonesia | |
Website | |
aipasecretariat |
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is a regional parliamentary body which acts as a primary point for communication and information sharing between member countries. Its primary objectives are to provide information to Southeast Asian citizens about policies aimed at establishing an ASEAN community by 2025 and to foster mutual understanding and collaboration among these parliaments. [4]
Unlike the European Parliament, AIPA is a form of transnational parliamentary conference with weak constitutional power, holding only advisory power and lacking legislative and oversight powers over ASEAN itself and its members. Every year, ASEAN countries take turns holding the Presidency of the Assembly and taking on the responsibility of organizing the plenary meetings of the member parliaments in the General Assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AIPA General Assembly). [5]
In 1977, a decade after the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the need to strengthen regional solidarity became increasingly apparent. Legislators recognized that the growth of ASEAN was closely tied to the cooperation between the parliaments of its member countries, which represent the will and aspirations of the people. This realization led to calls for closer inter-parliamentary collaboration to seek new sources of motivation for regional cooperation. [6] Thus the organization's creation was initiated by Indonesia, with the support of other members of ASEAN's five founding-members. [7] The heads of the parliamentary delegations from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—who were attending the 3rd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Manila—originally created the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) on September 2, 1977, [4] which is grouped with, but formally associated with ASEAN. [8] AIPO was established to promote cooperation between member parliaments to achieve the goals and aspirations of ASEAN.
Met for the first time in 1978 in Singapore, [8] AIPA today has over 300 members that includes all ten members of ASEAN, namely the legislatures of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Brunei and Myanmar—which previously had no legislature—participated as special observers to AIPO. [7] Then, in 1993, Brunei became a permanent observer. Later, Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos in 1997, Cambodia in 1999, Brunei in 2009, and Myanmar joined in 2011. In 2009, at the 30th AIPA General Assembly in Pattaya, Thailand, a resolution was considered and adopted to recognize the Legislative Council of Brunei as an official member of AIPA. Myanmar participated in AIPO activities as a special observer since 1997 and became a full member of AIPA at the 32nd AIPA General Assembly in Cambodia in September 2011 after the country promulgated a new constitution and held parliamentary elections. Since 1979, it has held semi-regular bilateral meetings with the European Parliament. [8]
On September 14, 2006, at the 27th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) in Cebu, Philippines, all ten member countries agreed to change the organization's name to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). [4] The adoption of the AIPA Charter on April 17, 2007, replacing the previous AIPO Charter, marked the completion of the transition. Then, Indonesia's parliament speaker, Agung Laksono, said that the transition from AIPO to AIPA was not simply a change of words, but had profound meaning, expressing the aspirations of ASEAN peoples for the bloc's parliamentary organization to operate more effectively, towards a model of effective inter-parliamentary cooperation and closer cooperation between ASEAN parliaments. [8]
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is a form of transnational parliamentary conference with minimal legal status. Regarding the internal affairs of the parliaments of ASEAN member countries, the council only has advisory rights and lacks legislative and supervisory powers. Along with the renaming of the organization in 2006, AIPA also reformed its organizational structure such as: President, Executive Committee, Standing Committee, as well as strengthening the role of the AIPA Secretary General. [9]
The General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is the highest body of AIPA, the policy-making body of AIPA and meets at least once a year, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board. The AIPA General Assembly consists of delegations from each member parliament (not exceeding 15 people), and may invite additional special-observers, observers, and guests. The AIPA General Assembly sessions are hosted by the parliaments of member countries, which rotate each year in the position of AIPA President of that country. [9]
The president of the parliament of the country hosting the AIPA General Assembly will be the President of AIPA, as well as the President of that General Assembly. Normally, the term of office of the AIPA President is one year, equivalent to the time between two General Assembly sessions, and of course, it is also held by member countries in rotation. The AIPA President is responsible for promoting the goals and principles of AIPA, cooperating with the parliaments of member countries to strengthen parliamentary institutions and the role of parliamentarians in regional issues. The AIPA President is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee and has the power to convene the Executive Committee Meeting at the time and place required. The AIPA President, when invited, will attend each ASEAN Summit and has the power to invite the Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee to attend the AIPA General Assembly and other meetings of the Council. [9]
The Executive Committee is the advisory body of AIPA, consisting of no more than three parliamentarians from each member parliament. The term of the Executive Committee follows the term of each General Assembly session. The Executive Committee has the following tasks: to consider and introduce official members, special-observers and other observers; to propose new initiatives on activities; to organize the implementation of resolutions; to consider and decide on the agenda of the General Assembly sessions; to propose the establishment of Standing Committees, Research Committees and Special Committees; to direct, manage and supervise the work of the Permanent Secretariat; to propose the appointment of personnel of the Permanent Secretariat and to promulgate the operating regulations of the Executive Committee. [9]
The General Assembly may establish Standing Committees, Study Committees and Ad-Hoc Committees or sub-committees of a Standing Committee on specific matters. Currently, the Assembly has the following Standing Committees: [9]
There are also two Study Committee and Ad-Hoc Committee:
The Secretariat is the administrative organ of AIPA. The functions and tasks of the AIPA Secretariat are defined as the administrative office and information center for the work and activities of AIPA—the coordinating body and the channel of communication between AIPA and ASEAN—as well as with other regional and international organizations. The headquarters of the AIPA Secretariat is located in the same city as the headquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat, currently Jakarta. The Secretary General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is the head of the AIPA Secretariat, responsible for the operations of the secretariat and is elected for a term of three years.
According to the Charter of AIPO (and now the AIPA), the General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) will meet once a year, hosted by the parliament of a member country in its country, on a rotational basis. As of 2017, there have been 38 AIPA General Assemblies. [9] At each General Assembly, AIPA meets with dialogue partners such as Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, India and the European Parliament. The first AIPO General Assembly in 1978 was held in Singapore. [12]
During the 27th AIPO General Assembly held in Cebu, Philippines on September 14, 2006, at the closing session, the organization changed its name to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). In addition, AIPO-27 added new regulations such as AIPO having a professional Secretary General following the ASEAN model with a three-year term, the Executive Committee and specialized committees such as the Women's Committee, the Economic Committee, the Political Committee, the Social Committee, and the Organization Committee were enhanced in their roles and powers. [6] For resolutions issued by AIPO, national parliaments are required to disseminate them to their parliaments and governments, and at the same time, member parliaments are responsible for reporting to AIPO on how AIPO resolutions have been and are being implemented. The AIPO President and the ASEAN Standing Committee President will attend each other's major activities. [13]
In 2020, when the National Assembly of Vietnam was the President of AIPA, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was held online for the first time. At the 41st AIPA General Assembly, the parliaments of the countries developed a strategic vision for AIPA for the next five to ten years. At the same time, the 41st AIPA General Assembly also re-organized the meeting of the Political Committee of the Assembly after three consecutive general assemblies could not be held. [14]
The most recent AIPA General Assembly was the 42nd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-42) held in 2021, which was also held online, chaired by the President of the Legislative Council of Brunei, due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. [15]
As of 2023, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Council has 23 observer members, one of them is the European Parliament—synonymous model regional parliament. The other 22 observers are national parliaments or lower chambers of governments. [16] Most recently, the Ukrainian Parliament and the lower house of Pakistan were admitted during the 42nd AIPA General Assembly 2021 in Brunei. Followed by the Armenian National Assembly which was granted observer status at the 44th AIPA General Assembly in Jakarta in August 2023. [17]
August 2023 marked the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly's 44th General Session in Jakarta, which concluded with key document approvals and a handover of AIPA chairmanship. The session was joined by the Belarusian Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives. [18]
On September 16, 2024, the Serbian parliament formally requested an associate membership in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), citing historical cooperation in the Non-Aligned Movement. [19]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.
The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of government in Vietnam and, in accordance with the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it.
The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia or ERIA is an international organization established in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2008 by a formal agreement among Leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian region to conduct research activities and make policy recommendations for further economic integration in the East Asia. ERIA works very closely with both the ASEAN Secretariat and 16 Research Institutes to undertake and disseminate policy research under the three pillars, namely “Deepening Economic Integration”, ”Narrowing Development Gaps”, and “Sustainable Development” and provide analytical policy recommendations to Leaders and Ministers at their regional meetings. ERIA provides intellectual contributions to East Asian Community building and serves as a Sherpa international organization. ERIA Ranks 9th among the world's "Top International Economics Think Tanks" according to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report conducted by the University of Pennsylvania.
The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) aims to promote peace in general, and in the Asian region in particular. It was established as the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) in September 1999 by Sheikh Hasina, acquiring its current name in 2006 during the Seventh Session of the AAPP. The APA consisted, as of 2007, of 41 Member Parliaments and 17 observers. Each Member Parliament has a specific number of seats in the Assembly based on the size of their population. The number of total seats, and therefore, number of votes, is currently 206. Members of Assembly must be elected by members of the Member Parliaments. The APA Charter and Tehran Declaration lay out a framework of cooperation among Asian countries, and point out to a vision; that is Asian Integration.
The enlargement of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations is the process of expanding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the accession of new member states. This process began with ASEAN's five original members, who founded the association through the signing of the Bangkok Declaration in 1967. Since then, the ASEAN's membership has grown to ten with the accession of Cambodia in 1999.
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 and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM), launched in the early 1990s.
Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, M.Si., M.P. is the Chairperson of Democratic Party Faction in the People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia and Deputy Chairperson of Democratic Party for 2013 - 2015. She used to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation. A member of the People's Representative Council since 2004, she was re-elected in 2009. During her first term (2004-2009) Dr. Assegaf was appointed Special Staff to the First Lady of the Republic of Indonesia. Alongside these duties, as a strong proponent of women’s empowerment and gender issues, she also hosted and directed the television programme “Women’s Perspective” on the Republic of Indonesia TV Channel (TVRI). Dr. Assegaf had been Managing Director of the Business and Financial Consultant and, before that, an Associate of Winarto Soemarto & Associates (1993-1998).
The 11th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), formally the 11th Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Bộ Chính trị Ban Chấp hành trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam Khoá XI), was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in the immediate aftermath of the 11th National Congress. Of the 14 members of the 11th Politubro, five of them were new to the Politburo (Trần Đại Quang, Tòng Thị Phóng, Ngô Văn Dụ, Đinh Thế Huynh and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc). Nguyễn Phú Trọng was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee – as General Secretary he presides over the work of the Central Committee, the Secretariat and the Politburo.
Asian Forest Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization in Asia aiming to strengthen forest cooperation by transforming proven technology and policies into concrete actions in the context of sustainable forest management to address the impact of climate change.
The 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam was elected at the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 11th Central Committee elected the 11th Politburo and the 11th Secretariat.
The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, or I.A.O., is a transnational, inter-parliamentary institution that in 1994 was originally established as the European Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (EIAO).
The Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program, commonly referred to as The Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program and SSEAYP, see-YAHP, is an annual youth exchange program organised by the Cabinet Office of Japan and governments of Southeast Asian countries for the purpose of promoting friendship and mutual understanding among the youths of eleven Southeast Asian countries and Japan, to broaden their perspective on the world, and furthermore, to strengthen their spirit of international cooperation and practical skills for international collaboration. Since its inception in 1974, the program has organised 46 international voyages attended by youth delegations sent by governments of respective members.
Adanan bin Haji Mohd Yusuf or sometimes referred to as Pehin Dato Adanan, is a Bruneian aristocrat and politician who served as Minister of Home Affairs (MOHA) from 2005 to 2010, and as Minister of Health from 2010 to 2015, and a current member of the Brunei Legislative Council.
Tô Lâm is a Vietnamese politician and former police officer who has served as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) since August 2024 and the 13th president of Vietnam from May 2024 to October 2024. A career officer in the People's Public Security Forces for over 40 years, Lâm previously served as Minister of Public Security from 2016 until his election to the presidency in 2024.
The 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam was elected at the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 10th Central Committee elected the 10th Politburo and the 10th Secretariat.
Lim Jock Hoi, also referred to as Dato Jock Hoi, is a Bruneian politician and diplomat who served as the 14th secretary-general of ASEAN between 2018 and 2022. He previously served as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei.
The TURKPA in full, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States, is an international organization comprising some of the Turkic countries. It was founded on 21 November 2008 in Istanbul. The General Secretariat is in Baku, Azerbaijan. The member countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Hungary and Northern Cyprus are observers.
Trương Thị Mai is a Vietnamese politician. She was the Permanent Member of the Secretariat and Head of the Central Organization Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, being the first woman to hold these positions.
Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti Haji Abdul Rahman, sometimes referred to as Yanty Rahman, is a Bruneian architect and politician who was previously appointed as a member of Brunei's Legislative Council (LegCo) from 2017 to 2022. Notably, she is the Deputy President and Chairman of the Pertubuhan Ukur Jurutera dan Arkitek (PUJA), as well as a member of the ASEAN Architects Committee (Brunei), Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), APEQS, ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), and East Asia Business Council's board of directors. Her areas of interest and experience are in construction and general business, with an emphasis on finding better and more varied ways to realize Brunei Vision 2035.
Hasrin bin Haji Sabtu (born 25 February 1954) is a Bruneian aristocrat, politician and former police officer who served as the police commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) from 2011 to 2013, and member of Legislative Council (LegCo) from 2017 to 2022. Notably, he is the president of Retired Personnel of the Royal Brunei Police Force Association (POLSARA).