Events

Konstantin Kosachev: Russia has vast experience building an inclusive society and fighting intolerance

A Federation Council delegation took part in the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings in Bahrein. The 35th session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians was held as part of the Assembly.


A Federation Council delegation took part in the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings. The event took place in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.

The delegation included Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev (delegation head), Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Galina Karelova, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexei Mayorov, and Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrey Klimov.

The Assembly was attended by representatives of parliaments from more than 130 countries, including 55 speakers and 44 deputy speakers. The overall number of registered delegates exceeded 1,200, including 711 MPs.

Konstantin Kosachev addressed the plenary meeting as part of the general discussion of the topic “Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Inclusive Societies: Fighting Intolerance.”

He noted that Russia has vast experience building an inclusive society and fighting intolerance. As of today, there are nearly 200 ethnic groups and four traditional religions in Russia, whose members lived in peace and harmony with each other.

There are almost 300 languages in Russia, and the majority of them have an official status. Russian has the status of the official language. “In my country, we do not allow nationalists to come to power. Therefore, you will not find a single ethnic group in my country that wants to secede from the Russian Federation. All peoples live in harmony and feel comfortable. And this constitutes the unique feature of our country’s experience,” Konstantin Kosachev stressed.

He noted that nationalists coming to power is a big problem, which many countries neighbouring on Russia regrettably failed to address. “Regrettably, Ukraine is one of these countries and it no longer has a single Russian-language school or kindergarten. Neither is there freedom of conscience, for the Ukrainian authorities are illegally taking cathedrals and monasteries from the Russian Orthodox Church, which historically was present in this land. This is also an undeniable fact.”

He stressed that Russia had tried for eight years to help Ukraine solve the internal development problems it faced and preserve its territorial integrity. “The Minsk agreements were about ensuring peaceful coexistence, fighting intolerance and building in Ukraine a closely-knit society of solidarity.” At the same time, the pro-Western and Western politicians passed up the chance to help Ukraine ensure peaceful coexistence, build an inclusive society and defeat intolerance.

Konstantin Kosachev had meetings with Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania and Head of the IPU African Group, and Ali Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee at the UAE National Federal Council, Head of the IPU Arab Group, and IPU Vice President.

During his meeting with Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Valery Belsky, Konstantin Kosachev and his interlocutor exchanged views on concrete plans for intensifying inter-parliamentary interaction as part of the agreements reached by the leaders of both countries and the heads of their legislatures.

 

 Galina Karelova spoke at the 35th session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians. The session was devoted to women’s role in dealing with security issues and crises.

“Female parliamentarians must exemplify constructive interaction and dialogue maintenance in the interests of their peoples,” Galina Karelova said noting the forum’s growing status and importance.

The Federation Council Deputy Speaker said that the meeting at the IPU site will promote women's leadership, expand women's participation in all spheres of society and form creative initiatives with international participation, which the world needs so much today. “This year marks the first time when a positive result was achieved regarding women’s participation in parliaments. There is not a single country in the world where there would be no women in the parliament,” the Federation Council Deputy Speaker said.

According to her, parliaments have a special responsibility for the future of their countries and the world as a whole amid global instability.

Alexei Mayorov took part in a meeting of the IPU Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, during which discussions were held on the draft resolution titled “Parliamentary Efforts to Achieve a Negative Forest Carbon Balance.”

The senator noted that climate issues were a priority for Russia, which is one of the leaders in the international climate process both in terms of its contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and in terms of the efforts to ensure the universal nature of the climate regime under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Climate change is not a universal challenge within the context of international security, but should be considered on a case-by-case basis,” Alexei Mayorov said.

“We oppose regular attempts by a number of countries to link environmental issues to threats to international peace and security. We believe the allegation about the climate factor’s direct impact on worsening socioeconomic and political situation in a number of countries and regions is counterproductive,” the parliamentarian said.

Alexei Mayorov urged the committee members not to politicise the resolution, but to work out a final document that would show consensus on all points in order to achieve common environmental management targets.

The Russian delegation submitted a number of amendments to the text of the resolution, some of which were taken under advisement by the IPU Standing Committee.

Andrey Denisov took part in discussing the draft resolution, “Cyber attacks and cybercrimes: New risks to global security” as part of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security’s activities.

The legislator also submitted to the Bureau of the IPU Standing Committee on Sustainable Development a proposal concerning the draft resolution “On the Importance of Ensuring Global Food Security.”

“We are expecting the Bureau to support it, and a draft resolution will be prepared for the 148th IPU Assembly which is scheduled to be held in Geneva in March 2024,” Andrey Denisov said.

During the Assembly, a vote was held to include an emergency item on the agenda, followed by the adoption of a resolution. Following the vote, an item was adopted on the topic “Raising awareness and calling for action in connection with serious humanitarian crises affecting the people of Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, Yemen and other countries, as well as the particular vulnerability of women and children.” Andrey Klimov took an active part in the drafting committee’s activities.

According to Andrey Klimov, in accordance with IPU statutory documents, any member of the organisation can request the inclusion of such an item on the Assembly’s agenda. The request to include an item should refer to a recent situation of international importance that requires urgent action on behalf of the international community.

“We managed to remove most of the language that we found unacceptable during a drafting committee meeting,” the senator said.

In Manama, a coordination meeting of the heads of parliamentary delegations of the CSTO member states was held as part of the 146th IPU Assembly as well. The observer status of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly under the IPU was restored in the autumn of 2022.

On behalf of the council, coordination meetings will now be held regularly. In addition to such meetings, joint work is planned at the site of the Eurasia group that has been created within the IPU.

In Manama, members of the delegations of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia discussed interaction with ASEAN, MERCOSUR, OIC and the Latin American and Pan-African parliaments.

A decision was made to hold the 147th IPU Assembly in Luanda, Angola, on 23–27 October 2023.

See also