Joint Statement by the Heads of Delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Conference,

Mary Mugenyi, Pan-African Parliament, and Jo Leinen, European Parliament

On the occasion of an official meeting between the delegations of the Pan-African
Parliament and the European Parliament during the Copenhagen Climate
Conference, the Heads of Delegations state:
The failure of the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen was caused as well by the
non-transparent and ineffective mechanisms of the United Nations working methods.
A Parliamentary Assembly at UN level with parliamentary working methods linked
with open discussion and majority votes could be helpful for the global decisionmarking
process.
Therefore, the Heads of Delegations
1. Emphasize and reiterate the common position of the European Parliament and the
Pan-African Parliament that a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA)
should be established within the UN system;
2. Stress that the creation of a UNPA can and should be initiated and pursued
independently from other issues of UN reform currently on the international
agenda;
3. Suggest that the possibility of a joint initiative of the European Parliament and the
Pan-African Parliament be assessed to give further support to the goal of a UNPA;
4. Express their view that a common Africa-EU initiative to establish a UNPA would
be in line with the general objectives and actions included in the Joint Africa-EU
Strategy and the First Action Plan.
Mary Mugyenyi Jo Leinen
Pan-African Parliament European Parliament