Arabs call for creation of unified Arab parliament
The Arab solidarity commission --stemming from the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU)-- on Monday called for the creation of a unified Arab parliament.
The creation of such an institution will materialize the aspirations of all Arabs and will be a step toward Arab unity, the commission said at the end of a meeting held in the Lebanese capital city.
The commission urged Arab states to conceive their unified parliament after the European and Latin American models, and called on the Arab civil society to back the project.
The structure and statute of the parliament will be submitted to the APU's upcoming conference, due next February in Algeria.
The idea to create the pan-Arab legislative institution was debated during APU's 34th session, held last June in Damascus, Syria.
The APU Arab solidarity commission musters Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
The commission passed other recommendations calling for encouraging Arab women to take part in political life and urged Arab states to proclaim the year 2000 as the Arab Women's Year.
