Parliaments Obligated to Preserve Human Dignity

Parliaments are duty bound to use their mandate to improve the human rights situation worldwide, a lawmaker said.

"At the current critical juncture, parliaments of all countries have a special duty to protect the human rights and human dignity … They can play a more effective role in this regard at the national level by passing clear and transparent laws and regulations, and closely and constantly monitoring their implementation," Mostafa Kavakebian said.

He was addressing the 135th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

Kavakebian said there is a two-way relationship between the status of conflicts and the human rights situation.

"Serious abuses of human rights lead to the continuation of crises and their related challenges which, in turn, contribute to the deteriorating human rights situation."

The lawmaker called on his counterparts across the world to use their legislative mandate to help resolve the current conflicts facing the international community.

The Geneva conference has brought together more than 700 legislators, including 67 speakers of parliament and 41 deputy speakers, from 138 countries, to address the role of parliaments as early responders to human rights abuses.