Letter of transmittal.. United States delegation_ Opening ceremony. Study Committees.. Political Committee.. Committee on Parliamentary, Juridical, and Human Rights Forms and methods of voter's participation_ Women's rights - - Procedures of considering human rights matters. Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories and Ethnic Economic and Social Committee. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Committee. Executive Committee. Interparliamentary Council. A. Statement of Senator Robert T. Stafford, U.S. delegation.. B. Draft resolution adopted by the Committee on Political Questions, I. Nuclear weapons. II. Chemical and biological weapons III. Environmental and climatic modifications for military C. Statement of Representative Claude Pepper, for the delegation of D. Draft resolution adopted by the Committee on Parliamentary, E. Statement of Representative J. Herbert Burke, United States F. Draft resolution adopted by the Committee on Non-Self-Governing Territories and Ethnic Questions- G. Draft resolution adopted by the Economic and Social Committee__ H. Remarks of Representative David E. Satterfield of the delegation of the United States America. I. Draft resolution adopted by the Educational, Scientific, and (V) Report of the U.S. Delegation to the Spring Meeting of the Interparliamentary Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 31-April 5, 1975 PART I-PROCEEDINGS The spring meetings of the Interparliamentary Council, the five Standing Study Committees, and the Executive Committee of the Interparliamentary Union were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from March 31 to April 5, 1975. Participating in these meetings were 383 delegates, of whom 271 were members of Parliament from 56 countries, including: United States, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Gabon, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Vietnam, Romania, Senegal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, U.S.S.R., Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. In addition, there were observers from the United Nations, UNESCO, the ILO, the Council of Europe, the League of Arab States, the Arab Parliamentary Union, the Asian Parliamentarians' Union, and General Council of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. UNITED STATES DELEGATION Representative John Jarman, President of the U.S. National Group, headed the delegation. Members of the delegation from the Senate were Robert T. Stafford (vice president of the group) and Thomas H. McIntyre. Members of the delegation from the House of Representatives were Lee Hamilton (vice president of the group), Edward J. Derwinski, J. Herbert Burke, Robert McClory, Bob Casey, Claude Pepper, David E. Satterfield, and Goodloe Byron. Representative Derwinski was the U.S. representative on the Executive Committee, and he and Senator Stafford represented the United States on the Interparliamentary Council. Mr. Derwinski also serves as vice president of the Council. Representative McClory served as chairman of the Study Committee on Education, Science, and Culture. The staff included Darrell St. Claire, executive secretary and administrative officer of the U.S. Group; W. Pat Jennings, clerk of the House: Mrs. Bonnie Seefeldt, secretary to the chairman of the delegation: Mrs. Ann Bolton, secretary to the delegation; John W. Kimball, State Department adviser; and Col. Virginia L. Gunter, USAF, legislative affairs representative of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Military escorts were Capt. Leonard R. Kojm, USN; Comdr. James Hoffman, USN; Capt. Mitchel Edson (MC) USN; PS Gary Ford, USN; and YN1 Curtis B. Allen, USN. OPENING CEREMONY The 1973 spring meetings of the Interparliamentary Union were opened in the Banderanaike Memorial International Conference Hall on April 1. The speakers were His Excellency William Gopallawa, President of the Republic of Sri Lanka; Mrs. Sirimavo R. D. Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of the Republic of Sri Lanka; Mr. Stanley Tillekeratne, Speaker of the National State Assembly and President of the Sri Lanka National Group; and Dr. G. S. Dhillon, President of the Interparliamentary Council. Welcoming the delegates, Mr. Tillekeratne noted that these meetings were the first hosted by the Sri Lanka Group. He hoped delegates would note the great efforts being made in his country to bring the benefits of modern technology to his people, and that they would enjoy the great beauty of his country and the hospitality of its people. Poverty affected much of mankind, and for many in the less developed world the chances of leading a life of reasonable comfort and dignity seemed remote. The developed countries had been shaken by the energy crisis, and unreconciled disputes threatened world peace and the very existence of man. However, the nations of the world had become more conscious of a common destiny, realizing that the "major problems confronting mankind are global in their implications and are incapable of solution on a purely national scale. This has invested mankind with a new sense of unity." In this framework, he was hopeful this meeting of the Interparliamentary Union would be able to make a useful contribution in the solution of these problems. Prime Minister Bandaranaike paid tribute to the role of the Union in reaching a better understanding of differing points of view. Mrs. Bandaranaike noted that the resolution of current world problems demands a more universal approach. She urged nations to eschew national self interest and to seek solutions based on greater recognition of the real priorities that most benefit humanity as a whole. Her government's principal endeavor had been to make the people truly the masters of their own country, and to establish a more equalitarian society. Nevertheless, many countries remain prey to world economic forces, and internal efforts are dissipated by the Forces of "economic colonialism. . . . the result very often of deliberate acts and procedures adopted by the mighty without any consideration for equity and justice." The Prime Minister acknowledged that her country had been adversely affected by the recent oil price increases, but said she could nevertheless sympathize with "those countries whose efforts at social justice had been negated by external forces and who have had the courage to use the natural resources available to them." The Prime Minister also referred to the concentration of technological progress in the developed countries and deplored the fact that those trained at great cost by developing countries are lost to service in their own countries by a new kind of "brain drain.” |