Issue 304

Congress hashtag announced Secretariat closed

Congress Preview: field visits in Abidjan

Congress Preview: Africa Hour

LI Human Rights Committee Honours World Day against the Death Penalty

Senator Eggleton on Syria: Every diplomatic route has been explored

Liberal Arab Women Discuss Transition in Tunis

The Ban of the Belgrade Pride Parade is Capitulation of the State says LDP

Opposition sees hope at Venezuelan elections

Congress hashtag announced Secretariat closed

Less than one week ahead of the start of the 58th Congress of Liberal International in Abidjan, the
Secretariat closes this Friday as the Secretariat Staff prepare to depart for Cte d'Ivoire. During the
coming week the members of the Secretariat Staff will have limited access to their e-mail accounts until
their return to London. For all the latest information concerning the Congress please see the dedicated
Congress pages on the LI Website. The latest version of the Congress Programme has also been made
available here. The special Congress Event created on the LI Facebook Page will be continuously updated
from the Congress City. Also make sure to follow Liberal International on Twitter for a live stream of
reporting from the preparations on the ground and the Congress proceedings themselves. The official
hashtag that will be in use during the entire length of the 58th Congress will be #LI58.

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Congress Preview: field visits in Abidjan

There is less than a week to go until the highly anticipated 58th Congress of Liberal International, which
will be held from 17 to 21 October in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. After presenting you with a preview of the
panels in last week's e-news, this week we are presenting you with a preview of the field visits. One
group of delegates will take part inPrivate investment vs. human rights, good governance and the rule
of law, visiting La Page Blanche', a school for disabled children, and the headquarters of the UN
Operation in Cote d'Ivoire. The second group taking part in Linking political priorities with the private
sector will visit the Chamber of Commerce and the Center for the Promotion of Investment in Cote
d'Ivoire. Some spaces are still available for the second visit to register please contact
antonella[at]liberal-international.org. Delegates will also have the opportunity to take part in a tour of
the Golf Hotel where Congress host H.E. President Ouattara (RDR, LI full member) was protected by the
UN in 2010-11 whilst President-elect.

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Congress Preview: Africa Hour

The upcoming 58th Congress of Liberal International, which will be held from 17 to 21 October in
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, will be the first to be held in sub-Saharan Africa in over a decade. To celebrate
this location, Africa Hour' presentations will allow African party members ofAfrica Liberal Network (LI
co-operating organisation) and LI to present their political activities in a creative way, including visuals,
audio and hand-outs for delegates to take away. Each party's presentation will last around ten minutes,
allowing delegates to meet a range of parties over two days. Taking part will be parties from Botswana
(Botswana Movement for Democracy), Burundi (Alliance Dmocratique pour le Renouveau), Cote
d'Ivoire (Rassemblement des Rpublicains), Democratic Republic of Congo (Alliance pour le Renouveau
du Congo), Ethiopia (Ethiopian Democratic Party), Guinea (Union des Forces Dmocratiques de
Guine and Union des Forces Rpublicaines), South Africa (Democratic Alliance), and Tanzania (Civic
United Front). For a full Congress programme please click here. The Liberal International Secretariat
looks forward to welcoming delegates to Abidjan next week!

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LI Human Rights Committee Honours World Day against the Death Penalty

Commemorating the World Day against the Death Penalty, LI Vice President on the Bureau and Chair of
the Human Rights Committee,Abir Al-Sahlani MP, noted the progress made by the international
community in abolishing the death penalty and reiterated Liberal International's position on the issue as
voiced to the UN Human Rights Council in September that no government has the right to take the lives
of their citizens. I echo the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that the right to life lies at the
heart of international human rights law and I call for the universal abolition of the death penalty.
Liberal International strongly supports the notion that abolition of the death penalty is the legal
protection of the individual from acts by the state which threaten the fundamental rights and existence
of the individual said Al-Sahlani. For the 21st session of the UNHRC Liberal International has submitted
both written and oral statements on the universal abolition of the death penalty.

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Senator Eggleton on Syria: Every diplomatic route has been explored

Speaking at a seminar on international crises and Canada's responsibility in protecting human rights
former Canadian Defence Minister and LI Treasurer Senator Art Eggleton (LPC, LI full-member)
expressed a concern that every possible diplomatic route has been explored regarding the deteriorating
humanitarian situation in Syria. The actions of Assad against his people are appalling. We need to stop
his crimes even if it means a no-fly zone or some other military action. This needs to happen now and
Assad should face justice for his actions, if we are serious about the Responsibility to Protect. The
seminar also featured Canadian Senator Romo Dallaire who stressed that the best time for the world
community to act in time of a crisis is early on. LI organized aConference on the Responsibility to
Protect last year held within the context of its 187th Executive Committee meeting in London, UK. The
topic will also be discussed at the panel on the Arab Spring at the upcoming 58th Congress of LI in
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

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Liberal Arab Women Discuss Transition in Tunis

Women leaders from liberal Arab political parties met in Tunis for a conference entitled Women and
Transition. Empowering Women's Participation in the Arab World. The two-day affair was co-sponsored
by the Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty(FNF) in cooperation with
the Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AAFD) (LI Cooperating Organisations). The liberal
women discussed the state of transition in the Arab world amid growing efforts by radical forces to turn
back the clock of women's empowerment. We are witnessing attacks against the dignity of women in
the name of religion, said Maya Jribi, Secretary General of the Al Joumhouri Party(LI Partner), Tunisia's
liberal political force. She added that there can be no transition without a strong role for women. For
the first time, the meeting of the Arab liberal network was attended by delegates from Kuwait and also
the Liberal Party of Yemen. Among the delegates was also a group of women parliamentarians from
Libya. We see this as a particularly encouraging development in a highly contested environment,
said Dr. Ronald Meinardus, FNF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

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The Ban of the Belgrade Pride Parade is Capitulation of the State says LDP
In a statement condemning the banned Belgrade Pride Parade, Danko Runic, Director of the Agency for
European Integration and Member of the main board of LDP (Serbia, LI observer member) said: The
Serbian Government's decision to ban this year's Pride Parade is a clear message to all citizens that they
have no right to live as free men and women and that they should be forced to fear and face threats in
their own city and their own country, after the institutions have done the same, suspending the right to
freedom of assembly. The LGBT Coordinator within the LI Human Rights Committee, Frank Van
Dalen(VVD, LI full-member), has also spoken out against the decision to ban the parade stressing that on
open dialogue between the Serbian government and the LGBT groups in the country is much needed in
order to develop a nationwide strategy so that basic human rights are respected. The LI Human Rights
Committee is organizing a panel on LGBT rights at the upcoming LI 58th Congress in Abidjan
titled Promotion of Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination of the LGBT People.

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Opposition sees hope at Venezuelan elections

Hugo Chavez won a new mandate to lead Venezuela. In the campaign, the leader of the Socialism of
21st Century Chavez never referred to his opponent by name. He savaged his rival daily as a 'pig,'
'loser,' 'sycophant,' 'fascist,' 'nothing' and 'candidate of the ultra-right'. Henrique Capriles scored around
45% of the popular vote, winning the most votes against Chavez of the past four presidential elections
and galvanized the once-fractured opposition. Rocio Guijarro, Director ofCEDICE (member of RELIAL, LI
regional sister organization in Latin America) commented for LI E-news: with a lot of strength we
continue the struggle for democracy and freedom. This loss is a gain! We are over 6 million people who
share the idea of changing the country and this regime. We have a leader whom we expect to continue
the struggle and we have a great and beautiful country that does not deserve the imposed populism and
socialism. Representatives from Folkpartiet (Sweden, LI Full member), FNF and SILC (LI cooperating
organizations) observed the elections.