November 23, 2006Â – Lord Alderdice, President of Liberal International has challenged the members to do more in ensuring that Liberal ideals are realised globally. He emphasised the fact that with the organisations expansion to almost 125 members, (17 new parties were formally accepted in Marrakech), the momentum to do more was now more present than ever before. He said:
‘We must work together for the betterment of our world and people. We cannot afford to leave it to others, because there are far too many issues we must solve: poverty, lack of political freedom, abuse of human rights, the environment, and conflict. We can solve these issues as liberals, but we must continue to do so together.’
Lord Alderdice voiced concern over the conflict and instability in the Middle East, and called for positive engagement by all parties directly involved, in order to reach sustainable peace in the region. He pointed to the new network of Liberal parties in the Middle East–the Arab Liberal Network of the Middle and North Africa (ALMENA), as a positive development and an initiative that will strengthen the prospects of democracy in the region.
Lord Alderdice stated that another conflict that the Liberal family can help resolve is the issue of Cote d’Ivoire, where the stand-off has impacted on the economy of the region, and uncertainty looms large over the once buoyant and stable country.
The Liberal International President also reminded the party leaders and parliamentarians about Burma, where the violations of human rights go on unchecked. He said:
‘Let’s not forget Burma, and other countries in that region. We must strive to see that institutions serve their purpose rather than become an end in itself and that economic structures are open, free and fair both domestically and globally in order to promote growth and creativity rather than regulation as a solution to all problems and protectionism and isolationism.’
He stated that rapporteurs would be identified to oversee the strategy of tackling regional challenges and hoped that progress would be made in ensuring that goals set out in the Congress will be achieved.
‘We have deliberated for three days about many issues, we must now ensure that we work on these polices, move them forward at the national, regional and global level. We can do what we have said we would do, but we can only do so successfully together, and I will continue to lead Liberal International toward this direction.’
