Honduras, Mongolia and Pakistan have formally joined IDLO, taking the number of Member Parties to 30. The three countries were unanimously welcomed as IDLO Members at the organization's Assembly of Parties, currently underway at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome. At the event, Irene Khan was confirmed as IDLO's Director-General for a second four-year term.
All three new members expressed satisfaction with the outcome. Speaking for Honduras Ms. Maria del Carmen Nasser de Ramos, Deputy Minister for International Cooperation, whose nation hosts the first IDLO office in Latin America, said she was confident that the Organization would help address two major challenges: the world's highest homicide murder rate, and the issue of access to justice for women.
Mongolia, for its part, highlighted its increasing engagement with the international agenda, particularly in fostering partnerships among new and restored democracies, and working for peace and security in North-East Asia. Ambassador Shijeekhuu Odonbaatar hailed IDLO's programming in his country, which dates back to 1998 and continues to expand.
Pakistan, which does not currently host IDLO operations, told the audience that his country was committed to the rule of law. There was unanimous condemnation of recent terrorist attacks, from Beirut to Paris to Bamako, as well as an assertion of the rule of law as one of the antidotes to what is a global challenge of our times.
Assembly of Party Press Releases and Statements HERE