Several donors are taking an interest in the IPU and its activities and are willing to provide it with funds. Recently, Irish Aid pledged to support the Programme on Gender Equality in Politics with € 1.1 million (CHF 1.78 million) over three years. In announcing the contribution, Michael Kitt T.D., Minister of State for Overseas Development said “This project will foster more representative, accountable and transparent parliaments in developing countries. The IPU has a distinguished record of running programmes that promote women’s participation in and influence on parliamentary politics. Our support reflects the priority that Irish Aid attaches to gender equality in promoting sustainable and inclusive development”.
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The Swedish International Develoment Cooperation Agency (Sida) has provided stable and predictable funds amounting to CHF 1.62 million during the period 2005 to 2007 and will take a decision in March on continued funding for the 2008-2010 period under a similar arrangement. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) contributed CHF 782,000 to the IPU in October 2007 for activities to help parliaments in post-conflict countries play a more active role in reconciliation efforts. CIDA will take a decision in March on funding for a broader range of activities.
In 2006, the IPU replaced a largely ad hoc approach to resource mobilization with a systematic effort to build a stable funding base so as to allow the IPU to strengthen and expand its democracy-related work. Nevertheless, those efforts have been met with a number of challenges, namely: i) IPU is not yet known to donors as an implementer of activities; ii) There is a perception that IPU belongs to parliaments and therefore, governments do not feel obliged to fund the IPU as it does other UN organizations; iii) Donors have a preference for field-based activities in poor countries with direct impact on beneficiaries while IPU's activities are mainly headquarter-based or headquarter-driven and iv) Most donors are in the process of concentrating their support on fewer recipient countries and fewer organizations.
However, there is a very clear trend among donors towards more attention and funding for democracy and governance issues. With contrbutions from Ireland, Canada and Sweden, voluntary funds will at least triple in the 2008-2010 period compared to previous years. In addition, funding is provided for specific projects by the United Nations Democracy Fund, the United Nations Development Programme and the European Commission.
