In 2000, at the turn of the millennium, the UN and heads of state established a framework of goals for world development. At global and national level it defined targets to be achieved by 2015. The novelty of this was not in the development goals themselves but in the idea of having a measurable framework.

The simplicity of the targets, for example increasing the number of children attending primary school, is intended to not only enable the quantitative assessment of achievements and failures, but also to enable all of us to hold our own governments and international agencies accountable. Is this strategy working? That is the question underlining the global exercise to be led by the UN in 2010 to assess the MDGs, which will include national reports and will culminate in a high-level summit in New York in September.

The IPU is involved in the high-level summit, bringing to the forum the voices of parliaments and parliamentarians. It sees this assessment as an opportunity not just to evaluate MDG achievements and failures, but equally importantly to assess how we (IPU and Parliamentarians) can assist MDG developments in the forthcoming years. For this aim we are undertaking several exercises and we would like to share these plans with you, and also to invite you to be part of the IPU's assessment of parliamentary involvement concerning MDGs. This involvement can take several forms:

1. Promotion of parliament debates on national reports. At the national level, national reporting processes will be led by the government in each country and will be concluded by June 2010. According to United Nations guidelines, the reports will need to rely on fresh data collected by reliable sources such as planning ministries and statistical offices to accurately gauge progress and assess trends with regard to each of the MDGs. The reports are supposed to be comprehensive documents for both policymakers and citizens. Among other things, the reports will have to identify bottlenecks in the implementation of the MDGs, as well as good practices that may help accelerate progress in each country. It is important to ensure that any final reports on the review be tabled in parliaments for one last and comprehensive debate.
2. Informing the IPU of your perceptions of the MDGs. IPU is compiling a report on the attitudes of MPs with regard to the MDGs. Part of the study will be based on one-on-one interviews of a sample of MPs at the Bangkok assembly. But the IPU will welcome written submissions on your perceptions. These do not need to be detailed reports, but can share concerns, criticism and suggestions concerning how you as parliamentarians perceive the MDGs and the involvement of parliaments in the MDG process.
3. Let us know your opinion on parliament’s mechanisms for working towards the achievement of the MDGs. Over the years, a number of parliaments have set up specialized MDG committees or caucuses, while others have tried to integrate the MDGs into existing committee structures. There is no blueprint regarding which methodology should be applied. The IPU will conduct an analysis based on a study of a sample of parliaments; the study aims to share with parliaments the different practices that other parliaments have adopted.

Involvement of parliamentarians is vital to ensure that within the next six years the achievements within the Millennium Development Goal program will help lead to better lives for the constituencies.

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