On 13 December, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark consensus resolution on Cooperation between the United Nations, national parliaments and the IPU.

Addressing the Assembly on the occasion of the adoption of the resolution, IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson welcomed the decision for a dedicated item on the agenda of the General Assembly on interaction between the United Nations, national parliaments and the IPU which will “seek to open up the discussion on how the United Nations, as a system, can relate more coherently to parliaments and parliamentarians. The legislatures form a constituency that can bring significant weight to global governance, making it more transparent, accountable and effective”.

Formally acknowledging the role of parliaments in the elaboration of national plans and strategies - a statement of the obvious to many, but significant in the United Nations - as well as their responsibility in providing more transparency and accountability at the national and international levels, the resolution goes on to pinpoint ways to establish a stronger parliamentary dimension to the work of the United Nations. To this end, and with strong support from UN member States (90 countries formally co-sponsoring the text), the UN General Assembly decides to engage more systematically with the IPU in organizing a parliamentary component of and contribution to major UN deliberative processes and the review of international commitments.

In the five years that have passed since the 2005 reform of the UN and the establishment of new bodies such as the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the Development Cooperation Forum and the UN Human Rights Council, the IPU has been active in bringing a parliamentary perspective to the work of these forums. Looking ahead, the PBC is invited to work closely with the IPU in engaging national parliaments in the countries on the Commission’s agenda to promote democratic governance, national dialogue and reconciliation. The IPU in turn is encouraged to work more with the UN human rights treaty body system and the Human Rights Council, particularly as it relates to the universal periodic review of the fulfillment of human rights commitments by member States.

There is now a new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women known as UN Women, and with it come new opportunities for engagement in areas such as the empowerment of women, institutional gender mainstreaming, the promotion of gender sensitive legislation, combating violence against women and the implementation of UN resolutions such as Security Council Resolution 1325 which seeks to promote the participation of women in all aspects of peace and security.

As part of the efforts to help bridge the democracy gap in international relations, member States are encouraged to include legislators in national delegations to major UN meetings and events. The IPU is also encouraged to help to strengthen cooperation between the UN and parliaments at the national level, including in terms of strengthening parliamentary capacities, reinforcing the rule of law and helping to align national legislation with international commitments.