The Parliamentary Meeting at the Sixth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD) was held in Doha, Qatar, from 29 October to 1 November 2006. The event provided an opportunity for 129 parliamentarians from 66 countries to exchange views on how best democracy could be developed at the national and international levels. It was convened jointly by the Advisory Council (Parliament) of Qatar, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union and the IPU.
A plenary debate on Dialogue, tolerance and freedom of expression as the cornerstones of democracy was organized to enable parliamentarians to share national experiences and identify priorities, such as increasing women's representation in parliament. Two workshops were held to explore the challenges facing parliaments and discuss possible solutions, around the themes of "Representation, accessibility, accountability and transparency to ensure inclusive decision-making" and "Towards greater effectiveness of parliaments".
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a Declaration and a Plan of Action. The Declaration reaffirms parliaments' common understanding of democracy, its principles and values as embodied in various internationally accepted instruments and practice. The Plan of Action sets outa vision and a roadmap for parliamentary action over the next three years to promote these principles and values and put them into practice. It is founded on the premise that for parliaments to make an effective contribution to democracy, they must themselves seek to be democratic in the way they are structured and function.
The parliamentary meeting also gave the green light to the establishment of a follow-up mechanism at the parliamentary level that can effectively pilot activities and projects to implement the recommendations contained in the Plan of Action. This mechanism will involve a mix of parliamentarians and parliamentary experts from all regions of the world. It will also include representatives of the host parliament, the Advisory Council of Qatar, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union. Parliamentarians will also participate in the tripartite mechanism that will follow up on the overall recommendations of ICNRD-6.
As a fitting and timely gesture, the Arabic translation of the IPU’s flagship publication on democracy – Parliament and democracy in the twenty-first century: A guide to good practice – was launched during the proceedings by the Speaker of the Advisory Council of Qatar, Mr. Mohamed Bin Mubarak Al-Khulaifi and the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson.
