The wave of democracy and democratization seen over the past two decades has led to a substantial evolution of the role parliaments play nationally and internationally. The exponential growth observed over the past few years in donor support to parliaments, particularly those in post-conflict countries, is evidence enough of this expanding role of parliaments. However, much of this assistance has gone un-coordinated, often resulting in overlap, duplication and inefficient use of both human and financial resources.
To address these issues, the IPU recently participated in a consultation with donor agencies held on 21 and 22 May in Brussels under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the UK Department for International Development. It was a timely initiative geared towards promoting a positive interface among donors as well as between donors and practitioners of assistance. The participants shared experiences and lessons learned and identified good practices for future projects.
Stressing the need for accountability, participants identified two key principles crucial to the success of parliamentary assistance projects: local ownership and political will. Furthermore, they considered that capacity building should target both the institution of parliament and its members.
Responding to the wish expressed by participants for more regular consultations, the IPU is poised to take a lead role as the convener of such exercises in the future.
In a separate development, the donor community came together at a High-Level Symposium on Country-level experiences in coordinating and managing development cooperation organized by the United Nations on 19 and 20 April in Vienna, Austria. The IPU, as the only parliamentary organization in attendance, reiterated the case for more and better targeted technical assistance to build the capacities of parliaments to scrutinize how aid dollars are spent and allocated. The Symposium was a launching pad for the establishment of the Development Cooperation Forum, a new mechanism for donors to coordinate development assistance.
