Objective 8 2017-2021

The IPU deepened its engagement with the UN, which also recognizes the shared interests and mutual benefits of deeper cooperation.

A range of IPU activities brought a parliamentary perspective to UN debates. The annual UN-IPU Parliamentary Hearings, for example, saw on average over 200 parliamentarians from some 60 countries attend two-day sessions on major UN decision-making processes. The most recent Hearing, held in 2021 in virtual format, contributed to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Corruption, including a Political Declaration which recognized the role and responsibility of parliaments in tackling corruption.

Parliamentary meetings held in the context of other major UN processes – such as the Commission on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Council and the annual Conference of States Parties on Climate Change – further enhanced the parliamentary dimension of the work of the UN.

COVID-19 threatened to delay or even reverse progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting their importance. For the past five years, the IPU has been expanding its support for the Goals through the UN’s main platform for sustainable development, the annual High-level Political Forum (HLPF). To this end, it monitors parliamentary engagement with Voluntary National Reviews and participation in national delegations to the HLPF.

The IPU also organizes a Parliamentary Forum, at which more than 200 parliamentarians discuss the main themes of the HLPF session. In 2021, a UN General Assembly resolution on the HLPF recognized the essential role of parliaments in implementing and reviewing legislation, as well as the adaptation of budgets and accountability.

As the UN celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2021, the UN Secretary-General issued Our Common Agenda – his vision for more effective multilateralism, in which he invited reflection on ways to engage parliaments more with the UN and voiced his commitment to explore options for enhanced parliamentary input at the UN.

As the IPU and the UN General Assembly deepened their relationship, Member States strongly endorsed resolutions in 2018 and 2020 on Interaction between the UN, national parliaments and the IPU. The UN General Assembly resolutions established a new International Day of Parliamentarism, celebrated on the foundation date of the IPU, and recognized the IPU’s work on democracy and the rule of law, human rights, gender equality, and youth empowerment. They also recognized that UN country teams need to work more effectively with national parliaments.

With support from the Austrian Parliament, in 2021 we opened a new Office of the Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna. The enhanced presence in Vienna has strengthened IPU cooperation with the UN, particularly with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime as well as other Vienna-based organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The new Office is helping the IPU to engage even deeper with multilateralism, particularly on issues of good governance and parliamentary diplomacy.

“The IPU Standing Committee on UN Affairs provides a unique space for MPs to discuss global issues with top UN officials and ask some tough questions. It empowers MPs to hold governments to account for the commitments they make at the UN”

 

Senator Juan Carlos Romero of Argentina Former President of the Committee

The IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs, which meets regularly in the context of IPU Assemblies, continues to give parliamentarians the opportunity to examine UN operations and formulate recommendations for improvement. In the past five years, Committee members have engaged with senior UN officials on migration, trade and development, human rights, environment, access to vaccines, the future of multilateralism, tax treaties, financing the UN, and more. The discussions have been complemented by field visits to UN operations, which allowed MPs to develop a better understanding of the issues and realities on the ground.

During the pandemic, the IPU initiated a series of virtual briefings on topical issues at the UN, including reform of the UN Security Council, sovereign debt restructuring, support for least developed countries and curbing military budgets. By connecting experts, ambassadors and parliamentarians, the sessions built understanding and enriched discussions at national level.

To encourage engagement between the UN and the IPU, their leaders – including heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes – have met regularly in Geneva, New York and Vienna. Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly President continues to include the IPU’s Permanent Observer in his Gender Advisory Board, aiming to increase gender equality at all levels of the UN.

The Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (PCWTO), a joint IPU and European Parliament initiative, ensures that parliamentarians stay abreast of WTO negotiations. It allows MPs to exchange their views and experiences in global conversations on the rules-based trading system. In the past five years, PCWTO discussions have focused on the commodities trade, agriculture, e-commerce, small- and medium-sized enterprises, gender, fishing subsidies, climate change, the pandemic’s impact on trade, and more.

Over 600 parliamentarians have attended PCWTO sessions, engaging directly with WTO officials and negotiators. This has enabled them to bring a parliamentary perspective to the WTO and exercise better oversight of its multilateral trade negotiations.

IPU efforts helped ratification of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which entered into force in 2017. The TFA is already improving trade efficiency worldwide, cutting red tape at borders and increasing transparency. The IPU also nudged parliaments to support negotiations for the WTO’s Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development. In November 2021, eight WTO members announced their decision to join negotiations, which are expected to conclude by the end of 2022.

An important outcome of the PCWTO has also been a greater parliamentary contribution to implementing domestic legislation to comply with WTO agreements, as well as to their countries’ regular Trade Policy Reviews.