Statements
Tundu Lissu
24/07/2020

IPU Human Rights Committee urges Tanzanian authorities to ensure safety of returning opposition leader Tundu Lissu

Mr. Tundu Lissu, a former member of the Tanzanian Parliament and a vocal opposition leader, is due to return home on 27 July. Mr. Lissu survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and has since been abroad for medical treatment after
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5WCSP speech: Tunisa - Rached Kheriji Ghannouchi, People’s Representatives Assembly (overall theme) 163.5 KB
News in brief
Public health in Mandalay
23/07/2020

IPU urges Speakers of Parliament to commit to universal health coverage

The IPU is calling on Speakers of Parliaments to promote national action and investment to advance universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IPU has partnered with UHC2030, a multi-stakeholder movement whose
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Carrying on work in spite of the pandemic

Parliamentary Data Science thematic hub
Innovation tracker | Issue 6 | 20 Jul 2020

Since the second meeting (Ottawa – March 2020) was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the members have been focused on putting in place conditions for remote meetings and deliberations during the crisis.

Nevertheless, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies continued to develop the inter-parliamentary open data website (https://ipuopendata.camara.leg.br) as planned. Brazilian laws from 2015 to 2020 were translated into English by eTranslation and moved into the open data cloud in the format agreed with the hub members. A process to check the quality of the translations was also initiated, particularly those related to expressions for which translation was not necessary. In addition, new educational videos are being produced: a video for parliaments’ IT staff to learn all about the process of preparing their data to be moved into the open data cloud, and a set of videos for citizens about open data concepts and benefits, and how to understand them and use them. This second set will be available on the inter-parliamentary open data website.

The European Parliament continued to move their laws to the open data cloud during the pandemic.  The Open Data Hub coordinators are looking into a strategy to facilitate other members’ efforts to follow suit and restart their data processing.​

Host: Brazil
Parliamentary Data Science thematic hub
Opening remarks, A parliamentary perspective on current and future Rule of law challenges and opportunities: Consultation with parliamentarians, IDLO-IPU meeting, 17 July 2020 162.06 KB

How Parliaments in the Pacific have been functioning during lockdown

Pacific hub
Innovation tracker | Issue 6 | 20 Jul 2020

Like fellow parliaments around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions has meant adjusting procedures and processes very quickly for many of our Pacific hub Members. At the height of the lockdown, many used virtual and hybrid means to continue parliamentary business. Tele- and videoconferencing technologies, including Zoom and Skype, have been utilized, particularly for committee business and to facilitate parliamentary staff working from home. Some Members, such as New Zealand and Vanuatu, have livestreamed sittings on PTV, Facebook and YouTube, to mitigate the public not being able to access parliament physically. Some themes of challenge include cyber security, network stability, changes to procedural rules to enable such virtual solutions, and third-party use of material. However, opportunities abound and the situation has hastened some of the technological and procedural changes needed to enhance public engagement and accessibility.

The UNDP Pacific Office has provided significant support to a number of parliaments in the region around ICT over the last quarter, and works closely with Australia, New Zealand, and the IPU to harmonize the sharing of knowledge.

More generally, technology has been employed to continue regional networking through various webinars and technical support as well. For example, the Pacific Floating Budget Office initiative with the Legislative Assembly of Tonga was conducted remotely with a team including researchers from the Republic of Fiji and New Zealand.

The CIP Pacific regional hub intends to hold a virtual Zoom meeting over the next month, to discuss the information systems and technology (IST) challenges and opportunities of this time. 

The Pacific hub’s Yammer group continues to grow in membership and Members have found examples from around the globe useful as we adjust to the “new normal”.

Host: Fiji
Pacific hub
The National Assembly of Ecuador adapted rapidly to the adverse circumstances in the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to strategic planning aimed at digitalizing the management policy of the legislative that had been undertaken much earlier. Remote participation of MPs is carried out through videoconferencing, and plenary sittings and its various processes are managed through a unique Electronic Office System. Information on sittings is available on apps for mobile devices and plenary sittings are broadcast live on radio and TV while official documents are sent through a document management system.
The Ukrainian Parliament – Verkhovna Rada – continued to function when Ukraine introduced the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures thanks to a rapid response to the new challenges and the results of work carried out earlier. As part of its e-Parliament Strategy for 2018-2020, in February 2020, the Verkhovna Rada had launched the Unified Automated System for Working with Documents. Before lockdown, targeted training was developed and conducted on a rolling basis for all categories of users of the Electronic Document Management System. As a result, Parliament was essentially ready for a paperless lawmaking process and electronic document management.
To ensure the continuity of legislative work during the COVID-19 pandemic, on 17 March, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved Resolution 14/2020 on virtual plenary sessions. A virtual parliament had actually been established several months earlier, when the Brazilian members of parliament approved Resolution 12/2019 on the digital legislative process in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. Combined. These resolutions laid the ground for developing a broad digital solution to support the remote work of 513 MPs and will act as the contingency strategy after the crisis.
With the COVID-19 pandemic parliaments had to adapt their way of functioning to preserve our systems of parliamentary democracy. To be able to scrutinize what the government is doing and pass new laws, parliaments had to enforce remote working and reduce sittings to respect the social distancing measure. For some parliaments, this has led to a rapid and dynamic cycle of enforced innovation, producing the first virtual and hybrid parliaments. Digital technologies have been embraced as a solution to remote working and the remote sitting of parliaments the legacy of which will last long after the pandemic has subsided.
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