At the invitation of the Parliament of Sierra Leone and the IPU, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan exchanged views on how to strengthen the role of their parliaments in promoting inclusive political processes, institutional reform and reconciliation. They did so at the regional seminar held in Freetown from 23 to 25 June, the first activity of a two-year IPU project to promote focused parliamentary debate and action on these issues in English-speaking African countries.
The seminar conclusions underscore parliament’s enormous potential to bring people closer and to serve as an important vehicle for political mediation as well as for the equitable allocation of resources to meet the needs of the population. Moreover, in many post-conflict or crisis situations, the capacity of parliament to overcome the enormous difficulties brought about by reconciliation is generally limited, all the more so as it is often confronted with the dominance of the executive branch of government.
This situation is compounded by a lack of human and financial resources. Another major challenge is that post-conflict parliaments may be composed of the very actors in the conflict.
It is therefore essential that Parliament itself be properly resourced. Furthermore, it should take an active stance and promote a culture of tolerance and compromise in its work. Participants expressed the wish to work with the IPU to address these challenges more in depth through national seminars to take full account of the unique context and circumstances of each country.
