NEEDS ASSESSMENT MISSION FOR THE NEW AFGHAN PARLIAMENT

The former Afghan Parliament Building

The IPU mission took place in Kabul, from 20 October to 14 November 2004. Because of the country's lack of recent parliamentary experience, the Afghan authorities face a daunting challenge. Many legislative texts, including the rules of procedure of both chambers, absolutely have to be drawn up even before legislative elections take place in order to ensure that the Assembly can convene. If the new parliament is to be able to carry out the tasks assigned to it by the Constitution, it is already necessary to train the future parliamentary staff so that they have a rudimentary knowledge of their work. Such training must also be extended to the members of the Assembly once they are elected.

Apart from the training, special efforts must be made to address such fundamental issues as the institution's bilingualism (it will operate in Dari and Pashto), the full participation of women in parliament after nearly 10 years of Taliban rule, relations between the Assembly and the public, including most vulnerable groups such as the Kutchi nomads, and the roles of political groups and parties in the Assembly. The numerous meetings that the mission held with civil society representatives and political figures made it clear that everyone expects the new National Assembly to be open, transparent and representative of all Afghan citizens, whatever their ethnicity. It must act as the interface between the State and the people, at the same time playing a key role in an extensive civic education programme to enhance public outreach.

Kutchi tribal leaders

The mission concentrated on all these issues and proposed measures to tackle them. It also provided support to the Afghan authorities to help them accurately define the needs of the future National Assembly in terms of infrastructure and information and communication technologies. The mission's recommendations are intended to contribute to the establishment of a strong legislative institution, the first task of which will be to set up an appropriate legal framework for the governance, after so many years of instability, of a new Afghanistan. It will also have to ensure conditions conducive to development and peace, so that the Afghan people will no longer suffer from political instability and conflict.

A programme of action was drawn up, on the basis of these recommendations, to address the main concerns listed above. It will be funded by a donors' consortium under UNDP auspices, with major support from the French Government, which is already financing some of the training activities for the parliament's supervisory staff. The Indian Government has offered to cover the construction of a building worthy of the new Assembly, which will have to be equipped with the latest multimedia technologies. This common funding approach should help to ensure that the international community's actions to foster democratic institutions in Afghanistan in the coming months will be coherent. The IPU, working with UNDP, will participate actively in the implementation of the programme of action.

ELECTORAL EXPERTS MET AT THE IPU TO REVIEW ELECTORAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAST DECADE

Electoral experts at the House of Parliaments

The end of the Cold War saw the emergence of new democracies in Eastern Europe, and the election of representatives to new parliaments. At this time, much was heard about the need for free and fair elections, yet there was little common understanding of these terms; election observers were called on to make rapid judgementson the basis of the best available information. In this context, the IPU stepped forward with its groundbreaking study "Free and Fair Elections: International Law and Practice", in which for the first time Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill identified the elements of international law that could be used to determine the freeness and fairness of elections. Following this, the Inter-Parliamentary Council of the IPU also adopted the Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections in Paris in 1994.

Ten years on, the IPU organised a 2-day international round table at its headquarters in Geneva on 13 and 14 November 2004. The meeting brought together academics and practitioners to take stock of new thinking on the concept of free and fair elections. Convened by Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill of Oxford University and Dr. Michael Boda, the experts considered the relative merits of judging elections by their outcome (for instance, can an election be considered free and fair when women make up less than 10% of elected representatives?), by process and by law. The frank discussions highlighted the strengths and problems of each approach, and provided important input that could be used to revise the original study "Free and Fair Elections: International Law and Practice".

Reaffirming the value of the IPU's 1994 Declaration, and its extensive use by election administrators and observers, it was agreed that the moral strength of this text - unanimously adopted by all IPU member parliaments - should not be weakened by modifications. Indeed, participants felt that the IPU, as the world organisation of parliaments, will be well placed to tie together the diverse standardsetting initiatives in election administration and observation, and to tackle emerging issues such as e-voting. Its normative work will continue to underpin the practice of free and fair elections, as democracy becomes more solidly entrenched in transition and post-conflict states.

The proceedings of the round table will be published in early 2005. The roundtable was organised with financial support from the Ford Foundation which is also funding the project to update the study referred to above.

IPU PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY GENERAL MET WITH THE BUREAU OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

In another development during the week, the President of the IPU, Senator Páez, accompanied by the IPU Secretary General, Anders Johnsson, met with the Bureau of the Committee for the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for a frank exchange of views on the Middle East crisis. Senator Páez took the opportunity to reiterate the IPU position on this important issue as defined most recently by a resolution adopted at the 110th Assembly in Mexico. The IPU remains committed, Senator Páez said, to promoting dialogue and building confidence among elected representatives from both Palestine and Israel.