IPU appeals to Parliaments to help save 20 million people in the Horn of Africa who are living under threat of starvation The IPU launched an appeal to its 143 Member Parliaments for assistance to Africa. The appeal underscores the gravity of the plight of more than 20 million people living under the threat of starvation in Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and the United Republic of Tanzania in the wake of the drought. The IPU, which is holding its 114th Assembly in Nairobi from 7 to 12 May 2006, draws attention to the 3,5 million people who are running out of food and water in north-eastern Kenya and need emergency assistance.

Equatorial Guinea: Sensitization and capacity-building
The IPU recently launched a training programme for ten staff members of the House of People's Representatives (CRP). This two-year programme is focussing on techniques for the recording of parliamentary proceedings and the production of reports. To complement this training, stenotype machines and computers have been delivered to the CRP. Recording parliamentary proceeding has been recognised as an important tool not only for preserving institutional memory but also for making available information on the parliament's work and promoting transparency. The project is funded by the European Commission.

Afghanistan: preparing the future National Assembly
Working together to build the capacities of the new parliament in Afghanistan, the IPU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have over the past months continued to organise activities in support of the newly elected members and the parliamentary staff. Advisory support on the recording of parliamentary proceedings and the workings of a multilingual parliament, which began in December 2005, resumed in 2006 with a consultant from the Belgian parliament making a further two trips to Kabul. The IPU helped organise a series of seminars during March and April 2006 on issues ranging from globalisation to legislative-executive relations, targeting members of the Meshrano Jirga. A similar set of seminars will be organised later in 2006 for the members of Wolesi Jirga. Additional activities foreseen in the coming months include a capacity building programme for the Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga; a consultancy mission to review the committee system and provide advice on its organisation; and study visits for members of the National Assembly.

Algeria: Promoting parliament's effective involvement in the national budget process
In March 2006, the IPU co-operated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in organising a three-day seminar for Algerian parliamentarians and parliamentary staff on the budgetary process. During the seminar, experts led discussion on issues relating to the preparation, execution and parliamentary oversight of the budget with a focus on prioritization of national activities and the participation of civil society in the budgetary process. The seminar was an opportunity to compare Algerian practice with those of parliaments in Belgium, France, the USA and the Arab world. The IPU handbook on "Parliament, the Budget and Gender" was made available as background documentation.

Exploratory Missions in Africa and Latin America

Mr. Anders B. Johnsson and Mr. Gervais Rufyikiri

At the request of parliamentary authorities in Burundi and the Republic of Congo, the IPU fielded exploratory missions to Bujumbura, in February 2006, and to Brazzaville in April 2006. These missions undertook an exhaustive assessment of the functioning of the parliaments in these countries and identified their needs and proposed solutions. The recommendations made by the mission teams are being written up as programmes of action that will be used to mobilise resources from the donor community in a bid to assist the authorities of the parliaments concerned in tackling the constraints that undermine efficiency. An exploratory mission is also foreseen to the Parliament of Ecuador in May 2006.

Continued support for the Parliament of Uruguay
The IPU, UNDP and the UN OHCHR are working closely to design the third phase of their initial project to support the parliament. This new phase will cover the period from 2006 -2008 and will continue to focus on more active involvement of civil society in the work of parliament, including through the promotion and defence of human rights. The original project began in August 2003 and initially addressed the constitutional functions of the parliament, especially its oversight function. It also helped to strengthen the parliament's administrative and human resources capacities.