The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) agreed today to expand their cooperation in support of democratic governance around the world. Under the agreement signed today at the UN headquarters in New York, the IPU and UNDP will continue to improve parliaments' ability to effectively legislate and oversee economic governance and poverty reduction.
"Globally and at country-level, the IPU and UNDP have established a strong and fruitful partnership in strengthening parliaments as key pillars of democracy. The new agreement we are signing today builds on that solid relationship and expands it to other areas of endeavor in our common effort to strengthen democratic governance", said the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson.
Key areas of support will include national budget processes, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), poverty reduction strategies and parliamentary involvement in development cooperation.
Olav Kjorven, Director of UNDP's Bureau for Development Policy, underscored that the benefits of this partnership extend beyond democratic governance: "Solving the world's most pressing development challenges – achieving the MDGs or addressing climate change, for example – will require greater engagement by strong, representative and effective national parliaments."
IPU and UNDP will work with parliaments around the world to broaden the representation of historically under-represented groups and make legislatures more inclusive. Together with other UN agencies, the two organisations will also help parliaments play a stronger role in the implementation of key UN treaties and conventions, such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption and various human rights conventions.
Women's political empowerment will continue to be a top priority. IPU and UNDP are already working closely together on the international knowledge network of women in politics or "iKNOW Politics" (www.iKNOWpolitics.org), which is a joint effort with UNIFEM, International IDEA and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
IPU and UNDP will also facilitate international dialogue on standards, benchmarks and good practice for democratic parliaments, building on the past cooperation on the publication "Parliament and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century: A Guide to Good Practices" and other international efforts
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