It follows a request made to IPU during an earlier mission to Myanmar in March for such assistance.

The latest mission is the first in a series of practical steps to be undertaken by IPU to assist parliamentary authorities in Myanmar. It will review how parliament is currently working, identifying and tackling urgent issues before the next full session of parliament. The IPU team will also meet leaders of all political parties, parliamentary speakers, chairs of committees, women and new members of parliament as well as parliamentary staff.

During the 10-day mission, IPU will examine, amongst other things, the relationship between the Myanmar parliament and the government; the structure and relationship of the two parliamentary chambers; the role and responsibilities of the political opposition in parliament, the relationship with the electorate and civil society in general and measures to strengthen the parliament’s ability to address gender issues.

It will also examine systems for legislative drafting and oversight as well as identify ways in which parliament can play a greater role in promoting and defending human rights.

The four-member mission will also begin practical work on providing parliamentarians and parliamentary staff a preliminary understanding of democratic concepts and parliamentary good practices.

This will include a workshop for parliamentary staff on their contribution to the effective running of a parliament.

Initial meetings with MPs, including women MPs on Monday, have yielded interesting discussions on parliamentary needs, skills and knowledge gaps as well as concerns on some gender issues.

Following the submission of the findings to the Myanmar parliamentary authorities, IPU will prepare a long-term assistance programme aimed at strengthening the Myanmar parliament’s legislative, oversight and representational roles in a bid to subsequently strengthen democratic and accountable governance.

“The long-term plan that will emerge from this mission will not only assist Myanmar at this critical juncture, but will also provide a unique insight into how to help the country in a tangible way for those who want to lend effective support to Myanmar,” says Anders B. Johnsson, IPU Secretary General

The IPU mission to Myanmar, whose parliament re-joined IPU in April, is the latest in a long line of similar assistance to countries in political transition, including Tunisia and Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

IPU-UNDP Work to Strengthen Secretariat of the Palestinian Legislative Council - IPU experts have been dispatched to the West Bank town of Ramallah as part of an IPU-UNDP initiative to help the Secretariat of the Palestinian Legislative Council prepare for a future resumption of parliamentary work. The administrative detention of 23 members (nearly 20%) of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) by Israel, including the Speaker (see press release) and the division between the two main political groups, Fatah and Hamas, have paralysed the Palestinian legislative body since 2007. Although the Secretariat of the PLC has remained operational, the absence of a functioning PLC has taken its toll on its own role and capacities.

The initiative, part of a broader support programme funded by the European Union, will help the Secretariat to become a neutral and modern parliamentary administration, better able to support the PLC in carrying out its legislative and oversight functions in the future. The IPU experts will, amongst other things, review current structures and help address the issue of divergent legal frameworks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, controlled by Fatah and Hamas respectively. Another IPU expert will arrive next week to work on developing the research and library capacity of the Secretariat so that MPs have access to better information with which to carry out their critical work. A total of 20 expert missions will be carried out to Ramallah over the next 18 months as part of the programme.