HRBA Portal

UNDP: Parliamentary Development
UNDP provides technical assistance to more than 60 parliaments around the world in their efforts to: Build the capacity of legislators and technical staff; Promote institutional reform; Strengthen parliaments’ relationships with the executive and judiciary branches of government and with civil society, and; Enhance the effectiveness of women members of parliament and improve their ability to caucus and learn from one another.

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
Parliamentarians for Global Action, a non-profit, non-partisan international network of over 1,000 legislators in 131 elected parliaments around the globe, aims to promote peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development and population issues by informing, convening, and mobilizing parliamentarians to realize these goals.

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP)
The CWP was founded by women delegates at the 1989 plenary conference so women at future conferences could discuss ways to increase female representation in Parliament and work towards the mainstreaming of gender considerations in all CPA activities and programmes.

Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa
The AWEPA works in partnership with African parliaments to strengthen parliamentary democracy in Africa, keep Africa high on the political agenda in Europe, and facilitate African-European parliamentary dialogue.

The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB)
The PNoWB provides a platform for parliamentarians from over 140 countries to advocate for increased accountability and transparency in International Financial Institutions and multilateral development financing.  PNoWB seeks to engage lawmakers from around the globe in the common mission of addressing good governance and poverty challenges in both their home countries and abroad.

East West Parliamentary Practice Project
The East-West Parliamentary Practice Project (EWPPP) concentrates its efforts on strengthening parliamentary democracy in Eastern Europe and Eurasia by supporting parliaments and encouraging the development of an enduring democratic culture.

African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC)
The APNAC is Africa’s leading network of parliamentarians working to strengthen parliamentary capacity to fight corruption and promote good governance.

The Global Organization Against Corruption (GOPAC)
The GOPAC is an international network of parliamentarians dedicated to good governance and combating corruption throughout the world.  GOPAC has over 400 members around the world, organised into regional and national chapters.

Southern African Development Committee (SADC) Parliamentary Forum
The SADC Parliamentary Forum is a regional inter-parliamentary body composed of 13 parliaments representing over 3500 parliamentarians in the SADC region.

Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum
The APPF is a loosely-structured and non-exclusive forum of national parliamentarians who participate either as delegates of their parliaments or in their personal capacities. The APPF seeks to provide opportunities for national parliamentarians of the Asia Pacific region to identify and discuss matters of common concern and interest and to highlight them in a global context.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is a vital international organisation with a remarkably active and concerned Parliamentary Assembly. The members of this Assembly directly represent 800 million citizens.

Pan African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament was established in March 2004 and is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE is the parliamentary dimension of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, whose 56 participating States span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The primary task of the 320 member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the overall effort to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the OSCE area.

European Parliament
The European Parliament is the only directly-elected body of the European Union. The 736 Members of the European Parliament are elected once every five years by voters right across the 27 Member States of the European Union on behalf of its 500 million citizens.

Relevant International Standards

Adopting a human rights-based approach to parliamentary development programming empowers parliaments and legislators to better support national human rights protection systems.  National human rights protection systems consist of the legal framework that enshrines human rights; the statutory and non-statutory bodies charged with advancing, protecting, and monitoring human rights; and the mechanisms and procedures for addressing violations.

At the international level, the following are of relevance:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

The core human rights treaties:

What parliamentarians should know about the ICCPR:

• the right to life,
• prohibition of torture, and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,
• the right to personal liberty,
• administration of justice and right to fair trial,
• the right to privacy and protection of family life,
• freedom of movement,
• freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,
• freedom of opinion and expression,
• freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and
• the right to participate in government.

What parliamentarians should know about the ICESCR:

• the right to social security,
• the right to work and rights at work,
• the right to an adequate standard of living,
• the right to education

Regional Human Rights Instruments

Also see:

Declaration Adopted by the 3^rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament: Securing global democratic accountability for the common good (United Nations, Geneva, 19‐21 July 2010)

Declaration Adopted by the 2nd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament:  Bridging the democracy gap in international relations: A stronger role for parliament (United Nations Headquarters, New York, 7 to 9 September 2005)

Inclusive Governance: Promoting Participation of Disadvantaged Groups: Participation and representation of disadvantaged groups in parliamentary processes in the Philippines