Legislatures and Political Parties

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to bring to your attention our brand-new 2-day training course on Democratic Governance focusing on development goals and principles of transparency, accountability, participation and non...

The objective of the course is to update participants on recent EU Policy relevant to the governance area, in particular as to justice, democracy and the rule of law in development cooperation. Deepen the understanding and knowledge on strategies and most effective interventions and best practices on justice, democracy and rule of law, including gender equality and moreover exchange of practices and various field experiences in these areas. DEVCO staff info and registration - here [1] EEAS staff info and registration - here [2] [1] http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/catalogue/catalogue.cfm?arg_cor_i… [2] http://intracomm.ec.testa.eu/di/syslog_formation/catalogue/catalogue.cf…

International consensus has emerged over time around a standards-based approach in the areas of human rights and elections (despite the wide variation in electoral systems). Yet until recently a standards-based approach around what constitutes a democratic parliament, arguably the central institution of any representative democracy, has lagged behind. Many parliaments today are seeking to improve their performance – among other things, to become more open, independent, accountable, and responsive. Although every parliament is a product of its own country’s history and culture, certain norms and standards regarding democratic parliaments transcend the particularity of political and legislative systems. Today a range of inter-parliamentary and other organizations worldwide recognize that the development of such standards can contribute to parliament’s own evaluative and reform efforts, as well as guide parliamentary development practitioners and donors in designing more appropriate support programmes. Moreover, this work is useful in further internationalizing the debate on what constitutes a democratic parliament and democracy in general. Link to AGORA [1] [1] http://www.agora-parl.org/internationalconferenceonbenchmarkingandselfa…