5. Donors in 2013
Partners
AWEPA is also very grateful for the institutional funding it receives from the Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency (Sida), Irish Aid and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), for methodology and ICT, as well as in-kind
contributions such as office and staff facilitation, and venues for activities.
Netherlands Organiza-tion
for International
Cooperation
in Higher Education
Frisian Urban Sanitation Programme
Schoon Water voor Mozambique
6. Acronyms 7
Message from the President 8
About AWEPA 10
The European Programme 11
Programmes 14
Bridging the gap between Political Parties and Parliaments 15
Parliament of Burundi 17
Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo 18
Development Effectiveness 19
An Empowered and Effective East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) 21
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) 22
Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (PF-ICGLR) 24
Strengthening Regional Parliaments towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 26
Mozambique Programme 28
Network of Women Parliamentarians of Central Africa (RFPAC) 30
Parliament of Rwanda 31
Strengthening Regional Parliamentary Capacity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 32
South African Provincial Legislatures (SAPL) 33
Supporting Legislative Institutions in Somalia 34
South Sudan’s Legislative Assembly (SSLA) and State Assemblies 36
South Sudan’s Legislative Assembly (SSLA) and Local Councils 38
Parliament of Zimbabwe 39
Partnership Council 42
Eminent Advisory Board 43
Governing Council 44
Executive Committee 45
Staff in 2013 46
AWEPA Offices 47
Financial Overview 2013 48
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Contents
7. Acronyms
ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
ADA Austrian Development Agency
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AJFAND African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition
and Development
AWEPA Association of European Parliamentarians
with Africa
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development
Programme
CAR Central African Republic
CBO Community Based Organisation
CEASC Committee on Employment and Social and
Cultural Affairs
CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women
CEMAC Economic and Monetary Community of Central
Africa
CEMAC-P Parliament of the Economic and Monetary
Community of Central Africa
CIP Centre for Public Integrity
COP United Nations Climate Change Conference
DAC Development Assistance Committee
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
EAC East African Community
EALA East African Legislative Assembly
EPP European People’s Party
ECGLC Economic Community of the Great Lakes
Countries
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
ECOWAS-P Parliament of the Economic Community of
West African States
EU European Union
EFQM European Foundation for Quality Management
FBO Faith Based Organisation
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FGM/C Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
FUSP Frisian Urban Sanitation Programme
GIABA Inter-Governmental Action Group against
Money Laundering in West Africa
GLOBE Global Legislators Organisation
GPEDC Global Partnership for Effective Development
Cooperation
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HLM High Level Meeting
HoP House of the People
ICGLR International Conference of the Great Lakes
Region
ICGLR-PF International Conference of the Great Lakes
Region Parliamentary Forum
ICT Information and Communications Technology
JPA Joint Parliamentary Assembly
MDC Movement for Democratic Change
MDF Management for Development Foundation
MDG Millennium Development Goal
MPAC Municipal Public Account Committee
MP Member of Parliament
NAP Network of African Parliamentarians
NEC National Elections Commission
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NFP National Federal Parliament
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NIMD Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy
NLA National Legislative Assembly
NPCA NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency
NUFFIC Netherlands Organisation for International
Cooperation in Higher Education
ODA Official Development Assistance
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development
PAP Pan-African Parliament
RBM Results-based Management
REDD United Nations Strategy to Reduce emissions
from Deforestation and forest Degradation
RFPAC Network of Women Parliamentarians of Central
Africa
SADC Southern African Development Community
SADC-PF Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African
Development Community
SAI Supreme Audit Institution
SAPL South African Provincial Legislature
SAPST Southern African Parliamentary Trust
SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
SIDA Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency
SSLA South Sudan Legislative Assembly
TD Member of the Irish Parliament
ToT Training of Trainers
UN United Nations
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic
Front
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8. Message from the President
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and his legacy is something that we in AWEPA will uphold; hu-man
dignity is a fundamental birth right of every human.
It was also with heavy heart that I said goodbye to my husband,
Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Belgium Mr. Wil-fried
Martens. He was a long standing supporter and member of
AWEPA. He was also co-founder of the European People’s Party
(EPP) and served as its President from 1992 until his death. He
was a dedicated promoter of democracy and unification, and will
be sorely missed but also his legacy will not be forgotten.
During 2013, AWEPA implemented over 200 activities which are
far too numerous to mention. Of the highlights of the year we are
pleased to see that our facilitation in bringing together parties
from historical conflict regions has shown signs of bearing fruit.
For example, activities which took place in the Great Lakes region,
where AWEPA was successful in fostering an open and reconcilia-tory
dialogue between members of the Foreign Relations Com-mittees
of the Senates of the DRC, Burundi and Rwanda, both
bilaterally and multilaterally. Such discussions were hailed by the
international media as positive progress in what has historically
been a delicate diplomatic relationship. In addition, AWEPA or-ganized
a regional parliamentary meeting with the parliaments
of Burundi, Central African Republic, Uganda, Rwanda and South
Sudan to find consensus upon the ongoing issue of trans-bound-ary
natural resource management. Although the climate was ex-tremely
tense, the meetings were successfully carried out.
Other examples of assisting in the road to a peaceful future hap-pened
in Burundi, where they have come a long way since the
cessation of hostilities. AWEPA undertook several far-reaching
actions with the political opposition, in and outside Parliament,
with a view to re-establishing the Inter-Burundian dialogue. At
the same time, a number of events in Benin, organised in concert
with the National Assembly of Benin and Netherlands Institute
for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), brought together key politi-cians
from the different parliamentary groups and leaders of po-litical
parties to discuss issues of national interest in a multiparty
setting. In addition, AWEPA’s contribution to the entrenchment
of direct democracy in a decentralised system such as Benin’s,
proved to be effective throughout the 16 public hearings it organ-ised
between May and August.
Parliamentarians are the voice people have elected to represent
them. Parliamentarians should therefore be in the centre of the
peace building process and often need assistance in dealing with
this mostly enormous task, especially in regions steeped in con-flict.
The need for AWEPA’s involvement in the professionaliza-tion
of parliaments to come to democratic solutions was strongly
apparent in places such as South Sudan, as well as in the slow re-turn
to normalcy and stability in Somalia after the establishment
in 2012 of the first federal parliament in 20 years.
It is also a year in which we saw relations between Africa and
Europe moving towards greater self-sufficiency and, what’s more
important, towards a real partnership on an equal footing. As this
process develops, so AWEPA has played a role in strengthening
the capacity of parliaments in Africa to help in the development
of the skills and ways needed.
Alongside our parliamentary institutional capacity building, we
continued to develop our thematic programmes. AWEPA made
significant steps by organising multilateral activities in Rwanda,
Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa as part of our work with Af-rican
regional parliaments – our main partners in achieving the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A comparable effort was
made to conduct activities aiming to help put an end to Female
Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). Our Development Effective-ness
programme worked industriously to ensure that develop-ment
polices and strategies at the national and regional levels
throughout Africa incorporate the role of parliamentarians. As
a result, parliamentarians are now seated at the Steering Com-mittee
of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation
(GPEDC), allowing the continued channelling of parlia-mentary
inputs to draw up a new development framework in the
Post-2015 era.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary exchange and dialogue between
Africa and Europe were strengthened through members’ en-gagement
in AWEPA’s programmes and at targeted activities.
Members know that they have a shared responsibility in tackling
problems in Africa and they are committed to working together
2013 ended with the entire world
mourning the passing of our es-teemed
friend Nelson Mandela.
His vision and championing of
an equal and free world are un-equalled
in the manner, style and
conviction with which he exam-pled
and worked. His life and work
have continually inspired AWEPA
since its establishment in 1984,
9. to attain a sustainable future. One example of this was witnessed
at the AWEPA EU Presidency Seminar that took place in Dublin,
Ireland in June where we looked at Africa’s development future,
more specifically at the management of land and the means to
eradicate hunger. As part of its focus on land rights and land
purchases in Africa, the Irish Section of AWEPA brought together
more than 150 parliamentarians, policy makers and experts from
across Africa and Europe in a very successful dialogue with use-ful
recommendations which can be read on our website at www.
awepa.org/news/final-recommendations-dublin/.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank AWEPA’s dedicated staff
and the many partners across all of our programmes for their in-spirational,
collaborative work. My appreciation also goes to our
funding partners, without whom our work would not be possible.
With you, I feel the great promise awaiting us as we launch into
AWEPA’s 30th year with renewed commitment and zest for de-mocracy
in Africa.
Ms. Miet Smet, Minister of State, President of AWEPA
About Minister of State Ms. Miet Smet
As a member of the Belgian, European and Flemish parliaments for over
30 years, 14 of which she served as Minister for the Belgian government,
Minister of State Miet Smet has played an important role in Belgian and
European politics. During this time she has played a key role in equality
in politics, environment and labour.
Her deep rooted urge to see equal opportunities for all, not only with
regard to gender, but in all areas of human dignity, brought her into con-tact
with AWEPA where having served two terms of office on the AWEPA
Executive Committee, she was elected President in October 2009 via a
unanimous vote of the AWEPA Governing Council.
Widow of the former Belgian Prime Minister and former Vice President of
AWEPA, Wilfried Martens, Ms. Smet resides in Belgium where, alongside
her work for AWEPA, she continues to support society in a variety of ways.
AWEPA has been awarded the first level of certification titled Committed
to Excellence from the European Foundation for Quality Management
(EFQM) Excellence Model.
The annual report of AWEPA is mainly presented in a digital format,
allowing us to save money and paper and making it more readily
available.
The annual report can be found online at www.awepa.org.
AWEPA has Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council.
AWEPA is on the list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) Eligible
Organisations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development/Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC).
Annual Report 2013 Page 9
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10. Kolda, capital of one of the regions with the highest prevalence of FGM/C in Senegal, saw the organisation in March of an awareness-raising
activity with civil society and locally elected MPs. This activity was the result of long-time collaboration between Senegal’s National
Assembly and AWEPA.
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About AWEPA
The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa
(AWEPA) works in cooperation with African parliaments to
strengthen parliamentary democracy in Africa, keep Africa
high on the political agenda in Europe, and facilitate African-
European parliamentary dialogue.
Strong parliaments lie at the heart of Africa’s long-term de-velopment;
they serve as the arbiters of peace, stability and
prosperity. AWEPA strives to strengthen African parliaments
and promote human dignity. AWEPA has served as a unique
tool for complex democratisation operations at the Pan-Afri-can
level and from the Horn to the Cape. The pillars that sup-port
AWEPA’s mission include:
• A membership skills base of more than 1,900 European
parliamentarians, who devote their wide-ranging exper-tise
to peer-learning with African colleagues;
• Long-term partnerships with African parliamentary col-leagues,
which ensure local ownership and accountabil-ity;
• An infrastructure of political and parliamentary entry
points, which span 8 African and 2 European offices, as
well as 30 parliaments in Africa and 28 in Europe, includ-ing
the Pan-African Parliament and the European Parlia-ment.
AWEPA’s overarching goal is to eradicate poverty and support
the attainment of the MDGs through the realisation of human
rights, democracy and development in Africa.
AWEPA aims to achieve this objective by promoting:
• parliamentary competency and authority
• good governance based on a separation of powers
• increased participation of women in decision-making
• participation of civil society in the political process
• independent and qualified media, as a component of the
democratic process
AWEPA is an international parliamentary association that is
strictly non-partisan. AWEPA has Special Consultative Status
with the UN Economic and Social Council and is on the list of
Official Development Assistance (ODA) Eligible Organisations
of OECD/DAC.
11. The European Programme
The European Programme is core to AWEPA’s mission. AWEPA has a broad network of parliamentarians and former parlia-mentarians
from across Europe, with over 1,900 members of parliaments from almost all EU Member States and the Euro-pean
Parliament, Norway and Switzerland. These members are grouped into a Section within their respective parliaments.
Together with its Irish Section, AWEPA brought together more than 150 parliamentarians, policy makers and experts from across
Africa and Europe in Dublin, Ireland, on the occasion of the Irish EU Presidency seminar “Africa’s Development Future: land, hope
and hunger”.
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12. Page 12 Annual Report 2013
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European Sections
Background
Through its network of members in the national parliaments
of Europe and the European Parliament, AWEPA has the
unique opportunity to raise issues of common concern and
act as a catalyst for policy dialogue. Considering their active
role and efforts in the development, implementation and
continuation of AWEPA’s work, members are key political con-tributors
to AWEPA’s mission and programmes.
AWEPA focuses on strengthening its members and Sections
in Europe and aims to enhance the commitment of the mem-bers
in each of AWEPA’s programmes and related scope of
work. In 2013, over 50 members played an active role in pro-grammes
and activities in Africa, while African partners par-ticipated
in peer-learning and experience exchange activities
in Europe.
Objectives
Within each Section, members work to:
• Facilitate productive knowledge-sharing and stronger co-operation
between African and European parliamentar-ians,
and among African parliamentarians in relation to
capacity challenges in parliaments;
• Address issues that range from development coopera-tion
to accountability for and local ownership of develop-ment
programmes related to targeted themes;
• Encourage and enable parliamentarians in Europe to
increase parliamentary action in areas of development
cooperation and to advocate for the important role of
parliaments in these matters, thus contributing to sus-tainable
and democratic development in Africa.
AWEPA’s efforts in relation to its membership and Sections
are centred on a number of key areas:
• Building and maintaining parliamentary Sections in Eu-rope
and the national parliaments, as the primary re-sponsibility
of AWEPA members, with support from the
Secretariat;
• Increasing consideration and strategic involvement of
members with responsibilities in their respective Parlia-ment,
for example those sitting on key committees such
as Foreign Affairs Committees, Public Accounts Commit-tees
and Committees on Agriculture, Environmental and
Sustainability matters;
• Ensuring a prompt reaction to the needs of each pro-gramme:
a) in terms of the support of European Mem-bers
of Parliament (MPs); b) participation of EU members;
c) relevant expertise with respect to interactions with Af-rican
partners; as well as d) facilitating linkages between
members and partners outside programme activities.
Impacts
• Members have increased their knowledge on the chal-lenges
that arise when building capacity in African par-liaments
and the pressing development cooperation is-sues
relating to the MDGs, development effectiveness
and the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cut-ting
(FGM/C), among others. The members have gained
a more comprehensive and coherent understanding of
these concepts, which has led to various follow-up aware-ness
raising actions by members;
(Left to right) Hon. Joe Costello, TD, Irish Minister for Development and Trade; Hon. Henri Gbone, Chair of the Committee on Agriculture,
Natural Resources, Rural Economy and Environment at the Pan-African Parliament; H.E. Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland; Minister
of State Ms. Miet Smet, AWEPA President; Hon. Olivia Mitchell, TD, AWEPA Vice-President and Deputy Head of its Irish Section; Hon.
Maureen O’Sullivan, TD, Head of the Irish Section, at the AWEPA Irish EU Presidency Seminar held in Dublin, in June.
13. • The parliamentary exchange and dialogue between Af-rica
and Europe have been improved and strengthened
through the members’ engagement in AWEPA’s pro-grammes
and at targeted activities. Members recognize
that they have a shared responsibility (Africa and Europe)
in tackling problems in Africa and they are committed to
working together to attain a sustainable future;
• AWEPA has been successful in including its members in
multilateral discussions in international fora. Members
are regularly invited and represented at the discussion
table on matters of international development coopera-tion;
• Targeted Sections as well as political leadership positions
in AWEPA were strengthened and renewed following par-liamentary
elections in European parliaments.
Example activity
AWEPA EU Presidency Seminar in Dublin. Africa’s Devel-opment
Future: land, hope and hunger. 27-28 June 2013.
Ireland
As part of its focus on land rights and land purchases in Af-rica,
the Irish Section of AWEPA brought together more than
150 parliamentarians, policy makers and experts from across
Africa and Europe. The seminar promoted dialogue and initia-tives
on the role, responsibility and efforts of both European
and African parliamentarians concerning land ownership, wa-ter
scarcity and chronic hunger. The focus was on MDG 1: to
halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by
2015. The seminar provided a set of recommendations on the
prerogatives of both African and European parliamentarians
in Africa’s development future.•
Sections’ Highlights in 2013
Expert meeting on Somalia today: Current developments,
Future perspective and the Diaspora’s role. 28 January
2013. The Netherlands
AWEPA organised a meeting at the Dutch Parliament between
Mr. Peter de Clercq, UN Special Representative for Somalia,
and the Somali diaspora community in the Netherlands to
discuss the recent developments in Somalia and the role of
the diaspora in the future of the country. AWEPA has been
actively supporting legislative institutions in Somalia since
UN Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Mr. Peter de Clercq,
speaking about Somalia’s current developments during a dialogue
in the Dutch Parliament.
2004, with support from the European Commission and from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The current
Somali government has taken many positive steps towards
rebuilding the country, but there is still a long road ahead. Mr.
De Clercq underlined the need for the international commu-nity
and the Somali diaspora to support Somalia in its hopeful
process of revitalization.
Hon. Els Van Hoof pledges to make promotion of FGM/C
punishable. July 2013. Belgium.
Belgian AWEPA Political Coordinator for the Female Genital
Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) programme, Senator Els Van Hoof,
made a proposal for a change in the Belgian law to make the
promotion of FGM/C punishable, as currently only its imple-menters
are prosecutable. There are presently approximately
6,000 victims of FGM/C living in Belgium, whilst another 1,975
girls and women run the risk of becoming a victim. Over 2013,
Hon. Van Hoof has been actively involved in AWEPA’s activities
in Senegal and Burkina Faso to raise awareness of the newly
elected Parliament on the issue of FGM/C and to sensitise lo-cal
communities. •
Belgian MP Hon. Els Van Hoof addressing her Senegalese peers
at a national workshop held in Dakar, Senegal, on the role of
parliamentarians towards the abandonment of FGM/C.
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14. Programmes
AWEPA currently works with 30 parliaments in Africa through jointly agreed institutional and thematic capacity building pro-grammes.
These include national parliaments, continental and regional parliamentary institutions, as well as decentralised
authorities. For a full list of AWEPA’s activities, please visit www.awepa.org or see the 2013 AWEPA Financial Report.
As part of a public hearing, a delegation of African and European parliamentarians consulted villagers from Kinasserom, which is situated
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on the bank of Lake Chad.
Please note:
Political coordinators and Senior Parliamentary Advisors mentioned per programme reflect 2014.
15. On 13 and 14 May, AWEPA brought together Beninese MPs and experts in Ouidah to discuss how parliamentary oversight of
government action can be improved.
Bridging the Gap Between
Political Parties and
Parliaments
Donor
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Netherlands Institute
for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD)
Political Coordinator
Mr. Henk Jan Ormel, the Netherlands
Background
AWEPA and the NIMD joined forces formally in 2011, in a
strategic partnership aimed at strengthening political par-ties,
parliaments and the party-parliament nexus. The over-all
objective is to contribute to the development of pluralistic
democratic societies through a participatory decision-making
process grounded on a solid multiparty system and the work
of a strong parliament. The partnership between AWEPA and
NIMD rests on the ambition to link two streams of democracy
support, targeting:
• Democratic structure and procedural reform through
parliamentary capacity building; and,
• Culture and behavioural change through political party
support.
The programme follows a multiparty and non-partisan ap-proach
and is based on the principles of national ownership,
flexibility and gender equality. Benin is the first country in
which the strategic cooperation is being piloted.
Objectives
AWEPA and NIMD’s partnership aims to:
• Strengthen multiparty and parliamentary democratic
systems through dialogue;
• Improve the institutional capacity of political parties and
parliaments; enhance the representative prowess of po-litical
parties and parliaments, by reinforcing the link be-tween
political actors, civil society and citizens;
• Ensure that the interests of different groups
are adequately represented.
Impacts
In Benin, the programme has brought together key politicians
from the different parliamentary groups and leaders of po-litical
parties to discuss issues of national interest in a multi-party
setting. The politicians agreed to embark on a process
to strengthen political party structures and increase their role
in the country’s governance.
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16. Consultations with citizens as well as intensive trainings on
Results Based Management (RBM) and the state’s budget
scrutiny process have contributed to the adoption of a new
Organic Law on public finance. The new Law places stronger
emphasis on transparency and allows an increased role for
the Parliament. As a result, parliamentary control over the
budgetary process has been more critical than in previous
years.
Example Activity
Conference on the Role of Political Parties in Strengthening
Democracy in Benin. 21-23 October 2013, Benin.
In October 2013, a conference was organized gathering rep-resentatives
of the main political parties and parliamentary
groups as well as representatives of civil society. Participants
identified and discussed the obstacles that prevent political
parties from effectively playing a role in strengthening the
democratic process and in the development of the country.
Various topics of interparty dialogue were identified, as well
as the barriers obstructing the dialogue. The politicians pre-sent
agreed to embark on a reform process addressing the
multitude of the number of parties, precarious access of po-litical
parties to public media, the caveats of political parties
funding and the weak framing of parliamentary opposition. •
The National Assembly of Benin, in partnership with AWEPA and NIMD, organised a conference on the role of political parties in
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strengthening democracy.
17. Parliament of Burundi
Donor
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Ms. Lydia Maximus
Background
It is widely acknowledged that AWEPA has played a role in
every important political moment in Burundi since the mid-
1990s. AWEPA’s support to the two chambers of the Parlia-ment
of Burundi dates back to the early 2000s, after a co-operation
agreement was signed; the agreement is renewed
at the opening of every legislature, which most recently took
place in 2010 and which will end in 2015. AWEPA supports
both chambers of the national Parliament in organizing par-liamentary
meetings and workshops, field visits and missions
abroad. Further support to the Parliament is granted by pro-viding
documents that contribute to the strengthening of gov-ernance
capacities.
Since 2011, special attention has been given to the consolida-tion
of peace and conflict prevention. In addition, since the
latest legislative and presidential elections in Burundi, AWEPA
undertakes concerted actions with the political opposition,
in and outside Parliament, with a view to re-establishing the
Inter-Burundian dialogue.
Objective
In 2013, AWEPA aimed to improve the political and techni-cal
knowledge of parliamentarians. Through its collabora-tion
with the Burundian Parliament, AWEPA provided MPs
with the necessary tools to reinforce their capacities and to
respond to the challenges they face in the discharge of their
legislative, oversight and representative functions. In order to
achieve the programme’s objectives, AWEPA organised sev-eral
activities which promoted internal political dialogue and
raised relevant issues such as the management of natural
resources, the management of the demographic pressure,
decentralization and parliamentary diplomacy as a means to
prevent and resolve conflicts.
In June, AWEPA organized a conference in the National Assembly of
Burundi, where most of the political class and diplomats accredited
to Burundi discussed the new mining legislation.
Impacts
Since 2008, AWEPA is engaged in the Burundian peace con-solidation
process by supporting the implementation of a
permanent dialogue framework between senators and local
councillors, built on shared values of democracy and respect
for human rights. This project was initiated by the Senate
of Burundi together with locally elected officials. Today, we
cannot but notice that locally elected officials focus more on
governance challenges occurring in their own constituencies.
The AWEPA programme in Burundi contributed to improving
the quality of parliamentary work and created the conditions
for rich and at times contentious debates in the law-making
process.
Example Activity
Seminar to support the Parliament of Burundi in view of the
new Law on mining, 20 June 2013, Burundi.
AWEPA joined forces with the Burundian Parliament to or-ganise
a parliamentary seminar aiming to raise awareness
among MPs in view of the new mining code which was set
to be enacted before the end of the year. During the work-shop,
Burundian parliamentarians agreed upon the necessity
of ensuring transparency in the mining sector, and especially
in artisanal mining. At the end of the workshop, they adopted
strategies to improve profitability of mines, and consequent-ly,
benefit the population. The role of legislators in overseeing
the management of mining profits was also discussed, relat-ed
to the fiscal implications of mining. Among the different
conclusions, parliamentarians agreed upon the importance
of ensuring that mining resources benefit local populations
and municipalities, while respecting the natural environment
and preserving workers’ health and security. •
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Parliament of the Democratic
Republic of Congo
Donor
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Hon. François-Xavier de Donnea, Belgium
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Hon. Sabine de Bethune, Belgium
Background
The partnership between AWEPA and the Parliament of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was founded in 1997.
Two years later, AWEPA signed a cooperation agreement
with both the National Assembly and the Senate. After the
adoption of the new Constitution, which was borne out of the
Inter-Congolese dialogue, provincial institutions were estab-lished.
Thereafter, multiple provincial assemblies solicited the
Senate and AWEPA to implement capacity building activities.
Since 2011, the programme has achieved successes in the
context of conflict prevention, in particular through parlia-mentary
diplomacy and capacity building.
Objectives
• Identify the means to strengthen the role of Parliament in
international relations;
• Foster open, constructive and reconciliatory dialogue
between Congolese, Burundian and Rwandan sena-tors,
both at a bilateral level as well as in the multilateral
context of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes
Countries (ECGLC);
• Encourage trans-boundary cooperation on natural re-source
management, ecotourism as well as the fight
against armed groups that are active in border areas;
• Incorporate the importance of planning, daily data man-agement
and human resources management in the pro-fessional
practices of the administrative staff.
Impacts
During 2013, AWEPA focused its efforts on parliamentary di-plomacy,
both bilaterally and multilaterally. AWEPA facilitated
two high-level meetings in Kigali and Kinshasa between the
members of the Foreign Relations Committees of the Rwan-dan
and Congolese Senates. In parallel, AWEPA organised a
regional parliamentary meeting on the protection of trans-boundary
natural areas with the parliaments of Burundi,
Central African Republic, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Although the climate was extremely tense, the meetings were
successfully carried out. Issues related to security, refugees,
and the exploitation of natural resources were also tabled.
These meetings constitute, today more than ever, real op-portunities
to establish a frank, constructive and sustainable
dialogue.
Example Activity
Protecting Trans-boundary Natural Resources in Central Af-rican
Countries. 30 September – 2 October 2013, Kisangani,
DRC.
Congolese, Central African, Rwandan, Burundian, Ugandan
and South-Sudanese parliamentarians gathered for a two-day
sub-regional conference on the role of legislators in protect-ing
the regional, trans-boundary natural environment. The
event, organised by AWEPA in partnership with both cham-bers
of the Congolese Parliament, was facilitated to prevent
and resolve conflicts related to natural resources between
the DRC and neighbouring states. Representatives from sev-eral
specialised bodies were also in attendance.
The DRC shares nearly ten thousand kilometres of borders
with nine neighbouring countries and an ocean coastline. In
addition, the majority of provinces in the DRC share land and/
or maritime trans-boundary natural areas with neighbouring
states, hence the need for ongoing multilateral cooperation in
order to address issues faced by all parties.
Successfully bringing together Rwandan and Ugandan del-egations
at the conference was a vital step towards regional
reconciliation. In fact, it was the first time that legislators from
the two countries agreed to meet since the six-day war, which
opposed Rwandan and Ugandan political forces on Congo-lese
land, in 2000.
To strengthen regional and multilateral cooperation, parlia-mentarians
resolved to form a network. The group proposed
the creation of a green brigade for the protection of trans-boundary
natural resources. Their recommendations, con-
19. In the middle of this group, wearing a grey suit, stands the Deputy
Rapporteur of the Congolese Senate, Hon. Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga
surrounded by representatives of the Kisangani province. This
photo was taken at an AWEPA conference on the role of legislators
in protecting the regional, trans-boundary natural environment in
Central Africa.
tained in the “Parliamentary Declaration of Kisangani 2013”,
will be submitted to the governments of the different states
involved. As a result, the Conference earned broad media
coverage in national, regional and local news outlets. •
Development Effectiveness
Programme
Donors
Austrian Development Agency (ADA)
Irish Aid
Political Coordinator
Lord David Chidgey, United Kingdom
Senior Parliamentary Advisors
Hon. Claudia Durchschlag, Austria
Hon. Maureen O’Sullivan, TD, Ireland
Background
While Official Development Assistance (ODA) is undergoing
a large-scale retreat in several countries, Foreign Direct In-vestment
(FDI) in the financial and extractive sectors is mak-ing
its mark on emerging African economies. As a result, the
management of public finance in these countries has gained
significant attention in recent years. There is a clear, growing
emphasis on the accrual of natural resource revenues, FDIs,
taxation, philanthropy and other domestic resources. With
this shift, the pool of resources to be accounted for has in-creased.
Not only are partner governments responsible for
managing and accounting for external finance, but with the
growth of local potential, domestic resources as well. These
changes have wide reaching implications for parliaments in
the Southern African Development Community (SADC), espe-cially
if legislatures are to keep step with the improvements
to executive management of public finances, which continue
to multiply. Ultimately, strengthening the oversight functions
of parliaments lies at the heart of what AWEPA and the Global
Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC)
are aiming to achieve. Reflective of this broadened agenda,
this year the programme changed its name from that of “aid
effectiveness” to “development effectiveness”.
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20. Participants at a regional parliamentary seminar in Johannesburg, South Africa, “Enhancing SADC Parliamentary Participation in
Development Effectiveness”.
supported the transformation process of the SADC-PF into
a fully-fledged regional Parliament. Programme activities
have deepened the conviction amongst parliamentarians and
other stakeholders on the crucial role of parliaments in the
budget process. This increased awareness has influenced the
institutional development of the SADC-PF by asserting the ur-gency
and relevance of regional oversight on par with that at
the national level, as confirmed by the SADC Parliamentary
Statement which emerged from the regional seminar held in
December 2013.
The programme has also served to leverage the combined
strengths of European and African MPs as concerns bilateral
ODA relationships and other development inputs. In this re-spect,
AWEPA facilitated joint monitoring exercises in which
development priorities of Irish parliamentarians on behalf of
their taxpayers were compared with priorities of the Mozam-bique
and Tanzanian governments alongside the parliaments’
capacities to oversee the same. In facilitating South-South and
triangular dialogue, AWEPA has created space for critical re-flection
among parliaments in SADC on the nature and limits
of their engagement in the budget process and parliament’s
oversight role more generally. As a result, SADC parliamentar-ians
have begun taking steps to improving their relations with
other stakeholders, in particular, Supreme Audit Institutions
(SAIs) and European MPs.
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Objectives
• Support and monitor the incorporation of parliaments,
envisaged as institutions, in development polices, pro-cesses
and plans at the global, regional and national lev-els
throughout Africa;
• Support the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC-PF) in developing the in-stitutional
capacity to function as a regional Parliament;
• Strengthen parliamentary oversight in the SADC region,
with a particular focus on Mozambique and Tanzania.
Impacts
Since establishment in 2008, the programme has worked tire-lessly
to ensure, through support and monitoring, that devel-opment
policies and strategies at the national and regional
levels throughout Africa incorporate the role of parliamentar-ians.
As a result, legislatures have been acknowledged by the
GPEDC as key State institutions with a constitutional mandate
to represent and safeguard citizens’ development ambitions.
The fact that parliamentarians are now seated at the Steering
Committee of the GPEDC is also evidence of the programme’s
achievement, allowing the continued channelling of parlia-mentary
inputs to the decision-making structures on interna-tional
development at the highest level.
In 2013, lessons learned on a national and global context
were elevated at the regional SADC level, whereby AWEPA
21. Example Activity
Enhancing SADC Parliamentary Participation in Develop-ment
Effectiveness. 2-4 December 2013, South Africa.
AWEPA held a regional parliamentary seminar with 60 par-ticipants
in attendance, including parliamentarians and par-liamentary
staff from eleven SADC and three European coun-tries.
Ultimately, the seminar was instrumental in connecting
the most recent trends in the global development agenda in-cluding
the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of development cooperation. Leg-islative
performance with regards to parliamentary engage-ment
in the budget process was also addressed, followed
by discussions on the potential for strengthened relations
between parliaments and other development actors towards
development effectiveness. As the seminar concluded, par-ticipants
adopted the “SADC Parliamentary Statement on the
GPEDC” for discussion at the High level ministerial meeting to
be held in Mexico, in April 2014. •
An Empowered and Effective
East African Legislative
Assembly (EALA)
Donors
Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Hon. Kerstin Lundgren, Sweden
Senior Political Advisors
Hon. Kerstin Engle, Sweden
Ms. Katharine Bulbulia, Ireland
Background
Since 2002, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and
AWEPA have implemented programmes to develop EALA’s ca-pacity
in the East African Community (EAC). Founded in 2001,
EALA functions as the legislative organ of the region. The in-tegration
agenda of the EAC gives EALA its mandate, as speci-fied
by the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. EALA is
comprised of 52 members, 45 of whom are elected to their
position (nine from each of the five Partner States) and seven
ex-officio members. The third Assembly was inaugurated in
June 2012 and seeks to consolidate the achievements of the
first and second Assembly by maintaining a regional presence
and engaging with legislative and development concerns in
East Africa.
Objectives
In line with the vision of a prosperous, competitive, secure
and politically united EAC, the programme aims to contribute
to accelerated, harmonious and balanced development and
continued democratisation in the region.
Thus, the programme seeks to empower EALA to effectively
fulfil its legislative, representative and oversight mandate,
particularly in matters related to improving the EAC integra-
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tion process and increasing cooperation among EAC Partner
States in political, economic, social and cultural fields. Such
activities are geared towards the mutual benefit of the EAC
Partner States and their citizens. The programme supports
the implementation of legislation that is important to EAC
integration, therefore mutually beneficial for the Community
and the Partner States. Another goal of the programme is that
EAC citizens are made aware of the integration process and
its role in their lives.
Impacts
The programme focused on achieving results in accordance
with the mandate of EALA, namely to enhance its legislative
role, to effectively represent and reach out to the citizens, to
enhance its oversight role and to effectively link with the na-tional
assemblies of Partner States as well as other regional
parliaments.
The third Assembly focused on capacity building workshops
as well as legislative and oversight work on reports and bills.
This included public hearings, site visits, interaction with civil
society and interaction with national assemblies, including
the Speakers’ assemblies.
Example Activity
Development of the EALA Strategic Plan 2013-2018. 4-13
April 2013, Rwanda.
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) developed the
EALA Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 during a series of work-shops
held between 4 and 13 April 2013 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The EALA Strategic Plan 2013-2018 builds on the Assembly’s
Female Genital Mutilation
(FMG/C)
Donor
Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA)
Political Coordinator
Hon. Els Van Hoof, Belgium
Senior Political Advisor
Hon. Petra Bayr, Austria
Background
Worldwide, more than 125 million girls and women are suf-fering
the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation/Cut-ting
(FGM/C), a practice that is recognized internationally as a
violation of human rights. It is estimated that, under current
trends, 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over the next
decade. In addition, FGM/C has increasingly become an issue
of concern in Europe. According to the European Parliament,
approximately 500,000 girls and women living in Europe have
undergone FGM/C and another 180,000 are at risk each year.
AWEPA is well placed to support parliamentarians as key cata-lysts
for ending FGM/C, through its extensive network in Afri-ca
and Europe. AWEPA focuses on supporting parliaments to
develop legislation and/or policy frameworks banning FGM/C,
Burundian President H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza launches the EALA
Strategic Plan 2013-2018 to the applause of the Speaker of the
East African Legislative Assembly, Hon. Margaret Zziwa.
first Strategic Plan (2010-2012) and is intended to serve as the
main instrument to execute EALA’s Strategic Plan mandate
in a more focused, effective and results-oriented manner. In
parallel, the EALA Commission and chairpersons of the EALA
Committees participated in a four-day training workshop on
strategic planning and management. Subsequently, they re-viewed
the proposed Strategic Plan. This was followed by a
one-day dissemination workshop for EALA members and oth-er
stakeholders. Finally, the EALA Commission had the chance
to incorporate the changes into the Strategic Plan and to un-pack
the activities for the years 2013-2014. •
23. Following a workshop in the capital of Burkina Faso, Belgian senator Hon. Els Van Hoof joined other parliamentarians in a decentralised
activity to discuss the abandonment of FGM/C with local traditional, religious and political authorities.
and monitor their implementation. Taking a community-based
approach, the programme includes education, sensiti-sation
and engaging with local leaders.
Objective
The objective of AWEPA’s FGM/C programme is to contrib-ute
to an increased capacity of parliamentarians to legislate
around the protection of women and girls from violence, in-cluding
FGM/C, child marriage and other harmful traditional
practices. The programme supports national parliaments to
work towards the abandonment of the practice by strength-ening
the capacity of parliamentarians to exercise their over-sight,
representative and legislative functions with regard to
FGM/C.
Impacts
• Parliamentarians are more aware of the negative impact
on health, including mental and reproductive health, as
well as other risks related to FGM/C; cultural and other
realities in the field posing a challenge to abandonment;
and national/regional resources available for victims;
• Parliamentarians are more aware of the cross-border
dimension linked to FGM/C and are able to work with
counterparts in neighbouring countries to propose har-monized
legislation and policies;
• Parliamentarians are better equipped to work with other
branches of Government to accelerate the abandonment
of FGM/C and to implement existing laws;
• Increased mutual understanding and political will for co-operation
between African and European parliamentar-ians;
• Victims are more aware of their rights as well as national
and local resources;
• Validation of local efforts towards abandonment, through
the presence and support of elected leaders in their com-munities;
• Increased media coverage of efforts to promote aban-donment
brought the issue to national debate and en-gage
public opinion in this struggle;
• European parliamentarians are more aware of the prac-tice
as it exists in Europe, in the context of migration.
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Example Activity
National parliamentary workshop and decentralised activ-ity.
23-26 November 2013, Burkina Faso.
Together with Burkina Faso’s National Assembly Commit-tee
on Employment and Social and Cultural Affairs (CEASC),
AWEPA implemented a decentralised activity in Kongoussi,
followed by a national workshop in Ouagadougou, between
23 and 26 November. Despite a Law banning FGM/C in Bur-kina
Faso since 1996, the practice currently affects an estimat-ed
76% of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49. As
a result of the decentralised activity and the workshop, newly
elected Committee members expressed their engagement to
continue the fight started by their colleagues in collaboration
with AWEPA in 2011. During the workshop, MPs updated the
parliamentary action plan of 2012. This plan will guide their
actions during their mandate.•
Parliamentary Forum of the
International Conference
on the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR-PF)
Donors
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Political Coordinators
Hon. Alain Destexhe, Belgium
Ms. Therese Frösch, Switzerland
Background
In 2006, the Joint Secretariat of the United Nations-African
Union requested AWEPA to facilitate parliamentary activities
related to the Pact on Security, Stability and Development of
the Great Lakes Region. The aim was to allow the ownership
and the ratification of the Pact by the country members of the
Held in Burundi, the 4th plenary session of the ICGLR-PF featured the presence of the country’s President, H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza. The
session was organised with the support of the General Secretariat of the Forum, the Parliament of Burundi and AWEPA.
25. International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR):
Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of
Congo, DRC, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and
Zambia. In 2008, as a result of this process, the Parliamentary
Forum of the ICGLR (PF-ICGLR) was established. Since then,
the Forum operates as a framework of dialogue between par-liamentary
institutions, while supporting the efforts of their
respective governments for achieving the goals of the Pact, in
particular as the efforts relate to conflict prevention.
Objectives
• Contribute to the establishment of a dialogue between
member parliaments, while supporting the efforts of
their respective governments;
• Contribute to successfully implement the Pact on Secu-rity,
Stability and Development;
• Foster peace in the Great Lakes region by the means of
parliamentary diplomacy;
• Further build the capacities of the Forum’s General Secre-tariat
and Executive Committee.
Impacts
In 2013, AWEPA contributed to the organisation of statutory
activities for the Forum. At a meeting of the Executive Com-mittee,
organised in Kigali in July 2013, the resolution projects
drafted by a Forum’s consultant on the request of the Secre-tary
General were analysed. After reviewing the administra-tive
documents sent by the Secretary General, the Executive
Committee was able to establish the agenda of the plenary,
which took place in Bujumbura, in November 2013. The ple-nary
was attended by the speakers and members of each of
the parliaments which are members of the Forum.
During the session, H.E. Mr. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, the
honorary President of Burundi was called to brief those in
attendance about the consultation mission which he had re-cently
led in Bangui together with the Secretary General of
the Forum and members of the Executive Committee. At the
conclusion of the briefing, a call was made to the internation-al
community in general and to the country members of the
ICGLR in particular, for concrete measures to the benefit of
peace in the CAR. The tumultuous climate is a direct result of
the political, ethnic and religious clashes that the country has
been witnessing for several months.
Example Activity
Fourth session of the Forum of Parliaments of the Interna-tional
Conference on the Great Lakes Region. 11-13 Novem-ber
2013, Bujumbura, Burundi.
The fourth Plenary Session of the PF-ICGLR was organized in
Bujumbura, in November 2013, by the General Secretariat of
the Forum and the Parliament of Burundi, with financial and
technical assistance from AWEPA. The Plenary Session was
successful in meeting its targets, given the massive participa-tion
of Forum member parliaments as well as given the de-bate
on topics of extreme importance for peace and security
in the region. The session featured several debates around
resolution projects which were prepared by the Forum’s con-sultant
under the supervision of the General Secretariat. At
the heart of the debates was the security situation in Burundi,
the CAR and eastern DRC, as well as the state of play between
Sudan and South Sudan. •
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Strengthening Regional
Parliaments towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals
Donor
Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
Political Coordinator
Hon. Holger Gustafsson, Sweden
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Hon. Wolfgang Pirklhuber, Austria
Background
Africa has made great strides towards the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), however results are
spread unevenly across countries and several targets will be
missed in 2015. Despite much effort and commitment, the
continent still lags behind others due mainly to its initial lower
levels of development and its overall high population growth.
Much can still be accomplished in the two years remaining
before the 2015 horizon. That said, the urgency to reach the
projected goals must be tempered by the need to sustain pro-gress
beyond 2015. Good governance and, in particular, the
need for effective, open and accountable institutions are nec-essary
to achieve the MDGs, and social and human develop-ment
generally. This also implies strong parliaments that can
contribute credibly to the efficient and equal distribution of
public goods and hold governments accountable for the dis-bursal
of development funds and sound development policy
implementation.
However, the engagement of elected representatives in policy
formulation and implementation in Africa is not systematic
and often insufficient. African parliamentarians face the dif-ficult
task of providing oversight of legislation, policies and
development funds aimed at achieving the MDGs, with lim-ited
or no access to information on the impacts of policy deci-sions,
budget allocations and foreign aid flows.
Achieving the MDGs is contingent upon supporting local so-lutions
for poverty eradication, enhancing transparency and
accountability of governance frameworks and reinforcing
regional integration and peer-learning mechanisms. Policy
makers at the national, regional and international levels must
acknowledge the crucial role of parliamentarians to attain the
MDG targets and sub-targets, as well as the role of policy co-herence
vis-à-vis public and private donors.
AWEPA worked with its partners to conduct a mid-term re-
Participants at a conference “Political Stability, Human Security and Development in West Africa” jointly organised by AWEPA and the
ECOWAS Parliament.
27. (Left to Right) Hon. Elisabeth Nauclér, Deputy Head of the Finnish AWEPA Section, Hon. Cheikh Abdel Kader Dansoko, the Secretary General
of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Moustapha Niasse, Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal, Hon. Ike Ekweremadu, Speaker of the
ECOWAS Parliament and Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Mrs. Salamatu Suleiman, ECOWAS Commissioner, Dr. Abdullahi Shehu,
Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), at a conference “Political
Stability, Human Security and Development in West Africa”.
view of the MDG programme in 2013, identifying progress to
date, lessons learned and the way forward.
Objective
The overall objective of the MDG programme is to contrib-ute
to democracy, poverty reduction and sustainable devel-opment
in Africa by supporting the capacity development of
regional African parliaments, namely the Pan-African Parlia-ment
(PAP), the Parliament of the Economic and Monetary
Community of Central Africa (CEMAC-P), the East African
Legislative Assembly (EALA), the Parliament of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS-P), and the Par-liamentary
Forum of the Southern African Development Com-munity
(SADC-PF).
Through its MDG programme, AWEPA aims to capacitate
these regional parliaments to develop and implement policy
and legislation relevant to the MDGs, specifically with respect
to parliamentary oversight and budgetary control. In addition,
AWEPA works to promote a better understanding among its
European members of Africa’s development challenges, while
strengthening parliamentary dialogue and enhancing parlia-mentary
participation in international fora on MDG-related
issues.
Outputs
• Activity recommendations and communiqués were ta-bled
for committee and/or plenary discussions and
adopted by regional parliamentary bodies;
• Increased engagement of the PAP and Africa’s national
and regional parliaments on the issue of gender equality
and violence against women;
• Strengthened parliamentary awareness on the need for
sustainable agricultural investment and adequate re-sponses
to large-scale land investment in Eastern and
Central Africa;
• Regional recommendations on the issue of Lake Chad
adopted by CEMAC-P;
• Increased parliamentary awareness and engagement
on the issues of human security, political stability and
achievement of the MDGs in West Africa;
• Enhanced inter-parliamentary exchange and cooperation
on institutional development and strategic planning;
• Strengthened North-South dialogue on poverty reduc-tion,
food security, and agriculture and land manage-ment,
resulting in stepped-up donor commitments.
Example Activity
Parliamentary Conference on Human Security, Political Sta-bility
and Achievement of the MDGs in West Africa. 29-31
October 2013, Senegal.
A three-day conference “Political Stability, Human Security
and Development in West Africa” was jointly organised by
AWEPA and ECOWAS-P in October 2013. The objectives of the
conference were to define the roles of parliamentarians at
national and regional levels to promote human security in the
Annual Report 2013 Page 27
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28. gramme with Municipalities and Provincial Assemblies, the Po-litical
Parties Programme and the Research and Publications
Programme. Issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender and child rights
are integral focal points within each programme. In addition,
AWEPA Mozambique introduced training on sustainable nat-ural
resources management for the Municipalities, Provincial
Assemblies and National Assembly (MPs and staff), as well as
capacity building at municipal level on water and sanitation in
collaboration with the Frisian Urban Sanitation Project (FUSP)
in partnership with the Ministry of State Administration and
the Mozambican National Water Directorate.
Objectives
• Support the legitimacy, functioning and development of
addressing political stability in West Africa and assess-ing
advancement towards the MDGs. Specifically, the confer-ence
related to MDGs 1, 7 and 8 (but also, and more broadly,
to MDGs 2, 4, 5 and 6). The conference brought together the
Speaker, members and technical staff of ECOWAS-P as well as
European MPs affiliated to AWEPA and several regional and
international experts in the areas of governance, security and
development. The conference ended with the adoption of a
Parliamentary Declaration recommending a number of con-crete
actions to be taken to improve democratic governance,
political stability and human security in the region. These will
be pursued by ECOWAS-P as it moves forward with its institu-tional
strengthening process and in the context of its partner-ship
with AWEPA.•
Page 28 Annual Report 2013
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democratic institutions;
• Support the consolidation of peace and harmonious so-cio-
economic development;
• Support the involvement and active participation of civil
society in the democratic process and democratic institu-tions
at national and local levels;
• Stimulate the availability and exchange of information
on the Mozambican democratization process by carrying
out research and disseminating publications and educa-tional
materials.
Impacts
In 2013, Mozambique saw the holding of a number of elec-tions,
with municipal elections conducted on 20 November.
General elections are due to take place in October 2014. The
elections were carried out under the new electoral legislation
that was approved by the Parliament in December 2012. Sev-eral
changes took place in this new electoral legislation, one
being the election of new members of the National Elections
Commission (NEC).
In order to contribute to the free, fair and transparent elec-tions,
AWEPA provided training for members of political par-ties
in order to disseminate the new legislation. On the other
hand, in partnership with the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP),
AWEPA prepared journalists across Mozambique to act as
electoral observers at the municipal elections.
In the frame of its capacity building project addressing sus-tainable
natural resources management, AWEPA carried out
training on natural resources for the National Assembly, mu-nicipalities,
and provincial assemblies. Prior to the implemen-tation
of the training activities, AWEPA undertook a baseline
Strengthening democratic
institutions in Mozambique
Donors
Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) via
Diakonia
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique
The Frisian Urban Sanitation Programme (FUSP)
The North-South Dialogue of Parliaments
Political Coordinator
Hon. Bodil Ceballos, Sweden
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Ms. María Antonia Avilés Perea, Spain
Background
AWEPA has supported the democratic process in Mozam-bique
since 1992. In the past decade, the focus of AWEPA has
shifted from major civic education programmes and election
observation projects to capacity building programmes for
elected organs.
AWEPA Mozambique works in the framework of its multi-annual
programme, which is divided into four components:
the Parliamentary Programme, the Local Government Pro-region,
29. study to establish milestones and provide the basis for subse-quent
assessment of how effective the activities have proven
in achieving the desired results.
Example Activity
Sustainable Natural Resource Seminar on Petroleum Legis-lation.
November 2013. Maputo, Mozambique.
One of the most important activities undertaken in the frame
of the AWEPA Mozambique Strategic Vision programme
was the seminar on petroleum legislation which took place
in Maputo, in November 2013. Parliamentarians from three
Committees of the National Assembly of Mozambique and
ten Norwegian parliamentarians attended the seminar. The
Norwegian delegation shared experiences and best practices
with their Mozambican counterparts as regards legislation on
natural resource management. This contributed to the over-arching
goal of the AWEPA project towards sustainable natu-ral
resources management for inclusive growth, which is that
of strengthening the capacity of the Parliament to perform
its oversight, legislation and public representation roles more
effectively and to oversee government spending. Most impor-tantly,
by the end of the seminar, the successful exchange of
knowledge paved the way to begin drafting a new Law on pe-troleum
extraction in Mozambique. •
A seminar AWEPA organised on petroleum legislation held in Maputo gathered delegations of both Mozambican and Norwegian MPs.
Honoured by the President and the First Lady of Equatorial Guinea, RFPAC held a conference in their capital, Malabo.
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30. The 16th regional conference of RFPAC addressed MDG 3 and the means to promote gender equality through education.
Network Of Women
Parliamentarians Of Central
Page 30 Annual Report 2013
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Africa (RFPAC)
Donor
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Hon. Magda De Meyer, Belgium
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Hon. Els van Hoof, Belgium
Background
The Network of Women Parliamentarians of Central Africa
(RFPAC) was established in March 2002 on the request of
women parliamentarians attending an AWEPA conference in
the region. With AWEPA’s assistance, RFPAC has since formed
an all-women parliamentarian platform that gathers at least
once a year. The Network includes women parliamentarians
from Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ga-bon,
and Republic of Congo.
The Network statutes assimilate key statements such as
the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s
Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), the UN Resolution 1325 and the MDGs.
Objectives
• Elaborating strategies in favour of controlling accession
to natural resources, as illegal exploitation of resources
often deprives states of the budget needed to fight struc-tural
poverty;
• Strengthening of the legislative oversight and represent-ative
role of Central African parliaments especially with
regards to the access to land;
• Strengthening of parliamentary cooperation at the re-gional
level on matters of agricultural development;
• Identifying concrete actions aimed at improving the de-velopment
of the agricultural sector.
Impacts
In 2013, AWEPA supported the RFPAC in organising confer-ences
in Dublin, Ireland, and in Bujumbura, Burundi. These
meetings contributed to raising awareness among women
parliamentarians affiliated to the Network on the complexity
of the access to land for women in Central African countries.
The two meetings contributed to the lobbying initiated by
members of the Network in order for laws on women’s access
to land to be drafted, or revised in case they already exist but
are not favourable for women.
31. Example Activity
Sixteenth meeting of the Network of Women Parliamentar-ians
of Central Africa. 22-23 October 2013, Burundi.
The central topics of the meeting were women’s access to
land and the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The meet-ing
had the purpose of identifying and highlighting good prac-tices
as regards access to land, whilst promoting the develop-ment
of sustainable agriculture in Central Africa. In addition,
a synthesis of the previous meeting held in Dublin and an
analysis of the follow-up of its recommendations were car-ried
The meeting featured presentations and analysis of the dif-ferent
juridical scenarios relating to agriculture and land
grabbing, by women parliamentarians affiliated to RFPAC.
Recommendations emerging from the meeting will contrib-ute
to inform Central African countries’ development plans in
favour of women. •
Parliament of Rwanda
out.
Donor
Belgian Ministry on Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Hon. Alain Destexhe, Belgium
Background
The AWEPA parliamentary support programme in Rwanda
began in 2003 and has continued to focus on both members
and staff of the Parliament. AWEPA’s support is mainly geared
towards peace-building and conflict prevention, as well as
parliamentary capacity building.
Since 2011, a significant proportion of the activities focused on
strengthening relations between Rwanda and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as strengthening multilateral
cooperation on major issues such as refugees, trans-bounda-ry
natural resource management, and the revitalisation of the
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC).
Objectives
• Facilitate field visits for parliamentary commissions in view
of ensuring law enforcement.
• Evaluate the functioning of international judiciary institu-tions
dealing with the genocide of 1994.
• Analyse the legislative reforms and their impact on the im-provement
of the business environment.
• Contribute to the installation of a trust-based relationship
between the Rwandan and Congolese Senates;
• Provide support to the endeavour of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) towards
economic development and peace in the sub-region.
Impacts
In 2013, the Rwanda and DRC programmes of AWEPA func-tioned
in synergy in order to facilitate several bilateral and
multilateral parliamentary meetings. An initial meeting be-tween
Rwandan and Congolese parliamentarians was organ-ized
in Kigali in May. On this occasion, the President of the
DRC Senate travelled to Kigali, where he met his Rwandan
counterpart and the President of the Rwandan Republic.
After this successful meeting, other opportunities for multi-lateral
cooperation emerged. In light of its long-term experi-ence
working with parliamentary diplomacy in Central Africa,
AWEPA successfully supported multilateral cooperation by
facilitating key activities. A regional seminar on the protection
of natural trans-boundary areas was organized in the DRC in
September. In October, the President of the Rwandan Senate
travelled to Kinshasa to reach an agreement on shared pri-orities
with his Congolese counterpart. Lastly, in December, a
regional seminar on the revitalisation of the ECGLC took place
in Gisenyi, Rwanda.
Example Activity
Senators pave the way to improved DRC-Rwanda relations.
13 – 16 October 2013. Kinshasa, DRC.
After experiencing a first successful meeting in Kigali between
the foreign affairs commissions of the Senates of the DRC and
Rwanda in May, both Commissions expressed the wish to meet
again. Therefore, AWEPA’s Rwanda programme facilitated a
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32. Members of the Rwandan and Congolese Senate Commissions on External and Foreign Affairs during a visit of the Rwandan senators to
their counterparts in Kinshasa, in the DRC. Hon. Jean Damascène Ntawukuliryayo, President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda (left),
and Hon. Leon Kengo wa Dondo, President of the Senate of the DRC (right) are standing at the center of the group.
Strengthening Regional
Parliamentary Capacity in the
Southern African Development
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Community (SADC)
Donors
Austrian Development Agency (ADA)
Political Coordinator
Minister of State Ms. Miet Smet, Belgium
Background
The Southern African Development Community Parliamen-tary
Forum (SADC-PF) is a body representing over 3,500 par-liamentarians
from 14 countries in the SADC region, namely
Angola, Botswana, the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mo-meeting
in Kinshasa, hoping to create the framework for a per-manent
dialogue, which would in turn strengthen much needed
friendship ties between the two institutions.
The Rwandan delegation was led by the President of the Rwan-dan
Senate, Hon. Dr. Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo, who
travelled to Kinshasa, just as Hon. Léon Kengo Wa Dondo rep-resented
the DRC Senate when he travelled to Kigali in May. •
33. The Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania Anna Makhinda, during a
session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.
South African Provincial
Legislatures (SAPL)
Donors
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Belgian Embassy Flemish Representation
Political Coordinator
Hon. Jan Roegiers, Flanders
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Hon. Johan Verstreken, Flanders
Background
In close cooperation and regular consultation with partners,
AWEPA has been implementing various support programmes
with the South African Provincial Legislatures (SAPLs) since
1995. That year, a partnership was established between
AWEPA and the Speakers’ Forum through its Human Re-sources
Development Committee. The current programme
was launched in April 2012 and is focused on five key South
African provinces, namely North West, Northern Cape, Lim-popo,
Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal. Occasionally, the pro-gramme
includes other provinces depending on the nature
and urgency of the request for assistance.
zambique, Namibia, South, Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zam-bia
and Zimbabwe. Established by the SADC Summit in 1997,
the Forum is the vehicle through which MPs, as the elected
representatives of the people, promote the regional integra-tion
agenda of SADC.
Objective
The AWEPA programme aims to support the fulfilment of the
priorities outlined in the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan of the SADC-PF
towards its eventual transformation to a fully-fledged re-gional
Parliament, by strengthening its regional parliamenta-ry
capacity. The support of AWEPA is mainly geared towards
reviewing the Strategic Plan, as this will lay the legal basis for
the transformation process, structurally preparing the organ-isation
by supporting the creation of new Committees, and
training the parliamentary staff so as to enable the Forum to
operate like a Parliament.
Impacts
As part of the programme, consultants were employed to re-view
the Strategic Plan with the Secretariat of the SADC-PF
as part of the overall transformation of the institution. As a
result, a draft Strategic Plan 2014-2018 was produced and
will be adopted at the Plenary Session of the SADC-PF, in June
2014. One of the main particularities of this document is that
it also includes a revised organizational structure which is
akin to that of a Parliament.
Example Activity
Revising the SADC-PF Strategic Plan 2014-2018, Namibia.
The changes brought about by the 30th Plenary Assembly of
the SADC-PF back in 2011, rendered the current Strategic Plan
inadequate to be a vehicle for guiding the implementation of
the decisions. Hence, the need for its review, as to make it
relevant to the latest developments and transformation pro-cess.
Throughout 2013, the draft Strategic Plan for the period
2014-2018 was developed by consultants with the support of
the SADC-PF Secretariat. The draft had been circulated to the
Executive Committee, for their review and comments. This in-cludes
a revised organizational structure, in harmony with the
strategic vision of the SADC-PF to operate like a Parliament. •
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34. Supporting Legislative
Institutions in Somalia
Donors
Delegation of the European Commission in Kenya
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Political Coordinator
Dr. Jan Nico Scholten, the Netherlands
Senior Parliamentary Advisor
Hon. Maria Martens, the Netherlands
Background
Following years of civil war and lawlessness, Somalia has
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Objective
To enhance the performance of the South African Provincial
Legislatures in their oversight, legislation roles, as well as to
better facilitate public participation.
Impacts
The programme advanced the capacity of parliamentarians
to enforce fiscal oversight by developing and facilitating pro-vincial
and inter-provincial parliamentary workshops. One of
the outcomes generated by the workshops is that at least five
Provincial Legislatures and their Municipal Councils gained a
clear understanding of the budget priorities and composition.
As a result, MPs are now better equipped to analyse the gov-ernmental
reports and scrutinize expenditures. In addition,
oversight reports prepared by the coordinators of the Munici-pal
Public Account Committees (MPACs) are now available to
the MPs, the media and the public. Another impact which can
be attributed to the programme refers to the effective coordi-nation
of sector efforts against local government corruption.
In this sense, the Quality of Process of documents submitted
to five Provincial Legislatures was verified by at least 30% out
of the approximately 200 targeted MPACs. Moreover, the co-ordination
mechanism between office bearers at provincial
and municipal levels was streamlined.
Lastly, the main result of conducting regular public hearings
with members of the Provincial Legislatures is that the citi-zen’s
perception of MPs as representatives of their interests
is further rooted. The benefit is reciprocal, as MPs who par-ticipate
in public hearings are performing their representative
role by using the results of the same.
Example Activity
Addressing gender inequality among politicians in Lim-popo.
22-23 August 2013, South Africa.
The Limpopo Provincial Legislature hosted a workshop for
the Speakers at district and municipal levels with the theme
“Women in Leadership and Politics”. The overall focus of the
workshop was to create awareness of the norms and prac-tices
that reflect and reinforce gender inequalities in political
leadership. Supported by AWEPA, the workshop was organ-ised
in the framework of the ongoing partnership between
AWEPA and the Provincial Legislatures in South Africa.
One of the implicit objectives of the programme is to share
experiences between the Provincial Legislatures and the lo-cal
level of government, something which was partly achieved
through this workshop. For that matter, the activity helped
participants to contextualise gender inequality and its prev-alence
in leadership bodies and political institutions. It also
formulated strategies that would address these imbalances
and injustices.•
A workshop on “Women in Leadership and Politics” gathered
district and municipal Speakers of the Limpopo province, South
Africa.
35. recently entered a period of stabilization. The federal and
regional parliaments of Somalia play a crucial role in laying
the basis of a modern State. They are bestowed with the
role of drafting an inclusive constitution; passing legislation
designed to protect human rights and security; establishing
an independent and strong Judiciary; passing electoral laws
designed to ensure participation and inclusion; and, most of
all, pursuing a policy of reconciliation and peace, rather than
confrontation and conflict.
With support of the donors, AWEPA contributes to the devel-opment
of Somali legislative institutions through general and
specialized trainings, technical consultancies, study visits and
attachments, legislative support, community outreach pro-grammes
and parliamentary handbooks.
Objectives
The programme’s overall objective is to contribute towards
the democratic development of a modern Somali State that
embodies the principles of good governance, effective repre-sentation,
and respect for human rights, accountability and
transparency. Its specific objective is to strengthen the capaci-ties
of the administration, staff and members of the National
Federal Parliament (NFP) in Mogadishu and the regional par-liaments
in Somaliland to discharge their representative, leg-islative
and oversight responsibilities.
Impacts
Throughout 2013, AWEPA has closely accompanied the House
of the People (HoP) of the NFP with the establishment of its
administrative structures. The development of organograms,
job descriptions and recruitment processes has resulted in
the professionalization and refining of the HoP core staff. Di-rect
technical legislative support was provided and has ena-bled
the NFP to improve its internal functioning.
More in particular, staff of the regional parliaments in Punt-land
and Somaliland has benefited from information and
communications technology (ICT) and language trainings. As
a result, parliamentary staff is better equipped to support
parliamentary functions. A programme has trained the Com-mittee
on Judiciary of the Puntland Parliament on oversight
of the executive. Furthermore, the Budget Committee was
trained on Budget scrutiny. These trainings have improved
the capacity of the Puntland Parliament to accomplish its
oversight role.
Example Activity
Induction training for newly recruited HoP staff. 15-23 May
2013, Somalia.
AWEPA designed and organized five induction trainings for
the newly recruited trainees of the HoP Administration, in
Mogadishu. The training introduced participants to the gener-
A young woman holds the Somali flag during a demonstration by a local militia, formed to provide security in Marka, Somalia.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones.
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36. South Sudan’s Legislative
Assembly and State
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Assemblies
Donor
Delegation of the European Commission in South Sudan
Political Coordinators
Mr. Henk Jan Ormel, the Netherlands
Mr. Johan van Hecke, Uganda (Belgium)
Background
The independence of South Sudan in 2011 provided a posi-tive
juncture for sustainable peace, good governance and
economic stability through institutional development. In this
al workings of the NFP and the supportive role of the adminis-tration.
Several topics were addressed, such as opportunities
and challenges of working for Parliament, as well as the HoP
organizational structure and legislation. Almost a year after
their induction, several of the graduate trainees have been
included in the new professional staff core of the HoP. •
South Sudan before the escalation of violence in late 2013. UN Photo/Paul Banks
37. context, AWEPA is implementing a two-year capacity building
programme in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and
the State Assemblies through general and specialized train-ings,
technical consultancies, study visits and attachments,
legislative support, participation in parliamentary confer-ences,
community outreach programmes, media involve-ment,
and the dissemination of publications. The focus of this
programme is to remedy the weak legislative regime in the
Assembly, strengthen weak organizational systems and pro-cedures,
improve inadequate human resource management
policies, and encourage comprehensive participation of citi-zens
and civil society organisations.
Objective
The objective of the programme is to contribute towards the
achievement of meaningful participatory leadership, good
governance, accountability and improved service delivery in
South Sudan by means of an effective legislature. Specifical-ly,
the programme is in place to improve the capacity of the
South Sudan NLA and the ten State Assemblies to respond to
the challenges they face while enacting their legislative, over-sight
and representative functions.
Impacts
• Increased oversight capacity of the Committee on Equa-tion,
Science and Technology over Public Universities in
Bahr El Ghazel and Upper Nile States of South Sudan;
• Technical support to the Assembly and the Committee
on Economy, Development and Finance was provided for
scrutiny and analysis of the 2013-2014 budget estimates,
through training for MPs and parliamentary staff. Experts
were also attached to the Committee to not only support
their scrutiny and analysis of the national budget, but
also prepare the Committee report for presentation to
the Assembly;
• Facilitated participation of NLA members in the ACP-EU
Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in view of creating op-portunities
for South Sudan to join other international
and regional parliamentary bodies and fora;
• A study visit for the Committee on Human Rights and
Humanitarian Affairs of the NLA to Rwanda resulted in
a strong commitment from the participants to support
and protect human rights defenders and to benchmark
practices that will promote rule of law and protection of
human rights in South Sudan;
• AWEPA supplied the NLA library with an assortment of
216 pieces of reference material (textbooks), publica-tions
and other relevant reading literature to the NLA.
The reading material will serve the purpose of support-ing
legislative, oversight and representative processes by
providing up-to-date reference sources for not only MPs
and staff of the South Sudan NLA but also other govern-ment
institutions and the general public, at large;
• A Handbook on the Nature, Functions and Operations of
Parliamentary Committees was developed and published
to guide and streamline Committee work;
• Technical support for scrutiny, drafting, review and anal-ysis
of bills was provided with a view of improving the
capacity of NLA to carry out its legislative functions. This
is evidenced by the support provided for consideration
of the Parliamentary Service Commission Bill, Labour Bill
and the 2013 Constituency Development Fund (Amend-ment)
Bill, and the NGO Bill;
• Support to strengthening of the human resource and
administrative capacity of the NLA was provided through
the long-term training of five NLA staff;
• Presentation and adoption of the Human Resources Poli-cy
Manual by NLA senior officials.
Example Activity
Technical Support for Budget Analysis and Scrutiny for the
Committee on Economy, Development and Finance. 4 – 26
July 2013, South Sudan.
AWEPA engaged experts in parliamentary budget scrutiny,
analysis and public finance management to provide technical
support in budget analysis and scrutiny to the South Sudan
NLA. The ultimate goal was that of enhancing the Assembly’s
ability to rationally consider, debate and appropriate national
resources. Twenty-five members of the Committee on Econ-omy,
Development and Finance were the direct beneficiaries
of this technical support.
The main objective of this activity was to provide the NLA with
the much needed skills and techniques they require to effec-tively
conduct budget scrutiny and analysis, especially with
the problem of severe under-staffing in the Assembly’s De-partment
of Parliamentary Budget. In particular, the training
included scrutiny of the revenue side of the budget, including
the Finance Bill, and scrutiny of the expenditure side of the
budget. Furthermore, the training incorporated a compara-tive
analysis of key elements of tax regimes extracted from
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38. South Sudan’s Legislative
Assembly and Local Councils
Donor
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Political Coordinators
Mr. Henk Jan Ormel, the Netherlands
Mr. Johan van Hecke, Uganda (Belgium)
Background
South Sudan is marred by bitter ethnic divisions that date
back more than a century. AWEPA believes they can only be
solved by education, economic development and responsive
governance. The programme strengthens the capacity of
ten Local Councils of Western and Central Equatoria States
through the training of all Councillors in five extensive training
modules, using a Train the Trainer methodology, publications
and community outreach visits. In the interest of easing ten-sions
between communities and improving human security,
special emphasis is placed on the promotion and respect of
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the other EAC budgets for the financial years 2013-2014, as
well as support to the Committee in preparing a final report
on the budget that was to be presented to House for consid-eration
and appropriation.
This activity did not only enable MPs and parliamentary staff
to gain skills for budget scrutiny and analysis, but also facili-tated
the production of several budget-related reports that
enabled parliamentarians to conduct their budget oversight
role more effectively. This improved capacity will contribute
to a more rational and equitable distribution and utilization
of national resources by the Executive. •
Local Councillors in Mvolo County during a training module held in October.
39. human rights, gender equality, and peace and reconciliation.
The programme ensures a consultative law-making process
and serves as a cornerstone for participatory and democratic
governance, giving society the resilience to resolve conflicts
without resorting to violence.
Objectives
With the increase of tribal violence undermining the stabil-ity
of the new State, the programme gives special attention
to enhancing the role of parliamentarians in peace building
and conflict resolution. Thus, the programme facilitates rec-onciliation
meetings between members of the NLA and tribal
leaders. In addition, the programme organises community
outreach visits in order to help Councillors and NLA members
strengthen their relationships with the citizens they repre-sent.
In parallel, the programme also supports the interface
between the Assembly and the public through printed and
electronic media. Lastly, the programme aims to facilitate
dialogue between Councillors, MPs and Community Based
Organisations (CBOs) and Faith Based Organisations (FBOs).
Impacts
• All Councillors were trained on the concept of decentrali-zation
and were given the background of the local gov-ernment
system in South Sudan;
• The second training module on gender and the local gov-ernment
system in South Sudan was developed and pub-lished;
• A pool of 20 South Sudanese trainers (two staff members
from ten Local Councils) were trained as local trainers for
Councillors in the second training module on gender and
local government;
• All Councillors were trained in the gender and local gov-ernment
module;
• Community outreach visits were organised for Council-lors
of Ibba County, Maridi County, Mundri West County,
Mundri East County and Mvolo County on topics such as
peace and reconciliation, better agricultural practices, de-forestation,
service delivery and girl child education;
• An outreach took place with seven women parliamentar-ians
to all counties in Eastern Equatoria State, to promote
peace and reconciliation among different tribes;
• A conference on peace and reconciliation was organised
for all MPs;
• Members of the women caucus of the NLA were trained
on the topics of women in leadership positions and vio-lence
against women;
• A community outreach visit was organised for women
parliamentarians to communities suffering from the nod-ding
syndrome.
Example Activity
Training of Trainers on the Module Gender in Local Councils
in South Sudan for the Local Trainers. 12 – 17 August 2013,
South Sudan.
A Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop at the Juba Regency Ho-tel
facilitated a comprehensive understanding and apprecia-tion
of the concept of gender equality in Local Councils. The
idea that gender equality can be used as a tool for achiev-ing
development in South Sudan was raised; moreover, this
workshop enabled the targeted participants to effectively
deliver trainings on the Module “gender in Local Councils” to
Councillors in their respective counties.
The participants at this ToT workshop consisted of Executive
Directors and senior officers from seven counties of Western
Equatoria State, namely Mundri West, Mundri East, Mvolo,
Yambio, Ibba, Nzara, and Maridi as well as three counties of
Central Equatoria State: Yei, Lainya and Juba. •
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40. Zimbabwean MPs during an AWEPA study visit to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP19) in
Warsaw, Poland.
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Parliament of Zimbabwe
Donors
Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
Delegation of the European Commission in Zimbabwe;
Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in
Higher Education (NUFFIC) via Management for Development
Foundation (MDF)
Political Coordinator
Hon. Maria Martens, the Netherlands
Background
AWEPA’s activities of support and assistance in Zimbabwe
started in 2012 and feature two main components. On the
one hand, AWEPA facilitates capacity building of parliamen-tarians
and parliamentary staff; on the other hand, AWEPA
capacitates a Zimbabwean-based civil society organisation,
the Southern African Parliamentary Trust (SAPST), to offer
domestic support in terms of legislative analysis and drafting
and the enhancement of oversight in regards to human rights
and gender equity.
The assistance to parliamentary staff provided by the pro-gramme
takes the form of study exchange visits to gain fur-ther
knowledge about best practices concerning facets of
parliamentary business such as research, dissemination and
storage of information, public participation, drafting legisla-tion
and improved oversight and monitoring. AWEPA under-stands
its contribution to strengthening the parliamentary
democracy of Zimbabwe to be difficult not only because of
the overt political issues facing the country but also because
of the lack of sufficient resources facing the Parliament of
Zimbabwe. AWEPA’s contribution, although small, is thus
greatly appreciated by the participants.
All involved in the project understand that strong parliaments
are the engine room of democracy, economic sustainability
and poverty alleviation not only in Zimbabwe but also in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the
African continent. Due to the intensity of the interparty ne-gotiations
and parliamentary activity around the new Consti-tution
and the elections, it was agreed that the programme
would continue after the 2013 Elections. Subsequently, the
Parliament has requested the delayed exchange visits and
additional activities regarding induction of new Members in
41. areas such as financial oversight, human and gender rights
awareness.
Objective
The objective of the AWEPA programme in Zimbabwe is to
support the development of an open and participatory Parlia-ment
that effectively carries out its duties of oversight, law
making, and representation, while also maintaining peace
and good governance. The programme provides capacity
building support for MPs and staff.
Impacts
The activities that were implemented contributed to the fol-lowing
results:
• The programme ensured the participation of Zimba-bwean
MPs in national and global debates on climate
change issues. In this sense, a briefing on the Doha 2012
UN Climate Change Conference (COP18) was held in the
United Kingdom, in February, for members of the port-folio
Committee on agriculture, water, land and resettle-ment
as well as for members of the thematic Committee
on MDGs. In addition, Members from the Zimbabwean
parliamentary Committee on environment, climate, wa-ter
and tourism attended the Warsaw 2013 UN Climate
Change Conference (COP19) with the support of AWEPA.
This activity increased the knowledge and raised the
awareness of MPs as regards climate change, ensuring
that the issue is tabled in Committees and all other par-liamentary
business;
• Three separate one-week exchange visits for Commit-tee
Clerks and researchers to the Parliaments of South
Africa, Zambia and Uganda took place during April. The
activities aimed to ensure the improved capacity of staff
to provide technical and administrative support to the
Parliament and to the MPs;
• A three-day training activity for SAPST staff on parliamen-tary
financial oversight was held in Harare, in June. The
purpose of the workshop was to introduce participants to
key concepts related to financial oversight and account-ability;
highlight the systems, processes and information
that facilitates financial oversight; and provide an oppor-tunity
to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to
exercising oversight within the emerging Zimbabwean
context;
• Two separate three-day training activities for SAPST staff
were facilitated in Harare. The activities focused, on the
one hand, on legislative drafting and analysis, and on the
other hand, on gender and its influence on legislative
matters and institutions.
Example Activity
Zimbabwe Members of Parliament participate in UN Cli-mate
Change Conference. 25-27 November 2013, Warsaw,
Poland.
The Chair of the Zimbabwean parliamentary Committee on
Environment, Climate, Water and Tourism, Hon. Anastancia
Ndhlovu, and other members including both Zimbabwe’s
political parties Zimbabwe African National Union – Patri-otic
Front (ZANU-PF) and Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), attended the United Nations Climate Change Confer-ence
(COP19). The purpose of the mission was twofold: to
capacitate members in matters and strategies pertaining to
climate change mitigation and adaption; and to engage in
knowledge sharing between members from other countries
and facilitate opportunities for future cooperation between
countries. The delegates attended various activities and pres-entations
including a workshop facilitated by the Global Leg-islators
Organisation (GLOBE) International, where the mem-bers
were briefed on the progress and possibilities of the UN
Strategy to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD). The main message was that engaging
parliaments is an absolute necessity in order for REDD to be
successfully implemented on a national level, and for interna-tional
REDD and climate negotiations to advance.
The members very much appreciated the opportunity to
liaise with their colleagues from other parliaments who
attended the event, given that at the time of the activity
there were still sanctions instituted by the EU on members
of the ruling party, ZANU-PF. •
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