PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

204 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Legislative strengthening organisations
The following is a non-exhaustive list of organisations involved in strengthening
parliamentary institutions.
Parliamentary associations
Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the international organisation of Parliaments of
sovereign States. It was established in 1889. The Union is the focal point for worldwide
parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and
for the firm establishment of representative democracy.
The IPU operates a Technical Cooperation Programme under which it assists national
parliaments, particularly in developing countries, to improve the organisation of their
work and strengthen their infrastructure. Under this programme, which was initiated in
the early 1970’s, the IPU (i) provides advisory services (ii) offers projects of assistance.
The programme focuses on strengthening the parliamentary institution itself, as well as
providing assistance to elected parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. It systematically
integrates this work with gender and human rights perspectives. Indeed, certain
projects are specifically focused on ensuring greater participation of women in the
parliamentary process.
Website: http://www.ipu.org
Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF)
APF brings together parliamentarians from 73 parliaments or inter-parliamentary organizations
spanning the five continents. Its work is aimed mainly at promoting and
defending democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, promotion of the
French language throughout the world and cultural diversity. In close collaboration
with the Agence de la Francophonie, it undertakes and implements activities in the
fields of inter-parliamentary cooperation and the democracy-building. Its activities are
geared towards strengthening a sense of solidarity among parliamentary institutions
and promoting democracy and the rule of law, particularly within the community of
French-speaking countries. The Noria Programme was launched in 2002 to meet a need
for capacity-building in French-speaking parliaments of the South in the areas of production,
management and dissemination of internal information of a legislative nature
using information and communication technologies. That Programme was a follow-up
to the PARDOC Programme, which benefited the document services of French-speaking
parliaments.
Web site: http://apf.francophonie.org