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Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)63. Mr. Rogier Huizenga, Human Rights Programme Officer at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) -made a presentation on the role of IPU in promoting parliaments’ contribution to conflictprevention. To begin, he briefly explained IPU’s approach to crisis prevention and recovery which isbuilt on three major pillars: the concept of human security; strong and representative parliaments;a conductive national environment for the rule of law.64. Mr. Huizenga then mentioned IPU’s initiatives which focus on:-Parliamentary capacity-building and assistance on topics related to human rights, human traffickingand parliamentary oversight of the security sector;-The protection of human rights of parliamentarians;-Post-conflict reconciliation;-The empowerment of women in post-conflict countries;-Parliamentary oversight of state policies on foreign aid;-Standard-setting regarding parliamentary democracy (through the publication of various studies,guidelines, handbooks, self-assessment tools for parliaments on issues such as free and fairelections, good practices of parliamentary democracy, the role and responsibility of the opposition,etc.).Mr. Huizenga highlighted the areas in which IPU has been particularly successful, namely:-Bi-partisan constituency visits;-The development of a draft code of conduct for parliamentarians;-The development of parliamentary strategic plans;-Good offices mechanism;-The implementation of human rights action plans;-The release of parliamentarians from arbitrary detention.65. Mr. Huizenga ended his presentation by enumerating the current challenges facing West Africa interms of promoting parliaments’ contribution to conflict prevention:-Post-conflict situations often present unstable environments; long-term planning versus short-termflexibility;-Ensuring institutional support from parliament and from committed parliamentarians across partylines;-Mistrust between parliamentarians and civil society;-Multitude of international support initiatives and limited parliamentary absorb capacity;-Sustainability of parliamentary projects; the absence of an exit strategy;-Balancing the need for capacity-building with respect for human rights;-Pressure to obtain quick and tangible results in areas which require a long-term investment andwhich cannot be measured easily;-Lack of feedback on long-term impact of activities;-Reaching the right balance between genuine party needs and individual parliamentarians’ freedomof action.28