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OPENING CEREMONY9. The opening ceremony was marked by a knowledge fair for partners to present their latestpublications on crisis prevention and recovery and parliamentary development, and a moviepresentation of AGORA (the web portal on parliamentary development: www.agora-parl.org).10. During the opening ceremony, Hon. MichaelAaron Oquaye, Second Deputy Speaker of theParliament of Ghana emphasized the role andimportance of political actors and institutionsin fragile / post-conflict states in driving andsupporting transitions to peace and security.Hon. Oquaye stated that the role ofparliaments is particularly crucial in terms ofstrengthening accountability mechanisms,reconnecting citizens to the state, andrebuilding trust in government institutionsthough parliamentary debates, agreementsand dialogue between political parties andparliamentarians, and interaction betweenparliament and constituents. Hon. Oquayefurther indicated that legitimately electedparliaments which reflect diversity, ensure fair representation of vulnerable groups, and provide aforum for national dialogue w<strong>here</strong> the concerns and aspirations of diverse societal actors (includingwomen and minority groups) can be expressed, contribute substantially to peacebuilding andpeacekeeping. Touching on the theme of the regional seminar, Hon. Oquaye shared a few examplesbased on Ghana’s experience, on how parliaments can contribute to crisis prevention, recovery andpeacebuilding: With support from UNDP, the Ghanaian parliament deepened democratic controlover the security sector by ratifying the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms. On gender-basedviolence, the parliament of Ghana has been key in amending the legal framework to address thesechallenges by adopting: the Domestic Violence Act (2007), the Human Trafficking Act (2005), aNational Domestic Violence Policy and National Plan of Action (2009-2019); and also by creating aDomestic Violence Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) and making available training manuals on schoolrelated gender-based violence.8
11. His Excellency Mr. Dirk Verheyen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Côte d’Ivoire -expressed his appreciation to UNDP for taking the initiative to organize this seminar, and his honorto speak on behalf of the Belgian Ministry of ForeignAffairs (MFA) which financially supports UNDP’sactivities in West Africa. The Belgian MFA carries outan active policy to promote peace, security, humanrights, and the rule of law. Mr. Verheyen particularlystressed the importance to mainstream genderequality and strengthen the participation of women inpolitics and decision-making as a means to reduceconflict and violent outbreaks. He gave a few examplesof the work carried out by his own country includingthe Belgium National Action Plan to implement the UNSecurity Council resolution 1325 and the Conventionfor the Elimination of All Forms of DiscriminationAgainst Women (CEDAW). Crime of genocide, crimeagainst humanity and war crimes have been transposedin Belgian criminal law (5/8/2003), including thecodification of violence against women and girls as acrime against humanity, or war crimes. Mr. Verheyenconcretely explained how Belgium’s legal framework ensures the protection of women during andafter conflicts - he referred to the law against torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment or punishment (14/6/2002) and the law which promotes gendermainstreaming (12/1/2007) in all national policies including the budget) – thus demonstrating howparliaments can effectively address gender-based violence issues through their legislative,representative and oversight functions and responsibilities.12. Mr. Kamil Kamaluddeen, UNDP CountryDirector, Ghana presented UNDP countryoffice work in Ghana which is mainlyfocalized on advocating democraticgovernance practices and building up thecapacity of Ghana’s national institutions tohelp maintain peace and promotedemocratic development. He then referredto UNDP’s work in the field of democraticgovernance and its active support toparliaments. UNDP currently supports oneout of three parliaments around the world(166 countries) at the global, regional andnational levels, mainly through the GlobalProgramme for Parliamentary Strengthening(GPPS). The programme is part of a more global and long-term human development objective in linewith the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). Mr. Kamaluddeen also paid a strong tribute to theBelgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for financially supporting UNDP’s activities in West Africaand recalled the relevance and importance of UNDP’s democratic governance priorities in t<strong>here</strong>gion which focus on:9
Page 1: Regional SeminarREPORTTowards Stren
Page 4 and 5: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYOn the basis of UN
Page 6 and 7: INTRODUCTION1. On the basis of UNDP
Page 10 and 11: Building inclusive, responsive and
Page 12 and 13: Parliaments should adopt a region-w
Page 14 and 15: SESSION 2: Parliamentary Performanc
Page 17 and 18: SESSION 3: Parliaments as Peace-Bui
Page 19 and 20: 36. General reflections on the foll
Page 21 and 22: Sierra Leone for example, a reprodu
Page 23 and 24: a) Effective parliamentary oversigh
Page 25 and 26: 51. Mr. Asoba identified 4 major ch
Page 27 and 28: consultations and campaigns for pea
Page 29 and 30: From left to right: Dr. Rasheed Dra
Page 31 and 32: Strengthening the mechanisms of reg
Page 33 and 34: 3) Successful interventions in the
Page 35 and 36: 19) Encourage parliamentarians to e
Page 37 and 38: SESSION 9: Closing session: partner
Page 39 and 40: CONCLUSION85. Strengthening parliam
Page 41 and 42: 11:00 - 11:15 Coffee breakSession 3
Page 43 and 44: Annex 2: Participants ListMembers o
Page 45 and 46: International and Regional Organiza

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