Strengthening Democracy through Parliamentary Development

SDPD, a joint project of UNDP and IPU, works closely in the collaboration with the Parliament of Pakistan. It is playing a vital role in order to streamline the selected Committees of National Assembly and Senate in drafting the reports and documentations.  Parallel to this Parliamentarians orientation is most significant area, where the project is serving. Keeping in the view all of the needs, Seminars and Sessions being conducted to provide a free platform accompanied with the Parliamentarians. Policy dialogues on legislative scrutiny, Budget making process, National Convention of Women Parliamentarians set few examples.

The other major area is enhancing the skill Management of secretariat staff that works with the committees. SDPD has been remained on the front lines to improve the managerial etiquettes of the staff, by conducting productive workshops. This is a platform that further accelerates the interpersonal traits of the staff of Secretariat. Participants get ample of knowledge and are able to bridge their lacking areas.

Similarly the project has been continuously working closely with the Civil Society. The basic approach behind this scenario is to create an effective advocacy on behalf of citizens. This includes the protection of Human Rights, enhancing Women leadership skills, promoting social justice in the country, and eliminating Terrorism.  The other major area is to get connected with the Media. There is an intense need to bridge the gap between the Parliament and General Public. An informed society needs to be connected with the Parliamentary happenings. The more open and transparent a society is, the more responsive and adaptable Parliaments can be; a parliament that is responsive is better able to meet the needs of Citizens.  The main obstacle to accountability is the unequal access to information that sometimes exists between democratic institutions, such as parliament and citizens.  Ensuring the community can exercise its ‘Right to know’ helps build an informed society, where citizens have access to much of the same information as their representatives. SDPD is considered to be milestone to bridge this gap.