Parliamentary Development Agenda

Arab Parliamentary Development
Symposium, MAy 16-18, 2000 Beirut-Lebanon

advisory panel meeting         workshop

Strengthening the Role of Arab Legislatures

Assuming the existence of the desire for and adequate political space for a greater legislative role, the need to create greater capacity to fulfill functions poses the current challenge to legislative development efforts. The power and even obligation to introduce legislation is not worth much without the support required to do it. The power to shape the budget is not very useful without the knowledge to do so. And legislatures need some means of overseeing or checking executive power beyond the ultimate power of removal.

In the context of the Regional Programme on Governance in the Arab Region, the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS)/UNDP launched a regional programme of assistance in support of capacity building for legislative functions in the Arab Region. This initiative will aim to reinforce capacities of the parliaments/legislative bodies of the region through a series of activities, the first of that was a region wide workshop on strengthening the role of legislatures in the development process.

This initiative was launched under the auspices of the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, H.E. Mr. Nabih Berri. The Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) and the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) were also involved in the preparation and organization of this initiative. RBAS also worked to ensure the participation of other partners (regional and or bilateral) that provided support for Arab Parliaments.

The initiative was made up of two basic steps leading to a major workshop on the role and functions of parliaments of in the region.
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First: Advisory Panel Meeting (Beirut, December 6-7,1999):

The advisory panel included a group of eminent persons with parliamentary experience and academic knowledge. A representative of a Lebanese NGO was also be present in order to provide input on the relationship between parliaments and civil society. Representatives of UNDP, APU and IPU were also present.

A concept paper was prepared in order to help initiate the debate of the advisory group meeting. This paper summarized the recent thinking on legislative functions and introduces recent experiences from other regions. The paper detailed the broad conceptual issues of the role of legislatures in governance. It dealt with the evolving role of parliaments in the development context. The advisory group had the following tasks:

- Review the concept paper and discuss the options it offered for actions on the legislative level.
-  Identify priorities of issues/topics to be discussed in the regional workshop in March 2000.
- Prepare a preliminary agenda for and decide on the nature of inputs required for the workshop.
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Second: Regional Symposium (Beirut, March 1999):

On the basis of the work of the Advisory Panel, a regional workshop was held in Beirut in May 1999. The workshop regrouped parliamentarians from all the Arab countries, resource persons, representatives of a number of NGOs and the media. The workshop was meant to be a learning field. It benefited from the contributions of the participants and from the experiences of other regions. The main objectives of the workshop were to:

-Establish a constructive exchange of views and experiences on parliamentary practices and innovations in the Arab region,
-Identify the challenges now facing parliaments in playing a more effective role in the development of their respective countries, and provide recommendations and ideas on how to meet these challenges,
- Provide an environment for interaction between various actors attending the workshop and foster dialogue between representatives of different segments of society.
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Advisory Panel Meeting
Beirut, Lebanon, December 6-7, 1999
Monday, December 6,1999

9:30-10:30 Opening Session: Introductory Speeches

Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament
Arab Parliamentary Union
Inter-Parliamentary Union
UNDP, Regional Bureau for Arab States
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-13:30 First Session: Role of Legislatures in a Changing World

Legislature Experiences: Comparative Analysis
Basic Functions of Legislatures
Contemporary Challenges facing Legislatures
Legislative Experiences
Parliaments in a Changing World
Internal Support for Legislative Development

13:30-15:00 Lunch

15:00-18:00 Second Session: Legislatures Experience: The Arab Region

Basic Functions
Oversight Capabilities (Budget Process, Laws, Implementation…)
Relation with Civil Society Organizations
Internal Administrative and Technical Support for Legislative Activities
Tuesday- December 7, 1999
9:00-11:00 Third Session: Modernization of Supporting Administrative Facilities, tools and techniques in Arab Parliament
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break
11:30-13:30 Fourth Session: Developing Relations and Exchange of Experiences Between Arab Parliaments

Fields of Cooperation
Case Studies
13:30-15:00 Lunch
15:00-17:00 Closing Session
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Symposium Agenda
Beirut, Lebanon, May 16-18, 2000

May 16^th, 2000

9h30-10h30 Registration

10h30-11h30 Opening Session

Mr. Yves de San Resident Representative,United Nations Development Programme
Mr. Noureddin Boshkoj Secretary General,Arab Parliamentary Union
H.E. Mr. Nabih Berri President of the Lebanese Parliament

11h30-12h00 Coffee Break

12h00-2h00 Structures of the Arab Parliaments: Comparative Study

Chairperson:
Mr. Ibrahim El-Rashidi Vice-President, Parliament of Morocco

Presentation:
Dr. Wassim Harb Director, Bureau d'Etudes et de Recherches en Informatique et Droit

Discussants:
Mr. Nayef Mawla Member of Parliament, Jordan

2h00-3h30 Lunch Break

3h30-5h30 Legislative Functions of the Arab Parliaments: Comparative Study

Chairperson:
Dr. Ali El-Khalil Member of Parliament, Lebanon

Presentation:
Dr. Azza Wehbeh Senior Researcher, People's Assembly, Egypt

Discussants:
Dr. Ayman Nour Member of People's Assembly, Egypt
Mr. Camille Ziadeh Member of Parliament, Lebanon

May 17^th, 2000

9h00-11h00 Oversight Role of Arab Parliaments: Comparative Study

Chairperson:
Mr. Samari Abdel Qader Vice-President, Parliament of Algeria

Presentation:
Dr. Ragheed El Solh Co-director, Project on Democracy Studies in the Arab Countries

Discussants:
Dr. Azmi Shuaiby Member, Palestinian Legislative Council, Palestine
Dr. Mo'ti Suhail Member of Parliament, Morocco

11h00-11h30 Coffee Break

11h30-1h00 Special Session: Lebanese Parliamentary Life

Chairperson:
Mr. Salah Harakeh Member of Parliament, Lebanon

Presentation:
Mr. Agop Jokhadarian Member of Parliament, Lebanon

Discussants:
Dr. Omar Halablab Parliament of Lebanon
Mr. Bilal Charara Parliament of Lebanon

1h00-2h30 Lunch Break

2h30-4h30 A Development Agenda for Arab Parliaments

Chairperson:
Mr. Ahmad Al-Ajarma Member of Parliament, Jordan

Presentation:
Dr. Ali El Sawwi Professor of Political Science, Cairo University, Egypt

Discussants:
Dr. Mohamed Beydoun Member of Parliament, Lebanon
Ms. Louisa Hannoun Member of Parliament, Algeria

May 18^th, 2000

9h00-10h30 Special Session: Presentation of the Arab Women Parliamentarians' Experiences

Chairperson:
Mr. Habib Al-Awal Member of Parliament, Tunis

Presentation:
Dr. Oras Sultan Nagi Member of Parliament, Yemen

10h30-11h00 Coffee Break

11h00-1h00 General Debate and Recommendations

1h00 Closing Lunch

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