Arab Parliaments: Web Resources

The African Forum of Parliamentarians on Education (FAPED) purpose is to promote education policies through strengthening partnerships with civil society and actors in the cultural, social and political sectors, as well as address issues such as poverty, the environment, corruption and information and communication technologies. UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education in Africa in Dakar supports this initiative.

The APRN was created under the Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program (ACPSP) in response to demands by African parliamentarians for a network that would bring together Members of Parliament (MPs) from all over Africa interested in central issues such as poverty reduction to discuss and share best practices, lessons learned and experiences in that area; as well as to improve their poverty monitoring capacity and increase their policy-making knowledge and build linkages with policy institutes.

The Parliamentarians of the AMANI Forum, work in a coordinated manner towards sustainable peace within their countries and the Great Lakes region. They contribute substantially to conflict prevention and resolution.

Arab-IPU, based in Damascus, Syria, AIPU is an Arab parliamentary organization composed of parliamentary groups representing Arab Parliaments.

The Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) acts to promote greater regional identification and cooperation with particular focus on: cooperation for the further advancement of peace, freedom, democracy, and prosperity; open and non-exclusive cooperation for the expansion of free trade and investment, and sustainable development and sound environmental practices; and non-military cooperation, which gives due consideration to issues relating to regional peace and security.

The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) is a coordinating body of National Committees of Parliamentarians on Population and Development and Parliamentary Committees dealing with population and development issues working to generate support and perpetuate cooperation among Asian parliamentarians in the area of population and development, and related fields.

The Council is a gathering of parliamentarians, from more than forty European countries, of all political persuasions. The statutory aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity among its members through common action, agreements and debates. The conditions for membership are pluralistic democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the independent Legislative arm of the East African Community. In addition to providing a democratic forum for debate, EALA also has a watchdog function.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aims at promoting cooperation and integration with the establishment of a West African economic union as an ultimate goal. It aims at improving the living standard of the people, ensuring economic growth and strengthening relations between Member States. In order to achieve these goals, ECOWAS has set up a number of structures including the ECOWAS Parliament.

The European Parliaments for Africa (AWEPA) links African and European parliaments to exchange ideas and share experience and knowledge of democratic processes. In Africa, actions are undertaken to develop human resource within parliaments and other elected representatives, build institutional capacity, and promote decentralisation.

European Union - European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab Co-operation [ English ][ French ]. [brief description]

The MEDEA Institute is a non-profit association under Belgian law which was created in July 1995. It started its activities in April 1996. Its objectives are: to facilitate exchanges of information and ideas between politicians, academics, journalists and concerned NGO’s; to promote independent and objective analysis; to communicate research findings to opinion and political decision makers, in particular members of the European Parliament, in order to make a substantial contribution to co-operation, development and stability in the Mediterranean region and in Euro-Arab relations in general.

GLIN is a project of the Law Library of Congress, which maintains and provides a database of laws, regulations, and other complementary legal sources. The documents included in the GLIN database are contributed by the governments of the member nations from the original official texts which are deposited, by agreement of the members.

The Global Programme for Parliamentary Strengthening (GPPS) provides support to parliaments to ensure that they have the capacity, resources and necessary independence to carry out their core functions effectively.

The PARLINE database (a derivative of Parliaments on-Line) is developed on the basis of official information provided by national Parliaments. PARLINE provides general information on each of the Parliament's chambers, description of the electoral system, results of the most recent elections, information on the presidency of each Chamber and information on the mandate and status of members of Parliament.

PARLIT (a derivative of Parliaments and Literature) is a database of bibliographic references on the role, structure and working methods of national parliaments, and on electoral systems, constitutional law, history and political science.

The Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development articulates human rights and gender equity principles within a broad human development agenda that includes reproductive health and rights issues and takes into consideration population variables. The IAPG works with legislators and other elected officials and decision makers across party lines to raise awareness through advocacy, information dissemination, networking, capacity building, and technical assistance.

The Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) is an independent network made up of the national legislatures of those governments who are members of the Organization of American States (OAS). FIPA members are committed to promoting parliamentary participation in the inter-American system and to developing inter-parliamentary dialogue on issues of importance to the hemisphere.

A web link from the US - CSPAN.ORG that provides alphabetical access to the web sites of national parliaments online with a reference to those with televised or broadcasted coverage.

NCSL provides US legislators and staffs with research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues.

This is the inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the member countries of the NATO Alliance as well as 20 Associate members.

The Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas brings together the women members of the parliamentary assemblies of the Americas . The Network aims to encourage the representation and action of women in the Parliaments of the Americas as well as to foster the sharing of experience among them, and to promote solidarity among women in general.

The Pan-African Parliamnent aims to facilitate the effective implementation of the policies and objectives of the OAU/AEC and, ultimately, of the African Union. It seeks to promote the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa, encourage good governance, transparency and accountability in Member States, familiarize the peoples of Africa with the objectives and policies aimed at integrating the African continent within the framework of the establishment of the African Union, promote peace, security and stability, facilitate cooperation and development in Africa; strengthen continental solidarity.

PGA is a network of Members of Parliament from around the world, engaged in a range of action-oriented initiatives such as fostering democracy, conflict prevention and management, international law and human rights population, empowerment of women, and economic reform.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) aims to secure the understanding and adoption by the people of the ideals and goals of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation; to provide a legal basis for economic, commercial, social, cultural and political cooperation among the member countries; to enact legislation needed for the implementation of decisions taken by the Heads of State or Government or by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs; to provide assistance to national parliaments so as to strengthen parliamentary democracy and to promote cooperation with other international and regional organization.

COPA is an organization that brings together the congresses and parliamentary assemblies of the unitary, federal, federated and associated States, the regional parliaments and the inter parliamentary organizations of the Americas.

The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank is an informal network of individual parliamentarians founded to strengthen accountability and transparency in international financial institutions in general and in the Bank, in particular. It mobilizes parliamentarians to address global governance and poverty challenges, and promote transparency and accountability of international development.

The objectives of The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) include the promotion of multiparty democracy, good governance, gender equality, and political stability in the region as well as respect of the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The Forum has taken, as well, a keen interest in election observation in its member states. Based on these observations, the Forum has developed and adopted Electoral Norms and Standards for the SADC region which serve as bench marks against which to assess the management and the conduct of elections in the region.

The World of Parliaments: Quarterly Review of the Inter-Parliamentary Union [ English ][ French ]. 2006 [brief description]

The Review, which replaces the IPU Bulletin, serves as a vehicle for the proposals of its member parliaments with respect to international cooperation and matters that directly concern the citizenry. Some of its features are an interview with a Presiding Officer of Parliament, a substantive article on IPU's activities, interviews, and an item on parliamentary developments in the world.

Provides Free, independent and non-profit access to worldwide law, WorldLII started in December 2001. WorldLII is a cooperative development by the Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) around the world and currently provides combined access to all the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII), the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII), the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII), the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (PacLII), and the Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII) data as well as data provided by WITS in South Africa.