The Millennium Development Goals were devised io help governments develop strategies to provide access to improved living conditions such as safe water, primary school education and maternal health care.
Parliament of Mozambique has undertaken numerous field visits that have increased awareness of MDGs among Parliamentarians – even if in the case of Mozambique there is no reporting system from the executive to Parliament, which also faces resource constraints. In South Africa, parliamentary capacity on MDGs has been strengthened in the case of gender equality thanks to a women’s caucus, but also more broadly thanks to an innovative report produced by Parliament and dedicated to MDGs. The function of the report is not only to collect and analyze relevant data on MDG progress, but also to be used by development stakeholders as an advocacy tool for development concerns.4
Many other innovative practices can be found on other continents. For instance, in Europe, the
Serbian Parliament has created a Poverty Reduction Standing Committee, the chair of which participates in an MDG working group formed by the government. In the Southeast Asia, the Lower House of the Philippines’ Parliament has established a Special Committee on MDGs that checks budget allocations on MDG areas and facilitates the passage of laws related to MDGs. In the Pacific, Marshall Islands’ Parliamentarians had the opportunity to participate in 2009 in an induction programme including a specific focus on MDG achievements and how Parliament can engage more effectively with the MDGs.
Engaging with citizens Lessons learned from all those national experiences conducted to enhance the role of Parliaments in
320 | The Parliamentarian | 2011: Issue Four
monitoring MDG progress need to be gathered, compared and
“Parliamentarians need to connect with civil society organizations in order to get the pertinent information...and more broadly press their government through oversight activities.”
analyzed in order to identify best practices and recommendations that could be pertinent for most Parliaments.
One of the most important points, in our opinion, is the need for Parliaments to connect with civil society organizations. Indeed, the implementation of national strategies to achieve MDGs clearly requires a strong mobilization of citizens, through these organizations, that can effectively raise awareness among Parliamentarians on MDG achievements and gaps. This participative and open approach is the most pertinent for democratic Parliaments to ensure all the population benefits from their work, as a truly representative institution, through parliamentary hearings or constituency visits and meetings.
Accelerating MDG
implementation can be very challenging, or even impossible, in countries where Parliaments are not able, either for technical or