Duration:

2014-2019

Budget:

US$ 7,900,000

Implemented By:

UNDP

Other Key Partners:

Parliamentary secretariats of the Upper and Lower Houses

Photo: Resolute Support/SPC. Anthony Murray Jr

I N S T I T U T I O N A L A N D C A P A C I T Y S U P P O R T T O T H E P A R L I A M E N T O F A F G H A N I S T A N

Photo: Canada in Afghanistan

PARLIAMENT

is the core of a democratic Afghanistan, but:

UNDP AFGHANISTAN

icspa

MORE INFO:Mr. Douglas Armour, Head of Governance Unit governance.af@undp.org, +93 (0) 70 235 1932 Media enquiries: Matthew Duncan, Coordination Specialist comms.af@undp.org, +93 (0) 793 640 680

T H E I S S U E

Insufficient transparency and information sharing

High staff turnover due to inadequate conditions of service

Insufficient internal technical expertise to support Members of Parliament in fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities

Lacks staffing and financial autonomy 1

2

3

4

I N S T I T U T I O N A L A N D C A P A C I T Y S U P P O R T T O T H E P A R L I A M E N T O F A F G H A N I S T A N

UNDP IN ACTION

The differencewe make

Design and lead reforms

by assessing performance against international benchmarks and norms

Promote institutional autonomy

by supporting development of legislation that will enshrine parliament’s staffing autonomy

Parliamentary institutions that properly serve and represent the people

UNDP experience in Afghanistan

ICSPA builds on 11 years of experience in supporting the National Assembly of Afghanistan :

Strengthen the functioning of the secretariats through more efficient and effective legislative services, archives, and public relations

Enhance transparency

by supporting efforts to make more information available to the public

Establishing Parliament

Establishing rules of procedure, secretariat structure and internal policies

Supporting members

Technical and capacity support to the Speakers, commissions and MPs

Strengthening institutions

Multi-year strategic and action plans, self-assess-ments and assistance to implement international best practices

We assist the secretariats of the Upper and Lower Houses to:

ReformTechnical capacities of the secretariats strengthened to meet Inter- Parliamentary Union benchmarks including the implementation of politically challenging reforms

TransparencyNational Assembly of Afghanistan secretariats capacitated to promote open governance by increasing the amount of information about the parliament’s work available to the public, including all bills and legislation under consideration as well as MP attendance records

ResearchSecretariat research directorates supported to assist parliamentary committees in their oversight work

Gender equalityStrengthened National Assembly of Afghanistan Gender Directorates that have increased the number of women directly involved in political processes and the work of the Parliament

ConductExperts support provided to establish standards of professional behavior for Members of Parliament and staff