Open and transparent parliaments in focus at OSCE/ODIHR event in Kyrgyzstan

Practical measures that can advance parliamentary openness were discussed during an event co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 4 October 2018 in Bishkek, on the margins of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Autumn Meeting.

The event, organized in co-operation with the parliament of Kyrgyzstan and the Open Parliament e-Network (OPeN), was attended by some 40 women and men representing the Parliamentary Assembly. The participants highlighted some of the steps taken by national parliaments within the OSCE region to advance their levels of transparency and accountability, and in designing specific open parliament strategies in the framework of the Open Government Partnership platform, which brings together governments and civil society leaders in an effort to make governments more inclusive, responsive and accountable.

“Parliaments are best placed to serve their communities when they promote transparent and inclusive processes which are able to strengthen people’s trust in legislative and decision-making procedures,” said Marcin Walecki, Head of ODIHR’s Democratization Department.

The issues discussed included the need to advocate for greater access to parliamentary information, which can be achieved through an increased collaborative dialogue between national parliaments and civil society organizations involved in parliamentary monitoring.

Sophio Katsarava, member of the Georgian parliament, said: “To strengthen the capacity of citizens to participate in parliamentary processes, parliaments should actively engage with civil society organizations in order to co-create sustainable action plans towards full parliamentary openness.”