Keeping Parliamentarians Informed and Engaged

Parliamentarians serve as a bridge between governments and people. Through debate, reports, policymaking, budget-setting and resolutions, European parliamentarians have been instrumental in building and sustaining support for achievement of the ICPD and MDG commitments.

The European Liaison Offices work with national, EU, regional and inter-regional groups of parliamentarians to make sure they are well-informed about UNFPA’s work in these areas. The offices provide accurate and up to date information to parliamentarians on UNFPA’s work and issues related to ICPD when these arise in parliamentary debates. They facilitate study tours that provide parliamentarians with the opportunity to see for themselves the positive impact of UNFPA projects on the lives of people in developing countries. These study tours often strengthen parliamentarians’ commitment to ICPD and UNFPA’s work.

Their advocacy is reflected in many ways:

• Parliamentarians are instrumental in advocating for the rights and needs of the people they represent.  more..

• The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development and its network of member parliamentary groups are committed to mobilizing the resources to live up to the funding pledged of the ICPD Programme of Action. more..

• The European Parliament all-party Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS amd Development advocates the support of gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights as the basis for sustainable social and human development and poverty eradication. more..

• The German Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is committed to advancing the ICPD Programme of Action.
  
• The Belgian Parliamentary Group on Population and Development is an informal all-party group that works for an effective implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action.
  
• The Finnish All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, established in 1995 to advance these issues, promotes overseas development co-operation in the field of population and sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
  
• UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health encourages initiatives to increase access to, and improve reproductive and sexual health programmes worldwide.
  
  
• The Swiss All Party Parliamentary Group on Reproductive Health and Rights is called "KAIRO+". Their goal is to assist in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action.
  
  
• The Parliamentary Advisory Committee of DSW works to ensure the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the ICPD Programme of Action.
  
  
• The Danish All Party Network on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights aims to create an open forum for discussion on these issues.