The Parliamentary Centre in Asia

Forbidden City, Beijing, China

In Asia, governance reforms are unlikely to succeed without strong institutions to support them. The Parliamentary Centre therefore focuses on institutional strengthening and helps both parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. Taking into account the basic parliamentary functions of legislation, oversight and representation as well as governance values of accountability, transparency and participation, the Centre delivers technical assistance in legislative review, oversight, procedures/management and parliamentary staff development. The Centre also works in policy areas such as anti-corruption, poverty reduction and gender equality.

The Cambodia-Canada Legislative Support Program (CCLSP) promotes democracy in Cambodia by building the capacity of both the National Assembly and the Senate. The Project has completed two years of implementation and looks forward to continuing its work with MPs, Senators and staff of the Cambodian Parliament.

The China-Canada Legislative Cooperation Project (CCLCP) aims to improve governance and democratic development in China by strengthening the People's Congress system. The Parliamentary Centre is in the final stages of negotiating a four-year contract with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and expects implementation to commence shortly.

In December 2003, the Parliamentary Centre undertook a visit to Lao PDR to meet with UNDP officials and members of the Lao National Assembly. The purpose of the trip was to obtain a deeper understanding of the UNDP Governance Project that works to enhance the human resource and institutional capacity of the National Assembly of Lao PDR. The Centre’s aim was also to share its experiences on legislative support projects within Southeast Asia and China, in order to investigate how and in what areas the Centre may be able to assist the UNDP and Lao National Assembly in the next phase of their project.

The Parliamentary Centre’s Asia program continues to seek opportunities to further its work with the Thai parliament as well as international networks such as the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC). These initiatives are ongoing.

For additional information on the Asia Program, please contact Christine Ivory or Imran Arshad.

Human Rights to be Enshrined in Constitution

China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), kick started a landmark Constitutional amendment which is expected to enshrine human rights protection for the first time Monday afternoon.

"The State respects and protects human rights," says the new expression to be added to Article 33 of Chapter Two of the existing Constitution, which has undergone three overhauls since its promulgation in 1982.

"It's a consistent principle adopted by the Party and the State to respect and protect human rights. To write this principle into the Constitution will further provide a legal guarantee for its implementation," said Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, while explaining the draft amendment to a full meeting of the lawmakers.
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EIC Comments on Cambodia's Accession to the World Trade Organization

Sok Hach is the Director of the newly formed Economic Institute of Cambodia (EIC), a policy-oriented research institute that aims to inform stakeholders and policymakers about public policy options in the context of the economic development of Cambodia. EIC has been partnered with the Parliamentary Centre’s Cambodia-Canada Legislative Support Project (CCLSP) in a number of activities that hopes to enhance the human and institutional capacity of parliamentarians and their staff. The following article provides some insight into Hach’s views on Cambodia's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) last September.
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