A three-day workshop on “Global Parliamentarians Consultation on Reviewing Advocacy Techniques for Working with Parliamentarians,” has concluded with agreement on the essential role played by advocacy and fundraising in parliamentary work and the importance of monitoring and evaluating these efforts. Organised by The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in collaboration with UNFPA the workshop was held in Koh Samui, Thailand on 7-9 May 2010.

The workshop focused on communications, advocacy, fundraising, and monitoring and evaluation tools for parliamentary advocacy in support of the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (PoA). It also examined the type of advocacy work that is effective with parliamentarians.

Bringing together parliamentarians, regional parliamentary forums, UNFPA regional focal points for parliamentarian work and UNFPA Information and External Relations Division, New York, the workshop aimed to establish guidelines for working successfully with parliamentarians, including the importance of building capacity to advocate for the ICPD Program of Action. Participants examined best practices and lessons learnt from working with parliamentarians on population and development issues.

A number of key presentations were made by the various regions on advocacy techniques and success stories in their own regions. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD); Mr. Neil Datta, Secretary, European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF); Ms. Fatimata Deme, Executive Director, Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAAPPD); and Ms. Carla Riviera-Avni, Executive Director, Inter- American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG) presented an overview of the challenges faced and strategies used by the regional forums in their work for ICPD advocacy with parliamentarians. Though each region exhibited diverse political, economic, social and cultural factors, common themes emerged. All regions were similarly challenged by trends of an increasingly conservative political landscape, organized opposition groups, economic crisis, funding difficulties and the complexity of tracking and evaluating impact.

Hon. Christine Mc Cafferty, Former Member of Parliament, United Kingdom House of Commons, emphasized the importance of getting ICPD onto the government agenda in order to change its national policies. She stressed that advocacy should aim towards building political commitment, enacting legislation and securing financial resources. Conditions for successful advocacy with parliamentarians depend upon using solid, evidence-based data, monitoring the government, raising media awareness, applying international pressure and building an awareness of ICPD in all political parties. She also highlighted the repetition of messages and the submission of oral/written questions as two of the most successful tools for advocacy.

“The work of parliamentarians faces many challenges, yet MPs are among our most important partners,” said Safiye ÇaÄŸar, UNFPA’s Director, Information and External Relations Division (IERD), who chaired the meeting. “With ICPD at 20 just around the corner, maintaining ICPD on the political agenda is becoming increasingly difficult. At the same time, the forces of conservatism are gaining strength and need to be addressed, all of this in a context of economic crisis. Never has the need to put our issues forward forcefully been so strong.”