National forum on Parliamentary best practices

Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Chairperson, D.E.W Gunasekera and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairperson Rauf Hakeem, and ministers will be the guests of honour at the National Forum on Parliament Watch, scheduled to be held on 16 February at the Galle Face Hotel.

The event is organised jointly by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) to share ‘Parliament Watch’ research outcomes on how Parliament operates in Sri Lanka and to discuss regional best practices.

The two institutions jointly conducted the research under the ‘Parliament Watch’ program.  The research outcomes that will be discussed at the forum are based on studies done over a two-year period beginning April 2010.  Monthly reports were compiled highlighting the human rights focus with quarterly reports highlighting transparency and accountability in legislative conduct assessed against indicators developed by TISL.  Parliamentary best practices in the South Asian region based on studies carried out in six countries will also be presented at the forum. The countries covered are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A special website titled ‘Our Parliament’ designed and operated by TISL will also be launched at the Forum.  The National Forum will include a plenary session followed by panel discussions will the participation of several parliamentarians, civil society actors and senior journalists. ‘Citizen’s role in enhancing public access to Parliament’, ‘The role of parliamentarians in making Parliament  more responsive to human rights’, and ‘The role of civil society and media in promoting transparency of Parliament’ will be the topics of discussion.