Statement by the International Development Law Organization (IDLO)
Excellencies, Honorable Members of Parliament, Distinguished Guests, and Young Leaders,
It is an honour to address you today at the Tenth IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, on behalf of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). Allow me to extend our warm thanks to the Inter-Parliamentary Union for the invitation to attend, and to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia for co-hosting this important gathering.
For those not familiar with IDLO, we are the only global intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. For over 40 years, we have partnered with people and governments in all regions to address justice needs and advance nationally led solutions to major development challenges. Our networks comprise thousands of experts, partners and alumni, including from the Republic of Armenia. We currently have 38 Member Parties, many of whom are represented here today. We have had UN Observer Status since 2001 and were honoured to be granted observer status at IPU earlier this year, based on our longstanding and fruitful partnership with IPU.
IDLO’s approach combines programming, research, and policy advocacy to maximize impact. We use lessons learned from our programming in the field to inform our research efforts and vice versa. At the same time, our policy advocacy efforts are focused on keeping SDG16 and the rule of law high on the global agenda, something that has become increasingly challenging in today’s world marked by growing conflicts and instability. While some progress has been made, the gap between the promise of justice and the lived reality of people across the globe, especially women, young people, and the most marginalized, continues to widen.
We believe that a people-centred approach that empowers communities, including women, youth, Indigenous people to claim their rights and actively participate in decision-making, is a vital prerequisite for achieving justice.
There are many areas of IDLO’s work that are relevant to the work of parliamentarians and on which we are keen to strengthen our collaboration. I will mention just a few today.
First, as part of our efforts to promote gender equality and close the justice gap for women and girls, IDLO supports governments to conduct comprehensive legal assessments to identify and eliminate discriminatory laws and practices. We would welcome increased engagement with parliaments to improve legal frameworks that allow women and girls to fully contribute to development outcomes, governance, and meeting communities’ needs.
Second, we believe that sustainable development requires sound legal frameworks in place to help attract and maintain foreign investment, strengthen education and employment opportunities, improve food security, and implement health regulations. We therefore work with governments and other stakeholders to support the development and implementation of effective legal frameworks. Partnership with parliaments would benefit this work.
Finally, we champion justice as an essential part of climate action. Interventions including legal education, provision of paralegal and legal services, the protection of civic space for grassroots environmental advocacy, increased funding for women-, youth- and Indigenous-led civil society organizations, and intersectional and data-driven policymaking can be crucial in this regard.
Recently, we have engaged with parliamentarians through sensitization dialogues and activities for policy measures for the promotion of healthy diets and physical activity, and strengthening health security preparedness. We are also committed to promoting meaningful youth engagement and creating opportunities for intergenerational encounters and learning.
We look forward to continuing our work with parliamentarians and with you all to help place the rule of law at the core of national agendas, mobilize political will, and secure the necessary resources to build just and equitable societies.