This year, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) celebrated its centenary, marking 100 years of parliamentary strengthening and diplomacy work.
In the century since 1911, against a backdrop of world wars, changing geopolitical structures, economic booms and busts, the rise and fall of Communism, exponential technological development and the establishment of democracy as the predominant global system of government, the CPA has adhered to its original purpose.
It is the forum for 'ready exchange of information,…closer understanding and more frequent intercourse between those engaged in the parliamentary government of the component parts of the [Commonwealth].'
CPA UK approaches parliamentary strengthening and diplomacy work in three ways: through international parliamentary conferences, focused topical seminars and bilateral programmes conducted between member parliaments. However, it constantly seeks to improve and progress both the quality and the reach of its programmes.
As the year both of CPA's centenary and of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting universally acknowledged to be a game-changer, 2011 seemed a fitting time to take a more innovative approach to its work. Furthermore, in tough economic times with the need for a strengthened sense of accountability, it is more than ever crucial to leverage resources.
In the pursuit of value for money, CPA UK has conducted more programmes than ever before through partnerships, working towards the joint objectives of all parties. It collaborates with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commons' and Lords' Overseas Offices among others. Notable examples include work with South Africa's Climate Change Committee in advance of COP17 in Durban and a capacity-building programme for committee chairs in the Maldives Majlis.
It also is part of The Westminster Consortium, in which other partners include the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the NAO, the House of Commons Overseas Office, the International Bar Association and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Programmes are also being made increasingly interactive. The workshop format is now used both in bilateral delegations (for instance in a recent seminar for Sierra Leone clerks) and in the newly-introduced Westminster Workshop Series, which now takes place immediately after the long-established and ever-popular Westminster Seminar.
Beyond innovation in the way it works, CPA UK has sought over the past year to reinvigorate and redefine itself, asserting its relevance, clout and fitness for purpose in its second century. In this period of global turmoil, never has there been greater need for a reinvigorated, inclusive global network to act as a 'soft power' force (borrowing UK's Commonwealth Minister Rt Hon. Lord Howell's words) to promote democratic principles.
The CPA as a whole is ideally suited to this task. It provides a unique forum in which parliamentarians from the national and provincial legislatures of a hugely diverse – and possibly expanding – group of countries can meet to share knowledge and learn from colleagues' experiences in facing this test.
Members are enabled to share their experience, advice and challenges as equals in a non-confrontational and mutually respectful manner. With contentious issues such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the illegality of homosexuality posing difficulties for many Commonwealth states, 'soft diplomacy' becomes ever more crucial. Exploring different models will allow all states to work towards a better understanding without overt confrontation.
By no means is the information flow always from Westminster. We have a great deal to learn from parliamentary colleagues, notably concerning the deficit in women's empowerment – Rwanda remains a salutary example, with greater female than male representation in its parliament.
The CPA as a whole and CPA UK in particular see the year ahead as a continuation of the opportunity to improve, both in terms of the effectiveness of their activities, and in what they seek to achieve through them.
Parliamentarians have three responsibilities: legislating, overseeing their governments and representing their constituents. With all the developments of the last century and those to come in the next, the aim of the CPA remains constant. It strives to ensure that those parliamentarians have the capability and influence to act as conduits for the views of those they represent, and to work to achieve the Commonwealth's values of development, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, chair of the CPA UK branch.