Overview : - Globally, in 2013, UNDP was supporting projects or activities with 63 Parliaments with 23% of these in the Asia-Pacific region.
- For a number of years, UNDP has been active in working with Pacific parliaments to support their law-making, oversight and representative functions as well as strengthening the general capacity of Parliament Secretariats. UNDP often prefaced its engagement with Pacific parliaments by undertaking a Needs Assessment at the request of interested countries.
- In 2013, as the global and regional leading agency on parliamentary development, UNDP has been implementing projects and activities to strengthen the capacity of numerous Parliaments in the Pacific including with the legislatures in Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Palau, Kiribati and Republic of Marshall Islands.
- In 2013, upon the request of the Government of Fiji, UNDP facilitated the development of a preliminary Fiji Parliament Needs Assessment Report. Two senior international parliamentary specialists undertook the assessment in November 2013.
- In response to the recommendations of the Fiji Parliament Needs Assessment Report, the United Nations Development Programme within its framework of regional support to Pacific Parliaments, developed a programme of support to the Fiji Parliament focusing on areas including infrastructure, capacity building of the secretariat, capacity building of newly elected MPs and assistance to the development of the legal framework for Parliament.
- The project, funded by the European Union and the Governments of New Zealand, Japan and Australia, commenced in January 2014 and is due to end in March 2017.
- The project has two interlinked phases. The first phase ran until the election held in September 2014 and the second phase is post-election running from October 2014 – March 2017.
- The project is designed as outlined in the FPSP project document, has an overall objective, a specific objective, expected outcomes and project activities. In summary they are as follows:
Overall Objective: The overall objective is to contribute to the transition to democracy and the rule of law in Fiji. Specific Objectives : To contribute to the preparation of the Fiji Parliament for its resumption in 2014 and to ensure that the systems and processes are in place to provide for a parliament that can efficiently and effectively undertake its legislative, oversight and representative roles, with a view to strengthening good governance and development outcomes in Fiji. Expected Outcomes Outcome 1: The re-established Parliament of Fiji has the capacity to effectively scrutinize draft laws, oversee the executive branch of government and represent citizens; Outcome 2: The Parliament of Fiji is recognised as an inclusive place for dialogue and a venue that reflects the interests of all citizens. Project Activities: Activity 1: Support the establishment and capacity building of the Parliament of Fiji to effectively scrutinise legislation, oversee the executive and represent citizens. Activity 2: Support the Parliament of Fiji to foster inclusive dialogue processes and the active engagement of citizens.
The FPSP Project Phase 1, has undertaken two evaluation during the lifecycle of the project: Mid Term Evaluation conducted in October 2015 commissioned by UNDP & Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) commissioned by European Union in February 2016. |
