We acknowledge also the essential role of national parliaments through their enactment of legislation and adoption of budgets and their role in ensuring accountability for the effective implementation of our commitments*.
*(Paragraph 45 of A/RES/70/1. “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/70/1)
Engaging Parliaments in the implementation, follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda is critical to achieving the SDGs. Through their efforts to enact laws, adopt budgets, and monitor accountability, parliaments play a strategic role in ensuring that governments effectively implement global commitments at the national level.
The SDGs are a robust framework around which parliaments can base their strategic plans and pursue their oversight and accountability work. In this way, the SDGs are also an opportunity for parliamentarians to demonstrate their commitment to improve people's lives and the health of the planet, on which all human existence depends.
Thus, parliamentarians can support the 2030 Agenda through their work on (i) law-making, (ii) budgeting (iii) oversight and (iv) representation.
Parliaments and the 2030 Agenda
Legislation
- Review existing legislation, propose amendments and/or draft new legislation
- Ensure legal frameworks exist to enable the achievement of the SDGs
Budget
- Review budget allocation for achievement of the SDGs
- Ensure fiscal and other economnic policies are aligned to the national SDG plan
- Analyze effectiveness of government expenditure on SDG achievement
Accountability
- Overall oversight of SDG implementation through Parliamentary Committees
- Verify necesary data related to SDG implementation is collected and gaps addressed
- Readjust Parliamentary Committee's own interventions
Representation
- Reach out to constituents and identify gaps and weaknesses in SDG implementation
- Ensure no one gets left behind by hearing the voices of the excluded and marginalized
The Inter-Parliamentary Union
The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. What began in 1889 as a small group of parliamentarians, dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue, has since grown into a truly global organization of national parliaments. Today, our membership inches ever closer to being universal, with 179 Member Parliaments ,12 Associate Members, and increasing numbers of parliamentarians from all over the world involved in our work.
Parliamentary Associations in Latina America and the Caribbean and the 2030 Agenda:
ParlAmericas
Parliamentarians for the Americas
Parlatino
Latin American and Caribbean Parliament
Parlasur
Parliament of the Mercosur
Parlacen
Central American Parliament
