IT-TLETTAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA
P.L. 1090
Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 74 tal-25 ta’ Jannar 2018 mill-Ispeaker, l-Onor. Anġlu Farrugia.
______Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra
24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC)
8-13 January 2018 Seychelles
Hon Anglu Farrugia, Speaker
RAPPORT LILL-ISPEAKER DWAR PARTECIPAZZJONI F'KONFERENZA/LAQGMA/ZJARA TA' NATURA PARLAMENTARI BARRA MINN MALT A
1. TITLU TAL-KONFERENZA/LAQGMA: 24TH CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
2. DATA: 8-13 TA' JANNAR 2018
3. ISEM IL-MEMBRU/I LI PPARTECIPAW: Speaker Anglu Farrugia
4. SUGGETT /1 FUQ L-AGENDA: KOPJA TAL-PROGRAMM ANNESS MA' DAN IR-RAPPORT (ANNESS I)
5. KONKLUZJONIJIET TAL-LAQGMA, JEKK IKUN IL-KAZ:
Fil-bidu tal-konferenza, uhud mill-partedpanti li huma membri fil-lnunitat permanenti iltaqghu ghall i. laqgha annwali taghhom. Malta hi patti minn dan il-kutnitat bhala raprezentanti tal-gzejjer Brittanid u r-Regjun tal-Mediterran. F'din il-laqgha giet diskussa !-agenda proposta ghall-konferenza, u gew diskussi 1-possibilitajiet ta' fejn jistghu jigu organizzati 1-laqghat u 1-konferenzi li jmiss. r· Il-konferenza kienet forma ta' diskussjonijiet imqassma fsezzjonijiet u workshops, fejn gew maghzula 1-kelliema, li kienu Speakers minn pajjizi varji tal-Commonwealth biex jaghmlu 1-Indirizz Ewlieni. Speakers ohra gew maghzula sabiex jaghmlu indirizzi iqsar ftl-workshops li segwew. Is-sezzjonijiet kienu mqassma kif gej: " 1. The role rif the Speaker in strengthening Parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international moperation 2. Use rif technolof!Y to support lVIembers and House Business 3. Strengthening Parliamentary mearch for the effidive functioning rifLegislatures 4. Emerging S eturity Issuesfor Par!iamentatiam
L-ahhar sessjoni Plcnarja kienet dwar kif 1-Ispeakers jistghu jsahhu 1-itwoli taghhom bhala istituzzjoni ta' kontabilita u trasparenza.
N.B. (i) Fil-kaz ta' dclegazzjoni ta' aktar minn delegat wiehed, jista' jsir rapport wiehed li jingabar mill-kap tad-delegazzjoni li fih jitnizz1u 1-interventi kollha u r-rapport jigi ffirmat minn kull de1egat.
' ' (ii) Inti gentilment mitlub/ ali twassa1 dan it-rapport gtund 1-iSpeaker sa mhux aktar tard minn ghaxart ijiem minn meta tkun intcmmet i1-konferenza/1aqgha. " 6. INTERVENT /1 MAGMMUL/ A MILL-MEMBRU /1:
L-intetventi kollha tal-Onot. Speaker Anglu Farrugia huma annessi flr-rapport Anness, II.
7. DOKUMENTI IMPORT ANTI TAL-KONFERENZA/LAQGMA LI TMOSS LI GMANDHOM IKUNU MEHMUZAJEKK IKUN IL-KAZ.
• ANNESS I- PROGRAMM • ANNESS II- RAPPORT DETTALJAT TAL-KONFERENZA (EN) • ANNESS III- LISTA TA' SUGGETTI, U DOKUMENTAZZJONI TA' PREZENTAZZJONIJIET TAS-SESSJONIJIET U WORKSHOPS • ANNESS IV- SOMMARJI TAL-WORI<:SHOPS • ANNESS V- DATI U LOKAZZJONIJIET TA' KONFERENZI U LAQG!i'AT TA' KUMITATI
I
8. JEKK TIXTIEQ LI TITQASSAM STQARRIJA GMALL-ISTAMPA MILL-PARLAMENT ANNETT! ABBOZZ TAL-ISTQARRIJA GMALL-ISTAMPA U X-XANDIR. ,, Abbozz Anness
VI.I PR 180017 VLII - PR 180030 VI.III - PR180048 r· '
" Onor. Anglu Farrugia Data Speaker
H
" ,, ' ' 24"'CSPOC 8 -13 JANUARY 2018 SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELLES
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
DRAFT PROGRAMME (As of December 19, 2017)
1 24 h CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH (CSPOC)
THE SAVOY RESORT & SPA, SEYCHELLES 8 -13 JANUARY 2018 I
All day arrivals and registrations
Venue: Amirantes Conference Room Lobby Savoy Resort and Spa I
1700-1800 Meeting of Standing Committee (Standing Committee Members Only) •• !' Venue: Marie Louise Room ! Savoy Resort and Spa
1800-2000 Dinner for Standing Committee attendees and Spouses .' Venue: Grand Savoy Restaurant Savoy Resort and Spa
robes but can change
Venue: Amirantes Conference Savoy Resort and Spa
1000-1030 Break
1 I'
I I " 24"'CSPOC ~· ~~~~ · ~ ~ .. CSPDC 8-13 JANUARY 201 ------SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELLE Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
1030- 1130 Opening Plenary 1 • Presentation of the draft Agenda for the 24 h Conference e Election of two Vice Chairs • Nomination procedure for the 2018-2020 Standing Committee • Venues for future conferences and meetings • Items stemming from Standing Committee Meeting
1130- 1300 Keynote Addresses
Topic 1 - The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation
Topic 2 - Use of technology to support Members and House Business
Working Sessions on topics 1 and 2
Venue: Marie Louise Room Savoy Resort and Spa
Venue: Room 3 Savoy Resort and Spa
1300- 1400 Lunch
Venue: Grand Savoy Restaurant Savov Resort and Spa 1400- 1530 Working Sessions on topics 1 and 2
Delegates to participate in the opposite workshop that they attended in the morning
Venue: Marie Louise Room Savoy Resort and Spa
2 2411'CSPOC •· ~~~:- ~ ~'"£:SPDC 8~13JANUARY2018 ------SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELLES ~onference of Speakers and Presiding Off1cers of the ~ommonwealth
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
Venue: Room 3 Savoy Resort and Spa
1530-1600 Break
1600-1630 Regional caucus meetings ! Venue: Marie Louise Room Desroches Room Alphonse Room iI Room 1 I L, ' Room2 I' Room 3 GM's Board Room r. Savoy Resort and Spa
1930-2130 Official Cocktail
Venue: to be confirmed F-· ~'
0900-1000 Keynote Addresses
Topic 3 -Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning of Legislatures
Topic 4- Emerging Security Issues for Parliamentarians
Venue: Amirantes Conference Savoy Resort and Spa
3
0 I " 24"'CSPOC ~· (~~~·~ ~ ~"CifiOC 8-13 JANUARY 201. ------SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELLE Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
1000-1030 Break
1030-1200 Working Sessions on topics 3 & 4
Venue: Marie Louise Room Savoy Resort and Spa
Venue: Room3 Savoy Resort and Spa
1200-1300 Lunch
Venue: Grand Savoy Restaurant Savoy Resort and Spa
1300-1430 Working Sessions on topics 3 & 4
Delegates to participate in the opposite workshop that they attended in the morning
Venue: Marie Louise Room Savoy Resort and Spa
Venue: Room 3 Savoy Resort and Spa
1500-1600 Visit to the National Assembly
Evening Free
Venue: Amirantes Conference Savoy Resort and Spa
4 24'1'CSPOC •· ~~~-~ ~ ~"CSPDC 8-13 JANUARY 2018 ~------SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELLES Gonference of Speakers and PreSiding Officers of the Gommonwealth
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
0930-1100 Special General Plenary
Keynote Address to launch the discussion on The Role of the Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an Institution of Accountability, Openness and Transparency
Venue: Amirantes Conference Savoy Resort and Spa
1100- 1130 Break
1130-1230 Closing Plenary Session • Venues for future conferences and meetings • Items stemming from the Standing Committee Meeting • Election of the 2018-2020 Standing Committee • Closing remarks i' Venue: Amirantes Conference I Savoy Resort and Spa
1230-1300 Press Conference by Standing Committee Members
Venue: Marie Louise Room Savoy Resort and Spa
1230-1330 Lunch
Afternoon free
1800-2000 Cocktail Reception hosted by H.E Caron Rohsler, British High Commissioner
Venue: British High Commissioner's Residence Bel Air
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' ' " 24"'CSPOC ~·< ·~- ~ ~--CIPDC 8-13 JANUARY 20.: ------SAVOY RESORT AND SPA, SEYCHELL1. Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES
Pick up from Savoy Hotel Wild South Drive Tour of Mission Lodge Cap Lazare & Photo Taking Lunch
Departures
6 Parliament of Malta REPORT FOLLOWING 24th CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Report of Conference and Breakdown of Sessions and other Meetings
Mahe, Victoria, Seychelles, 8-13 January 2018 l
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'~ 11 ' ':·.'-';,/ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ;, PARLIAMENT OF MALTA
' ' " Speaker Han Angelo Farrugia attended the 24'h Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the
Commonwealth, between 8 and 13 January 2018 in Mahe, Victoria, Seychelles. The Conference, which is held on a bi-ennial basis, serves as an opportunity to "maintain, foster, and encourage impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments, promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms, and develop parliamentary
11 institutions' .
2. .-, [ ... 'i'l{~~
The Conference brings together the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth. It was created in 1969 as an initiative of, then
Speaker of the House of Commons in Canada, the Honourable Lucien Lamoureux. Thus, Canada also holds the permanent Secretariat of CSPOC to support its activities.
The Conference was spread over three days, where a number of meetings were held. These included the sessions of the Conference itself, as well as executive meetings pertaining to the Standing
Committee, of which Malta holds the British Isles and Mediterranean representation up until the start of the Conference and was re-elected for a second term (2018-2020).
The Standing Committee oversees CSPOC activities. It is composed of 15 members. The Committee is chaired by the Speaker of the lower House of the jurisdiction hosting the next conference. In accordance with the Standing Rules, the Committee membership is composed of regional representatives and three ex-officio members (the last host, the current host and the next hosting member). The election of the Standing Committee members usually occurs during the closing plenary of each conference.
On this occasion, the Standing Committee met prior to the opening ceremony, whereby the agenda presented for the Conference was confirmed; next hosting venues, dates and procedures were discussed; subjects for discussion at the next conference were brought up and a draft agenda prepared.
1 Conference aims, http://www.cspoc.org/ 3. Proposal of Venues for Future meetings and Conferences - Standing Committee Meeting
The Conference starts off with a Standing Committee meeting of regional representatives. Since
Speaker of Malta Angelo Farrugia represents the British Isles and Mediterranean Region for the period
2016-2018, he participated actively in the confirmation of the minutes of the previous standing
committee meeting and the agenda for the conference to take place the following day.
Following the Official Opening, the opening Plenary Session presented the Agenda for the 24th
Conference and the nomination procedure for the 2018 - 2020 Standing Committee was
communicated. The Venues for future Standing Committee meeting venue and Conferences were
brought forward. It was discussed that Canada would host the 2020 Conference since this would mark
the 25th Anniversary of the Conference, then it would make sense that the hosts were the founders of
the CSPOC, meaning Canada. Malta has confirmed that it will be hosting the 2019 Standing Committee t' meeting while Australia has confirmed that it will be the host in 2022. This was to be confirmed at the
Closing Plenary session of the same conference.
4. Breakdown of Sessions and Workshops
The Conference then proceeded with the start of the sessions. The theme of the first session was that I' of the role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international
cooperation.
The keynote address of the first session was presented by Speaker Patrick Pillay from the House of " Representatives of the Seychelles. Speaker Pillay explained the historic build-up of the Seychellois
Parliament and its trials and tribulations follow'1ng a number of rulers under the French and the British
and made an emphasis on the fact that leaders of a country should not be corrupt. Speaker Pillay
explained that the historic culture has formed the Seychellois people to be as diverse as it can be so
that there is mutual understanding between the different backgrounds of the people of the Seychelles.
The second keynote address held the topic of the Use of technology to support Members and House
Business. The address was made via video by Professor Mary Francoli, Lecturer at the Faculty of Public
Affairs, Carleton University, Canada. Prof Francoli spoke about the use of technology to support
members and house business and identified benefits and challenges of using technology even if
developments were made in the past years. "
' ' " The plenary then dissolved into the working groups. This year, it was agreed that two workshops would run simultaneously, then the workshops would alternate in the following session so that all
participants would participate in all workshops. During the first workshop, Speaker Angelo Farrugia
explained that Parliamentary diplomacy always played an important role. Speakers and
Parliamentarians must not underestimate the function of diplomacy parliamentary affairs. The
Commonwealth and its conferences have so far always been considered a talking shop - it is not
recognised as an institution (CPA) the promotion of parliamentary diplomacy at regional level. The
Speaker went on to recall that Parliamentarians have an important role in the international spectrum and gave the example of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean intervening in the talks
between Israel and Palestine in December 2010 during the Morocco Plenary Session. Speaker Farrugia concluded that parliamentary diplomacy should be used as a toolbox to organise a pre-emptive dialogue and enhance the common good of our citizens.
In the second workshop, Speaker Farrugia noted that nowadays, the use of technology to support members is significant as the public has greater access to parliamentary proceedings, and thus, expects more from its elected representatives. The public expects parliaments to be more transparent, more accountable and more efficient. Speaker Farrugia explained that since May 2015, the public has been enabled to also follow the proceedings on a dedicated parliamentary TV Channel, as well as by means of a newly revamped website. The most recent technological leap made by the
Maltese Parliament was made during the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2017, when for the first time, Parliament launched an application which enabled users to follow the proceedings of meetings of the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency.
The second day delved into the third and fourth workshops. The third keynote address examined the topic of strengthening Parliamentary research for the effective functioning of Legislatures. The keynote speaker of the session, Mahajan, Speaker of the Lok Sa bah Parliament explained that the modern day legislature is an extremely busy person with increased roles including that of their constituencies, gathering information, law-making and decision making. It is important to keep abreast of all the developments happening around them and thus, research is essential on a daily basis. Speaker Mahajani gave an overview of the Indian Parliament and how it goes about research for Parliamentarians as to how best to maximise the interaction between parliaments and sittings. It was highlighted that the public is becoming very demanding and accountability of legislators is very high. Speaker Farrugia explained how the research department of the Maltese Parliament is set up, with the engagement of eight research analysts who provide assistance to Maltese parliamentary delegations participating in international fora. They also provide assistance to the thirteen
Parliamentary Standing Committees, particularly the Foreign and European Affairs Committee since,
Malta, being a member of the EU, must present documents to the said Committee to scrutinize the
Government, as well as check for any breach of subsidiarity and proportionality issues. Speaker
Farrugia mentioned the preservation of documents which date back to 1834 which need to be highly
accessible, whilst being protected due to their fragility. He also referred to the new library premises
to be opened within Parliament in due course.
The fourth and final workshop session tackled Emerging Security issues for Parliamentarians, a
detailed presentation by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Hon. Lindsay Hoyle was delivered, in the light of recent terrorist threats which the British Parliament had to face. The
discussion developed into a number of measures and recommendations which Parliamentarians and
Parliaments should take in order to ensure their safety. During the workshop, it was agreed that, since t Commonwealth countries are facing a number of terrorist activities, it is imperative to share important
information regarding security to protect Parliaments and their Members. Speaker Farrugia pointed
out that, in view of the various terrorist threats mentioned in the discussion, security services within .' Parliaments should increase. This should lead to facilitating cooperation on sharing security information.
The Special Plenary Session was delivered by Rt. Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the House of Commons, Canada. He focused on the role of Speakers in
strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency. This comes in the light of the fact that parliaments are nowadays under increasing public scrutiny and citizen " participation has also increased especially in the decision-making process of elected bodies. The use
of technology also enables the public to access information such as daily published records,
deliberations and decisions and other documentation making connectivity and evolving public
expectations of citizen involvement more hands on, giving parliament a more transparent and open
motif. Parliament has also become more accessible through social media and engaging citizens from
different walks of life- allowing Houses to 'reach and teach.' A number of methods were mentioned
which Parliaments should introduce to increase public participation in the decision-making process of
elected bodies. It also delved into how Parliaments balance parliamentary information with protection
of Members' parliamentary rights and privileges and how citizens are engaged in their Parliaments. In
his intervention, Speaker Farrugia shared the importance of accessibility to information and noted that, more importantly, the Maltese House of Representatives entered a new building in 2015, which '' is mainly made up of glass to ensure transparency and openness to the public. The Parliament is also
•• '' open to the public for a number of exhibitions and holds regular sittings involving different strata of
society, namely media representatives, university students, primary and secondary school children
and grandparents who are given the opportunity to debate issues with Members of Parliament.
The summaries of all the workshops are attached as annexes attached to this report.
: . 1 ' i . l ' ·~ ., } ' ;,
In the closing plenary, the venues for the next standing committees and conferences were announced.
It was confirmed and decided that Malta will host the 2019 Standing Committee meeting, while
Canada will be hosting the 2020 Conference. Guernsey will be hosting the 2021 Standing Committee
Meeting, Australia will be hosting the 2022 Conference and Trinidad and Tobago will be hosting the
2023 Standing Committee meeting. Finally the results of the Standing Committee were announced, with the Seychelles, the Ul< and Canada to hold the ex-officio seats in the Standing Committee.
Malta was re-elected to hold the British Isles and Mediterranean Region Representation for the period 2018-2020. 24'~ NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SEYCHELLES List of topics, presenters and workshop chairs as of January 5, 2018 Topic 1 The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation. • Ensuring a parliamentary presence on the global scene • Proceeding independently but often in parallel with executive (government) diplomacy Keynote Speaker: Speaker Pillay (Seychelles) Workshop A Presenter: Speaker Ndugai (Tanzania) Workshop B Presenter: President Redan (Isle of Man) I Chair of Workshops: Speaker Sadiq (Pakistan) i I. Topic 2 Use of technology to support Members and House Business. ~. • Newly emerging tools such as E-petitions, Mobile applications, Paperless . Chambers and Committees (digital binders) and E-consultations • Impact of technology on the relationship with constituents Keynote Speaker: Prof. Mary Francoli, Faculty of Public Affairs, , Carleton University, Canada (via video) L Workshop A Presenter: Assistant Speaker Lauofo Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo (Samoa) Workshop B Presenter: Chair of Workshops: r Topic 3 Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning of Legislatures. · • Providing appropriate resources to parliamentarians in order to allow them to hold the government to account • Ensuring the accurate provision of information given the emergence of fake news and alternative facts 1 6 h Floor, 131 Queen Street, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1A OA6 " Tel.: 613-947-8089 Fax: 613-947-3089 [email protected] ' ' " Keynote Speaker: Speaker Mahajan (India) Workshop A Presenter: Deputy Bailiff McMahon (Guernsey) Workshop B Presenter: House Chairperson Boroto (South Africa) Chair of Workshops: Speaker Matibini (Zambia) Topic 4 Emerging security issues for Parliamentarians. • Cybe rsecu rity • Constituency concerns • Social media Keynote Speaker: Deputy Speaker Hoyle (United Kingdom) Workshop A Presenter: Speaker Muturi (Kenya) Workshop B Presenter: Speaker Smith (Australia) Chair of Workshops: Speaker Kadaga (Uganda) Special plenary topic: The role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an Institution of Accountability, Openness and Transparency. • Contributing to the relationship between Parliament and the Executive • Balancing the need for access to Information with Parliamentary Privilege • Promoting methods for engaging citizens Keynote Speaker: Speaker Regan (Canada) Chair of Workshop: Speaker Pillay (Seychelles) 1 6 h Floor, 131 Queen Street, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1A OA6 Tel.: 613-947-8089 Fax: 613-947-3089 [email protected] THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA PARLIAMENT OF TANZANIA I' THE ROLE OF THE SPEAKER IN STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY ,, DIPLOMACY IN BOTH REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION •• (Paper presented at the 24th CSPOC in Mahe, Seychelles, Sth -13 January, 2017) Private Office Of The Speaker, Dod om a, Tanzania. " January, 2018 ' ' " Conference Chairperson and Hon. Speakers; Colleagues from Commonwealth Parliaments; Clerks; Officials and all participants 1.0 INTRODUCTION I am glad to be attend this conference and with to thank our host for warm hospitality accorded to us since our arrival. On the other note, this is my inaugural conference. Although, I was elected Speaker in November, 2015, I could not attend the 2016 Conference in Malaysia. I am attending on a good footing because in June this year colleagues from Africa entrusted me with the presiding role for the Speaker's Conference for the Africa Region, a position I will hold until 2019 when my Parliament will host the Regional version of this conference. I look forward to hosting the colleagues who will make their way to our beautiful country. I have the task at hand to present a paper on THE ROLE OF THE SPEAKER IN STREGHTHENING PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMAY IN BOTH REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 2 My presentation will have the following central themes: - • Importance of Parliamentary Diplomacy • The Role of the Speaker in Strengthening Parliamentary Diplomacy • Challenges facing • Recommendations • Way Forward • Conclusion This topic has come at an opportune moment when more Parliaments are !' evolving as independent institutions within their jurisdiction. . ' From the outset, let it be known that Parliamentary Diplomacy is '' associated with Parliamentary cooperation or with parliamentary control. Others have defined it as "the full range of international activities undertaken by Parliamentarians in order to increase mutual understanding between countries, to assist each other in improving .. the control of governments and the representation of a people, and to increase the democratic legitimacy of inter-governmental institutions." Parliamentary diplomacy is also defined as "the means by which two or more parliaments conduct an ongoing dialogue with regard to key international issues". I , 3 ' ' ' ' These definitions of parliamentary diplomacy accept and recognize the role of Parliaments in state relations. Through parliamentary diplomacy, national parliaments discuss issues on best practices ranging from political, economic, social and cultural aspects. In its broadest definition, diplomacy can be defined as the art and practice of conducting negotiations between two or more groups in order to achieve a particular goal. In its most traditional definition, the term is used to describe formalised relations between what are usually independent political entities, generally states. However, as we can experience on a daily basis, in our globalized world, states are not the only ones able to convey their specific messages across national borders. In the most extreme view, the internet and social media have made every citizen an ambassador of his or her country, in the positive as well as in the negative way. When one thinks of diplomacy one normally thinks of the government of a country working through its Foreign Ministry, its ambassadors and its embassies to promote the interests of its citizens in bilateral and multi lateral matters. However, governments of a country may have a different perspective on an international issue, such as climate change or human rights, than the parliament or its individual MPs. That is why there is a small but important 4 aspect to the representation function of a parliament in international relations. Parliamentary diplomacy is the means by which two or more parliaments conduct an ongoing dialogue with regard to key international issues. This can be accomplished through two methods - institutionally or individually. With regard to Institutional diplomacy, the Speaker of Parliament, often a high ranking state official, for instance, participates in bilateral and multilateral meetings with other Speakers to discuss mutually concerned issues and come up with solutions or strategies to overcome such issues. r This conference is indeed example; you may call it the CHOGM version of CPA although we don't have direct linkage with mainstream CPA. There are other bodies carrying out similar functions, like IPU which is by far the biggest Inter-Parliamentary Organisation in the globe. There are other Parliamentary bodies connected by languages, geographical spread .. or continental. 2.0 IMPORTANCE OF PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY AND INTER PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION Inter-Parliamentary cooperation is parallel to government diplomacy as reflected by foreign policy. It serves to promote the national interest abroad, through the promotion by parliament of democratic governance, ' ' 5 . ' '' constitutionality and the adoption of laws that promote peace, security, order and stability as the basis of international engagement. The concept of national interest is at the nerve centre of all foreign policy issues and therefore, when it comes to parliamentary diplomacy, parliamentarians are expected to put their political affiliations behind, be a unified front and pursue the national interests of the country first and foremost before they could even think about their constituency. The following are some of the importance of Parliamentary Diplomacy: 2.1 Active involvement of parliamentarians in international fora and activities contributes to the knowledge and insights necessary to scrutinize a national government's foreign policies in a satisfactory way. Participating at the international stage is therefore an integral part of parliamentary work; 2.2 Parliamentary diplomacy neither duplicates nor replaces traditional governmental diplomacy. Parliamentarians (from both government and opposition parliamentary parties) are ideally placed to build bridges between conflicting parties, unshackled by instructions from governments. They are well-placed to put across views which the official government representatives are not able (or willing) to convey; 6 2.3 Parliamentary diplomacy can supplement government diplomacy because members of parliament can be more flexible when engaging in diplomatic activities. They are not, after all, bound by the positions taken by the government and can transcend their own government's interests by providing principled support for democracy and human rights. 2.4 Parliamentary diplomacy provide a forum to smoothen and to deal with misunderstandings, complementary to and enriching and I stimulating traditional forms of diplomacy; 2.5 Parliamentary diplomacy implies the use and deployment of parliamentary contacts to promote the international democratic legal order. As legitimate representatives of democracy, they are better f< I placed to engage in a credible exchange of expertise and to draw and to diffuse lessons-learned regarding the build-up of democratic ,, institutions as well as for example political, intercultural and interreligious dialogues to safeguard pluralism; and 2.6 Personal contacts between members of parliament of different states are likely to enhance mutual understanding and to establish alternative channels beneficial for bilateral relations between countries. Such contacts can be used to place national developments in context, as well as to initiate activities, including L' those aimed at peace, security and strengthening democracy and 7 . ' " human rights, economic development, improving education and social conditions. 3.0 THE SPEAKERS' ROLE IN STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY 3.1 Speakers should acknowledge parliamentary diplomacy as an important part of the foreign political activities of parliamentarians. We should encourage active participation in parliamentary assemblies, while monitoring that these are used for the purpose of increasing parliamentary knowledge and insights necessary to scrutinize a national government's policies. This monitoring could include: 3.1.1 Adequate preparation and determination of the contributions to be made to meetings of Assemblies/Parliamentary bodies meetings, in the appropriate parliamentary committees; 3.1.2 Adequate (oral) feedback to the committees after the close of the inter-parliamentary activities: distribution of documents (such as resolutions, reports and recommendations) adopted in an assembly and/or conference. 8 3.2 Speakers should encourage, in-cooperation with national governments, the inclusion of parliamentarians in official international visits of our Heads of State and Government or other high officials and the inclusion of an exchange of views with parliamentarians within the official schedules of such visits. Where possible, we as Speakers should be hesitant to create new fora, but put our efforts in enhancing the fora we already have, in a satisfactory way. When these fora cease to serve the stated aims and purposes, we I should seriously consider scaling them down or abolishing them. We have to keep in mind the cost-effectiveness of parliamentary ,, diplomacy: trying to boost performance while saving effort, time and money. In terms of parliamentary cooperation this can be translated '' into: 3.2.1 Integrating international parliamentary activities in order to enhance their effectiveness; 3.2.2 Promoting the efficiency and decisiveness of the existing parliamentary assemblies; 3.2.3 Strengthening cooperation between the existing assemblies in order to enhance the effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny of government policy in different fora.eg through .' SADCOPAC. 9 ' ' " 3.3 We as Speakers should exercise restraint where it regards the establishment of permanent Friendship Groups. Except for between parliaments with very strong bilateral ties, bilateral parliamentary contacts should preferably take place as much as possible in conjunction with official international meetings. 4.0 CHALLENGES FACING PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY 4.1 Parliamentary diplomacy is anchored on the principles of Nationals' foreign policies which are contained in the constitutions, it is therefore difficult for our Parliaments to work at cross purposes with the governments in diplomatic matters, no matter what opinions MPs have on a matter. 4.2 Lack of direct, relevant and meaningful synergy in the implementation of Inter-Parliamentary Resolutions in another challenge. 4.3 Lack of clarity identified role and structure of the role to be played by Parliamentarians in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, despite resolutions etc. 4.4 Lack of competent staff in Parliament to provide valuable insight on parliamentary diplomacy through knowledge generation, application and dissemination of diplomatic knowledge for the present and future generations. 10 5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Parliaments should be adequately resourced so that they can implement their policies, plans, projects and programs without manipulation or limitations either by agencies of government for their own selfish ends or by donors and other foreign agencies bend on advancing their foreign interests. Adequate funding will bolster Parliament's roles of representation, the promotion of democratic governance in CPA countries and to ensure that all institutions and agencies of government at every level are accountable to ! Parliament; 5.2 Diplomatic training workshops should continue to be carried out especially during the induction of new Members of Parliament. •• Although diplomatic training workshops have been conducted, there is need for improvement on how they are conducted and the timing as well. This helps in equipping Parliamentarians with adequate diplomatic skills, bilateral and conference diplomacy negotiating skills and etiquette so as to portray a positive image of the country. 5.3 MPs should be equipped with skills on political, economic and social aspects of their country to enable them to articulate national foreign policy objectives and the national interest. The involvement of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other strategic stakeholders in such training programs will facilitate mutual understanding between 11 ' ' " parliament and the executive and facilitate the co-ordination of foreign policy in the interest of the country; 5.4 Parliamentarians should also be part of official programs such as those of incoming heads of states or government officials as well as outgoing delegations led by the President or other senior government officials which may have something to do with the work of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees. 5.5 This will avail Parliamentarians the opportunity to discuss issues of mutual concern thus playing an important role in foreign policy. Therefore, to enhance this, in most important official visits by the head of state, efforts should be made to include key representatives of Parliaments. 6.0 CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD Parliaments have unlimited range of possibilities on the charting out its unique role in a contry's diplomacy. There is a need for more intensive reporting on parliaments websites on the work carried out in the interparliamentary assemblies and meetings, and about the contributions made by members. As far as foreign visits and the reception of foreign delegations are concerned, we as Speakers have to introduce an internal decision making process and we have to weigh 12 carefully if journeys should be made and delegations from abroad can be received. Decisions have to involve balancing the purpose, value and rationale of visits against considerations of time, practical feasability and budget constraints. Parliamentary diplomacy requires rationality. We as speakers have to carefully consider what we want to do in the international arena and try to be good in what we choose to do. Though Parliamentary diplomacy has played a key role in resolving some challenges facing our nations yet some critics of parliamentary diplomacy have argued that it is irrelevant and worthless in the modern world to the I' extent of labeling it "parliamentary tourism". r. ' This negative view of parliamentary diplomacy ignores the positive, complementary role it plays in enhancing a country's foreign policy processes and programs, promotion of international democratic and legal order, and the management of a country's prestige and image abroad. We as Speakers have continued role to play to prove these critics wrong. Thank you for listening ~ 1 13 . ' " Speech for CSPOC Workshop B Presentation (10 minutes) Topic 1 The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation. • Ensuring a parliamentary presence on the global scene • Proceeding independently but often in parallel with executive (government) diplomacy Workshop B Presentation (10 minut§} [Initial words of thanks] I The topic is: The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation: Ensuring a parliamentary presence on the global scene; Proceeding : independently but often in parallel with executive (government) diplomacy. l My contribution will be to explain the viewpoint from a small jurisdiction which has to address ~· problems that face all of us. I ' So what is the objective for parliamentary diplomacy? I think that from the point of view of our branch there are two primary objectives, which to some extent mirror those suggested by the title of the topic for discussion: r ' • the first objective is, in our case, more specific than the objective of "ensuring a parliamentary presence on the global scene"; we focus on work to improve parliamentary governance; • the second is to support the government in its own diplomatic objectives, which is more closely aligned with the second objective mentioned in the title of the topic. ,, ' ' In our case, these objectives (especially the second one) allow us to provide a further dimension to explaining our national position on particular subjects and our own collective point of view. Clearly we approach this in the position of being a small jurisdiction about which little is known, although occasionally we are in the news in relation to tax issues and related matters. When such stories do arise, we find that many people feel able to make confident (and wrong I) statements about what the Isle of Man is like and the scope of our business. This topic focuses on the role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy; we have two presiding officers: the President of Tynwald and the Speaker of the House of Keys. Both of us have a role to play in strengthening parliamentary democracy on behalf of Tynwald, the Isle of Man's parliament, and the wider community on the Isle of Man. Much of this work involves explaining to our own population as well as to visitors and to people who live elsewhere how the Island works, the extent to which it is firmly committed to the rule of law and democratic principles and the means by which the Isle of Man cooperates with other similar jurisdictions. The presiding officers on the Isle of Man provide leadership in developing action to achieve the objectives of parliamentary diplomacy in three main ways. • As presiding officers we take the lead with one of our primary objectives, which is to establish who we really are- and who we are not! We are a small independent community which manages its own affairs but which has a link to the United Kingdom. We have the world's oldest Parliament in continuous existence. We are not "just a rock with banks on it" or a tax haven or an uncooperative jurisdiction. And, just for the record, we have consistently been at the head of the queue in signing up to information exchanges with other jurisdictions, although in saying that I am leaving the realm of parliamentary diplomacy and trespassing on the legitimate area of government diplomacy! • The second area in which we as presiding officers take the lead is in leading discussions with partners from off-Island on Constitutional and parliamentary issues, which form a major part of our parliamentary diplomacy. Although the Crown Dependencies are independent jurisdictions we are linked to the United Kingdom, by way of the Queen. Ultimate sovereignty in international law lies with the United Kingdom. Devolution is a main issue internationally, so small branches that are connected politically to larger federal or other structures, as we are, are of interest. Our position of functional independence while enjoying ultimate guarantees from the UK are of interest to jurisdictions which are trying to settle new arrangements within their own borders. This part of our diplomacy involves action throughout the year. In our case, we are also of particular interest as we offer a I model that shares the best values of the United Kingdom's parliamentary traditions, but which is structurally entirely different from the Westminster model: it is a tricameral Parliament and there is no party system- our Members are almost all independent of political party. • Thirdly, as a presiding officer I have consistently found that strengthening personal links between the members of different parliaments enables us all to exchange our knowledge and experience in a suitable way. Fostering personal links is what associations have always " been about. Sometimes people refer dismissively to "talking shops" but we should never underestimate the political power of discussion between people and the strong influence of friendships forged during conferences and in the course of other activities sponsored by the CPA and other organizations such as this one. The British Irish Parliamentary Assembly is a good example of this. Meeting twice yearly, alternately in the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom, this is a forum where over 60 parliamentarians not holding executive office in government, from the 8 different parliaments which operate in the British Isles, meet to discuss matters of mutual interest to our respective jurisdictions- matters such as transport " links, energy policy, the Common Travel Area. These issues are of primary importance within ' ' " the Island of Ireland itself (which is to say between North and South which as different jurisdictions are always seeking greater security and cooperation)- but are also of interest to the devolved assemblies of the United Kingdom in Scotland and Wales and to the Crown Dependencies Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. This body, BIPA, is sometimes said to be little more than a talking shop for back bench politicians. What is completely forgotten by such critics is that when it was formed back in 1990, there was nobody talking to each other at all! The "troubles" in Northern Ireland (which only came to an end with the 1999 Good Friday Agreement) back then meant there was so much mutual suspicion between politicians on both sides of the border, that there was political impasse. Never mind the warring factions, or armed and bloody extremism which was rife during this period- at a political level nobody would even sit down together in the same room. Simply to talk I So the British Irish Parliamentary Body, as it was then called, an idea born in the Anglo Irish Agreement of 1985, was set up simply so that politicians from Westminster and Dublin could meet primarily as parliamentarians to talk, and simply get to know each other as individuals. Gradually the mutual suspicions broke down, and over time mutual respect and constructive dialogue took hold. Even better these politicians started to become friends. This helped paved the way for a climate where the Governments in London and Dublin could then themselves sit down with the various factions and negotiate a peaceful settlement, where bloodshed and strife gave way to normal life. Today, the Assembly, with its wider membership continues to talk and share ideas- against a background not of bloodshed but peace, and in so doing continues to foster respect, cooperation and real friendships across borders. So "talking shops" can be not only useful, but critical to the wellbeing of the people we represent". One area of constant concern is the public attitude to this form of diplomacy, which we must constantly justify, quite rightly, to local media. Presiding officers take the lead in explaining the value of international engagement, as I expect to have to do on our return from the Seychelles! So what does Tynwald do to deliver parliamentary diplomacy, under the leadership of the presiding officers? I • Although this topic is about the role of Speakers, we presiding officers all represent Members collectively. All our Members have a role to play- we merely provide leadership and example. Tynwald's policy is to develop personal links between all Members ofTynwald and Members from overseas: this involves receiving visitors at least as much if not more than travelling overseas. We put great efforts into spreading as much exposure among Members of our Parliament •• to visitors as possible. H • It is a major policy of the Isle of Man to engage with jurisdictions overseas on specific governance issues. We lay great emphasis on practical solutions to common problems. This has involved two distinct but linked approaches: we work with colleagues in other jurisdictions by providing shared services, such as Hansard (which we do with Guernsey, Gibraltar, Alderney etc.) [and I am pleased to be able to acknowledge the presence of our friends from Guernsey with whom we have been working successfully for some years now in providing a Hansard]*; and as well as that i' we provide guidance to other Parliaments on parliamentary administration issues. This latter strand ' ' ' ' of work is done in concert with various organizations such as the CPA, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the British Council (the last two being funded via the UK Foreign Office). We have recently worked with these partners to provide technical assistance to Sierra Leone; Kenya; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly; Laos; Falkland Islands Assembly; and St Helena Assembly. • The CPA is a main conduit for parliamentary diplomacy for us. Our aim, as a small jurisdiction within the CPA, is to provide support in particular to other small branches, rather than leaving it to the UK branch of the CPA taking the lead on guidance and cooperation. • What we do, others can do as well; we would like to promote Small Branches as centres of excellence when dealing with devolution matters and how to manage relations with larger "central/federal" jurisdictions or Parliaments. • To summarise, our branch diplomacy follows two main lines of practical action: Firstly, among Small Branches: D A common problem is limited resources; there is scope for much greater cooperation between branches pooling their resources. Providing Hansard services directly is one way (as we have seen with Gibraltar and Guernsey and others); but there is also the Sierra Leone example: we have helped to set up a new Hansard system and have also given guidance on research functions the aim should be that Small Branches help each other rather than seek help from larger jurisdictions. We have received various staff for training, the latest being the new Falklands Islands PAC clerk. [I should say, by the way, that Tynwald has an open door policy as far as receiving visitors is concerned. If any colleagues are interested in sending staff to us we would be delighted to talk about this later]. D There is much wider scope for sharing research functions and other support services among small branches than has been the practice up to now. Secondly, outward more generally: D Devolution of power from the centre to provincial or small jurisdictions is a major trend internationally, as I have mentioned. Many small branches are part of a larger federal structure; the Isle of Man has received many visitors who examine the Island's relationship with the UK, such as Kenya and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Concluding remarks t· There remains a significant question for discussion, which I have not enlarged upon, given the I limited time available: having described Tynwald's approach to parliamentary diplomacy and the i I presiding officers' role in it, I would like to leave the Working Group with a question for discussion, I,, which reflects what is a problem for us and, I suspect, other jurisdictions: • How can we cooperate better with Government? Sometimes, there is insufficient •• communication between Government and Parliament about the objectives of diplomacy and the scope for sharing the benefits of the links gained between parliamentarians. This is a problem for small as well as large jurisdictions. It is not always clear how we can ensure that the collective knowledge among parliamentarians and those in Government is pooled effectively. I invite the Working Group to consider how to ensure that there is proper cooperation between Government and Parliament in relation to achieving common objectives. This is a problem on the Isle of Man. The solution may be at the initiative of presiding officers; I look to colleagues for guidance! *if they are present in the room!! i . •• f' ' 1 Draft Speaking notes for the Commonwealth Speaker's Conference Mary Fran coli Associate Dean, Faculty of Public Affairs, Carleton University [email protected] This is the second time I've spoken about the use of technology to support member and house business this year. When I was preparing for the first talk in October I thought 'I think I've spoken on this before.' I went back through some I ; . older notes and sure enough almost ten years ago to the day I had given a talk on the same topic to a conference hosted by the Canadian Study of Parliament Group. The talk had focused on things like Facebook, which was still fairly new at the time, and blogs, which were also a bit mon; trendy at the time. What struck me in re-reading my old notes was that while the platforms have changed somewhat over •• the last ten years the opportunities, challenges and risks associated with increased connectivity really haven't. .. So, I thought what I'd do today is spend just a couple of minutes identifying some of those benefits and challenges, and then point out one thing- beyond the .. technology itself- that I think has changed over the last ten years. Benefits In some ways, it is difficult to speak to the benefits of technology and increased connectivity generally. Procedural services and parliamentary administration is diverse in its needs and activities. To get the most out of technology it is best to speak to the specific goals and audiences that you are targeting. Those supporting . ' " 2 the Speaker, or individual members of parliament will have different goals and audiences than those working with Hansard, in research, or for the press gallery. Some activities are likely better suited for connectivity with the world outside of the parliamentary precinct than others. Those working in logistics, or providing procedural and legislative advice might be more focused on internal connectivity. That said, there are some general benefits that can certainly be associated with social media. It can: • Create a space for dialogue • Push you closer to the public • Lead to a better understanding of public opinion • Help build credibility and trust • Support transparency • Reach a large number of people • Improve cost effectiveness; and also • Improve timeliness of information dissemination ~I Challenges On the other hand, there are some risks or challenges that are also commonplace. For example, • There can be a reputationalrisk if the use of social media appears inauthentic • Take-up can be unpredictable • There is no guarantee of productive dialogue. " •• 3 Parliament, I think, has some of its own unique institutional challenges as well. Two of the main challenges include Parliamentary protocol and the Parliamentary timetable. Parliamentary protocol can appear to be quite restrictive and this can clash with the fast paced nature of social media. Parliaments in many commonwealth countries have noted this tension. Things like Parliamentmy Privilege can be seen as more difficult to protect in the digital environment. One of the other challenges can be the Parliamentmy timetable. Building a viable I social media network and audience requires regular posting and activity. Many of I I the activities of parliament don't follow that regular schedule. Sometimes the i house isn't sitting, sometimes committees are busier than others, sometimes I chamber business runs long and dismpts committee start times .... there are many I irregularities. In those times where the house may not be sitting content still needs to be generated and accounts attended to so that interest is sustained and don't fall ~· I out of the public consciousness. These challenges are by no means insurmountable, but require a plan to: • Determine target audiences and to define goals r • To understand the expected nature of interactions and to manage those interactions that might not go quite as expected • To moderate and manage responses • To assess and manage risk • To think how you will use feedback you get from public contributions • To have criteria for measuring success ' ' " 4 • And to start with frank discussions abut the appropriateness of social media for what you are trying to accomplish. Connectivity- a changing political and institutional environment I think these benefits, challenges, and criteria for mitigating risks hold as true today as they did ten years ago when I was giving this talk. However, there has been one notable change that I've been witnessing over the last six years in particular. That change is related to the way that we talk about connectivity and parliaments, and the environment, both nationally and internationally, that l parliaments operate within. Over the last six years there has been a growing movement on "open parliaments" l. --this is an international movement that pushes legislatures to be more accountable via increased transparency, but also through greater connectivity with citizens. In 2012, parliamentary monitoring organizations fl·om 38 different countries got together in Washington to talk about international strategies for improving access to useable parliamentary information and sharing good practices in advocating for parliamentmy transparency and in monitoring parliamentary performance. Ultimately this led to a Declaration on Parliamentary Openness that is supported by over 180 organizations in 82 different countries. The timing of this cmTesponds directly with the establishment of the Open Government Partnership -an international initiative that seeks to improve accountability, transparency, and civic engagement. .' ., 5 Each country that is a member of the Open Government Partnership commits to developing a national action plan that outlines a range of commitments to improve openness and engagement. Some countries have made OGP action plan commitments to improve public consultation and connectivity in legislative or regulatory action. The Chilean Congress, for example, has included legislative openness commitments as part of the Chilean Action Plan-a first for parliamentmy participation in OGP. However, legislative engagement has been underemphasized in the action plans of many OGP member countries including Canada. Within the Open Government Partnership there is a Legislative Openness Working I Group. It was created with the intention of deepening the exchange of knowledge I across governments, parliaments, civil society and international institutions on the opportunities and challenges associated with opening the legislative processes and I greater connectivity. The Government of Canada, will be taking over as the co-chair of the Open Government Patinership in 2018 so it is a particularly important moment in time for us here in Canada to be thinking about parliament and connectivity. •• In short, what has shifted over the last ten years, I think, is an environment that makes more explicit linkages between connectivity and legislatures. An r environment that emphasizes peer learning among different types of legislatlll'es, and an environment that has, at least rhetorically, more political support, and a more firm framework for engaging in change. Ten years ago the discussion was more about the technology and the architecture of the platforms. The discussions and open parliament movement today tries to link this to larger questions about why and how connectivity takes place, and the . ' " 6 unique challenges that legislatures might face. It is an environment, that is more conducive to purposeful change. Your conference is a fantastic example of peer learning. I hope this conversation continues and that you are about to bring home a number of interesting lessons and thoughts. Enjoy the rest of your conference! I \ l r I I, " . ' 24th CSPOC Conference, Victoria, Seychelles, 10 January 2018 Speech of Hon'ble Speaker of Lol{ Sabha, India on Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning ofLegislatures Hon 'ble Chairman and Distinguished Delegates: • Busy Legislators o The modem day legislator is an extremely busy person with variety of roles to perform. o He has to attend sittings of the House and the Committees, developmental needs of his constituency, demands of his party. He r has to take care of his family and personal life, I o This being the typical scenario, where is the time for the legislator i to gather reliable information on the issues relevant in the discharge l. of his duties as a public representative. o Law making is becoming very complex. Different interest groups are at play. (For example Climate change related issues, GM crops, Nuclear power are some of the issues which have .several complicated aspects and it is not easy to decide either way) o Legislation has far reaching consequences for common public and it affects their life in a major way. o With the advances made in the science and technology the powers and functions of the Government and consequently the role and responsibility of the legislator as well are expanding. • Demanding Public o Public is very demanding and the accountability of Legislators is very high. . ' '' 2 o Legislators come from vanous backgrounds and educational qualifications so it is not possible for eve1y Legislator to be an expert on every subject. o As public representatives we have to strike balance between various interest groups. Environment protection versus development Poverty versus progress. Short term inconvenience versus long term benefits etc. o Sometimes we are not in a position to take the best decisions but we have to take least problematic or troublesome decisions o People are used to certain life style and practices. It is not easy to convince them to change. o In India our popular Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken several bold decisions like Demonetization, Digital India and biggest ever tax reform of GST. o As public representatives, how do we convmce people to understand the benefits of these reforms against short term difficulties in their implementation? o From my experience I have seen that if public representatives are pro-active, well informed and is able to convince the people about benefits for people then the results are smooth and public accepts and welcomes all such changes wholeheartedly. o I have seen this in my constituency. We have launched Clean India Mission and because of Public Private Partnership my city Indore has been declared the' cleanest city' in India. o It is in this context we have to see the need for research and information services. • Library and Research Services in Parliaments 3 o All modem Legislatures are equipped with libraries and research services which play a vital role in empowering the legislators with authentic information that members need to function as an effective Parliamentarian and ensure the welfare of people. o Well-researched information and reasoned analysis on the basis of authentic data contribute to the understanding of problems and enables the legislator to provide acceptable and effective legislative solutions to problems. o As we all are aware the modem Legislature is endowed principally with three functions; legislative function, constitutional amendment t function and oversight function. I ' o It is the responsibility of the legislators to collectively ensure that governance is carried on in accordance with the law and that ,,' policies and programmes are formulated within the framework of the law. o In order to discharge these functions ably and efficiently, it is imperative that members are supported by a well-organised and well-trained research and information service. o I am happy to say that we have one such service in our Parliament. It is called LARRDIS meaning Library, Research, r Reference, Documentation and Information Service. o When the government is the only source of information, or when what is available is not transparent, legislators are constrained in their ability to hold the Executive to account, failing which the institution of Parliament is perceived as an ineffective body by the public . .' 4 o There is, an imperative to customize the information to suit the specific needs of members according to relevance and authenticity. o Parliamentarians need factual information, comparative data, arguments- pros and cons, explanations of purpose and effect in legislation, explanatory, analytical and interpretative notes which will assist them to carry out their duties. o Reference Service looks after a Member's needs not only in his capacity as a legislator but as the elected representative of a constituency and as a member of Committees, and as a person deeply involved in a wide range of public affairs. o The functions of the Research and Information Division are broadly to assess in advance the information requirements of members by anticipating and identifYing subjects of contemporary interests, including legislative measures. The Division brings out Brochures, Information and Legislative Bulletins, Background Notes, Research Notes, etc on various topical subjects. o Besides, it prepares a large number of Briefs, Statements, Resolutions, etc., for Parliamentary Delegations going abroad on good-will visits or for Conferences organized by multilateral parliamentary bodies such as the IPU, CPA; SAARC, BRICS, etc. • BPST o We have a capacity building arm in the form of Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST) in the Lok Sabha Secretariat which organises Orientation Programmes for newly elected members of the Lok Sabha- the House of People and members of the State Legislative Assemblies. BPST also organises Study Visits and customized Programmes for the Parliamentarians 5 from various Countries. In the last four years, BPST has organized 86 Study Visits/customized Programmes for various countries wherein 1486 Delegates have participated. o BPST also organizes annually two flagship Programmes Parliamentary Internship Programme and International Training Programme in Legislative Drafting - of one month duration each. Officials of Parliament & governments from almost 30 countries participate in these two Programmes. 9 such Programmes which were organized by BPST in the last four years were attended by 364 participants. o Let me mention that BPST has organised Programmes for the ! National Assembly of Seychelles also: an Attachment Progranune for 2 Officials from the National Assembly of Seychelles in 2009 ' ,,' and a Study Visit for Parliamentary Delegation in 2013. The objective of such Programmes was to engage the Delegates in interactions with the veteran Parliamentarians ofindia and to share with them their experiences of working in Parliament and make them understand the Parliamentary Processes and Procedures of Indian Parliament. o The parliamentary officials from Seychelles have attended the 27th, 29th, 30th and 32nd Parliamentary Internship Programmes. '' • SRI o I would like to explain a measure introduced by me as Speaker. It is called the Speakers' Research Initiative (SRI). It has been launched to provide an additional layer of research support for Members. I' ' ' " 6 o While the existing research infrastructure provides the information needed by Members by way of collating from published sources. o I realized that Members need a different level of input with regard to policy issues and other matters of national concern. o When the Government introduced a new tax regime called the Goods and Services Tax, I realized that Members needed a proper orientation on the new initiative as they would have to explain the system to their constituents. In such a scenario, reading alone may not help. One needs to listen to domain experts who can provide analysis of a given subject where Members can raise questions and concerns and seek clarifications in order to develop a better understanding of a given issue. o SRI has organized a series of 23 workshops since July 2015 on different subjects during the Session time. This proved to be very helpful to Members as they showed a keen interest in the presentations made on the subjects, asked relevant questions and got their doubts clarified from specialists drawn from different sectors of our national life such as the media, academia, science and technology, civil services, legal profession, etc. SRI also undertakes Research Fellowship Programme by engaging 25 Fellows every two years with a research Grant ofiNR 10.50 lakh (USD 16,500) to produce books of topical interest to Members. 17 such Fellows are currently working on their research. Similarly, SRI also engages 25 interns for one month and three months each respectively every year and makes some of them available to Parliamentary Standing Committees to lend a hand in research and reference work. 7 o This has yielded the desired results and I am, indeed, happy to share it with you. • Staff Training o Finally, Research staff needs effective training m legislative research, which is different from ordinary research, in order to maximise the accuracy and usefulness of information. o Exposure to other Parliamentary Research Services and events would help in knowledge sharing, adoption of best practices, getting a wider perspective and sharpen their skills. o Besides, the staff needs to be encouraged to pursue higher studies, attend various seminars and discussions including doctoral studies I in subjects relevant to parliamentary research and information in I order to deepen knowledge and expertise which will be useful for I the institution and their career progression. o Modem Parliaments are evolving as high technology hubs. I believe that strengthening of research services will immensely help in improving the quality of service. • Thank you. ; ~ ' ' ' " 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth The Seychelles, January 2018 ., STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH FOR THE EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF LEGISLATURES I Richard McMahon, Deputy Bailiff of Guernsey Introduction For a jurisdiction such as Guernsey, with little or no formal research capacity to assist Members' own endeavours, the obvious way of strengthening the position would be to establish some resource to which parliamentarians can tum, on the basis that anything must be better than nothing. To an extent, therefore, I have approached this topic as an exercise in comparing and contrasting the various models already in existence in Commonwealth parliaments, including proposals for how they might also be enhanced, with a view to identifying what the optimum solution might be. However, as June Venier noted in 2000, "one size certainly does not fit all. There is no template for the development ofa 1 p.prliamentary research service" • More recently, the Guidelir1es for Parliamentary Research Services2 published jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International i'ederation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in'2015, and from which I have drawn quite heavily, have confirmed that "Parliamentary research services are shaped by the culture and traditions ofthe context from which they emerge. There are no "recipes" to follow." I should note at the outset that I am drawing a clear distinction between topical research and answers to procedural questions. Parliamentary clerks and legal advisors to speakers and presiding officers are well-equipped to assist on procedural matters but may not be the best placed to undertake the type of research, including identifYing and commenting on misinformation (so-called "fake news"), that this workshop topic addresses. 1 June R Verrier, How to establish a parliamentary research service: does one size fit all?, (Jerusalem: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2000). 2 h..tffis://www.-ifla.org/publications/node/9759 (referred to herein as "The IPU/IFLA Guidelines"). i' 1 . ' .' In starting with effectively a blank sheet of paper, I do hope there will be one or more aspects that will aid those parliaments with more highly developed research organisations to reflect on ways of improving what their parliamentarians already enjoy. It is through sharing of ideas in sessions like these that attendance at this Conference can benefit us all. I propose to address the issues raised through: (i) offering a brief overview of the position in Guernsey; (ii) briefly comparing the approaches to parliamentary research in a handful of jurisdictions; (iii) considering the dangers presented by the growth in awareness of"fake news"; (iv) identifying the rationale for parliamentarians to be given some assistance to perform their functions and how doing so can make the legislative process better; and (v) dra~ing some conclusions as to what might be the optimum solutlon for a jurisdiction such as Guernsey. The position in Guernsey 3 Guernsey's Assembly, the States of Deliberation, comprises 40 voting Members • There are no party politics; each member is elected as an independent. There is no distinction between government and opposition. Technically, all members are in government!. However, government largely operates through delegation to committees: currently the Policy & Resources Committee and six other Principal Committees with wide mandates, plus several 5 more specialised Boards and Authorities . There is a small Scrutiny Management Committee to which the function of leading and co-ordinating the scrutiny of Committees undertaking governmental functions and other organisations in receipt of public funds has been delegated. This involves reviewing mid examining legislation, policies, services and the use of monies ,, ,, and other resources. Within each Committee, research is undertaken by civil servants, with that research being incorporated into policy letters submitted for debate by the full Assembly. Those policy letters may propose the drafting oflegislation or they may relate to what are more properly 3 15 years ago there were 57 voting Members. The Bailiff, as Presiding Officer (or, in his absence, the Deputy Bailiff), plus the two Law Officers (Her Majesty's Procureur/Attorney~General and Her Majesty's Comptroller/SolicitorwGeneral) are the three non-voting members of the States of Deliberation. 4 In the Preamble to the Rules of Procedure of the States of Deliberation and Their Committees (accessible from https://www.gov.gg/rulesofurocedure) it is explained that ''parliamentary and governing fimctions are jilsed in one body, the States ofDeliberation. Guernsey is governed not just through its parliament but by its parliament. ... Committees of the States- individually or collectively- are in no way analogous to an executive or government. A Committee is in effect an agent of the States of Guernsey exercisingfimctions conferred on it by resolution of, or legislation approved by, the States ofDeliberation." 5 There are no individuals holding ministerial powers. Indeed, the States of Guernsey, as the government, is a single legal entity. 2 categorised as executive decisions. In reality, whatever the format, this means there is a single source of government output supporting the propositions for debate in parliament and on which decisions are then taken. Unlike in larger places, perhaps the majority of those represented here, there is no university generating research papers and no identifiable "think tanks" producing the stream of material with which others are familiar. The Jersey and Guernsey Law Review6 is possibly the closest one gets to a domestic legal research journal. There are also interest groups within the business sector, eg, the Chamber of Commerce, which offer views and comment on policy initiatives, but again not generally in the format of fully reasoned and cross-referenced research output. In trnth, there is a paucity of this type of unsolicited material from which parliamentarians elsewhere benefit, but that is hardly surprising for a community of fewer than 65,000 people. Guernsey has occasionally flirted with the notion of providing better support to its parliamenlarians, but has signally shied away from doing so. In a Revi~w of the Machinery of Governm~;nt, which reported in November 20007, it was recognised tha.t "Members of the States are poorly supported when compared with the support given to parliamentarians in other similar sized jurisdictions". Consequently, the suggestion was made that States Members properly require inter alia library and research facilities. However, the Committees tasked with developing the findings of that Review did not progress matters as they might have done. Initially, they agreed that there should be some library/research facility and facilities for support staff', but these proposals were predicated on there being an appropriately equipped dedicated States Chamber. Once the idea of such a Chamber was dropped9, any proposal for such facilities as ancillary thereto simply disappeared10 • More recently, the States Review Committee advocated the importance of statistics and research being seen to be entirely free from political interference 11 and there is an outstanding workstream to re-visit this issue, although there are as yet no signs of that happening soon. In the same timeframe as these unfulfilled proposals, in March 2011, the States of Deliberation did resolve12 to adopt the six Core Principles of Good Governance as '' determined by the UK Independent CJmmission on Good Governance in Public Services. The fourth principle is that "good governance means taking informed, transparent decisions and managing risk!', where one of the sub-principles is "Having and using good quality " information, advice and support". It may appear rather contradictory to aspire to that level of good governance without at the same time adequately equipping Members to perfonn the 6 See, eg, https://www .jersey] aw. je/publications/j glr/P ages/default.asux. 7 https:/lgov. ggiCHttpHandler.ashx?id= 79138&o=O. 8 Billet d'Etat No. VII of2002, para. 4.1. 1.8 (accessible from https://www.gov.gg/index.aspx?articleid=l50578). 9 The States of Deliberation continue to convene at the Royal Court House in the principal courtroom. 10 See the subsequent report at Billet d'Etat No. VII of2003 (accessible from https://www. gov. gg/article/150565/States-Meetin g-oo-14th-May-2003-Bi IJets-VII-XI). 11 Billet d'Etat No. XII of 2015 (https://www.gov.gg/article/120613/States-Mceting-on-7th-Ju1y-2015-Billet XIl). 12 Article VI of Billet d'Etat No. IV of 2011 (accessible from https://www.gov.gg/miicle/150466/States Mccting-on-30th-March-2011-Billets-IV-V). ;, 3 ' ' .. function of challenging whether the decisions they are being asked to take are indeed based on the best information available. Those Members scrutinising proposals from Committees on which they do not sit can seek assistance from the civil servants serving the originating Committee, but it inevitably follows that the extent of the research undertaken will be unlikely to challenge the findings already reported13 . In effect, Guernsey Members are left to their own devices. The solution found to date appears to revolve around spending some hundreds of pounds equipping each Member with a computer from a variety of options given to each of them ( eg, principally whether to choose an iPad or a laptop) and then expecting them to know how to conduct their own researches without any further input beyond the rather rudimentary induction session for new Members following a General Election. In Guernsey, there is little by way of physical library resources made available to Members and certainly no one who would be identified as a librarian and who might be willing and able to undertake some basic research functions on 14 behalf of any Member making such ,,an enquiry • It is against that background that th~re is a fresh canvas on which to develop some form of r parliamentary research capacity, provided, of course, that there is the political will to do so. As the Bailiff of Jersey noted in 2014, "in the current economic climate members are reticent I to be seen to [be] spending sums on themselves and are not willing to vote extra sums to 15 increase support services" , and there are no signs that the position is any more positive in 2018. I The models elsewhere ," Starting with the United Kingdom, through the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), MPs at Westminster are entitled to claim for staffing costs where such staff support them in performing their parliamentary functions 16 . Typically, an MP will split his or her staff between a parliamentary and a constituency office. This may involve employing one or morerlesearch assistants. The work of an MP's researcher can per~aps most 13 At their meeting in January 2018, the States of Deliberation will debate The Future Structure ofSecondary and Post-16 Education in the Bailiwick (see https://www.gov.gg/article/162613/The-Future-Structure-of Secondary-and-Post-16-Education-in-the-Bailiwick). The propositions of the Committee for Education, Spmt and Culture will face an amendment proposing an Alternative Model, resulting from a report prepared by four Deputies (accessible from https://www. gov. gg/article/ 163 057/AI ternative-proposals-for-the-future-of- s econdary-ed ucati on-have-been-pub I ished-today-Bel ow-is-a-statement-from-those-deputies-behind-the nroposals-and-the-full-report-is-available-in-the-downloads-section-on-this-page). Those four Deputies were assisted by further research work undertaken under the auspices of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture, which sought from, and was granted by the Policy & Resources Committee an increase in its budget of £93,000 in order to provide that assistance to those Deputies. 14 VetTier (op cit) describes "the traditionallibrmy skills of searching, sifting and sorting, and analyst skills of synthesising and assessing", but they do not exist in Guernsey so the option of developing some research capacity out of existing parliamentary library provision is not even available. 15 Sir Michael Birt, Small Parliaments- Big Challenges, CSPOC22, Wellington, 2014, para. 7. 16 See, eg, The Scheme ofMPs' Business Costs and Expenses 2017-18 published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards A nth ority (http://www. th ci psa. or g. uk/pu bl i cations/scheme-of-mps-busi ness-costs I expensesD. l ' 4 ' ' J appropriately be viewed as an extension of what could be undertaken by the MP in person if time permitted. The MP enjoys the benefit of a small team enabling him or her to function more effectively. The nature of the employment relationship is such that all the work done is performed at the direction and under the control of the MP. Inevitably, the MP will want answers to issues that arise that have a direct bearing on his or her own constituency work, as well as on topics on which the MP may wish to make a contribution in parliament outside the responsibilities attaching to any ministerial office, where civil service support will be available to assist. As an enhancement of that traditional model, t" . .t can instead, or in addition, be made in respect of pooled staffing services, which provide research, briefing and drafting services to groups ofMPs where such pooled services have an arrangement with IPSA. The Parliamentary Research Service is a pooled research facility working for approximately 150 Labour Party MPs. The benefit of such pooled services is the ability to employ more specialists whose work can be shared across the group of MPs, albeit at the price of!osing 'i •I personal control over when exactly a piece of research can be prioritised. However, one advantage must be that there is a broader range of expertise, or specialisms, within a larger group of researchers than would be available within the one or two researchers directly 17 employed by a single parliamentarian . There are similar models in other well-established regimes across the Commonwealth. For i I example, I understand that in Canada, the Board of Internal Economy sets the Members' Office Budget, which can be allocated in part towards employing research assistance, and that an average backbench MP in Australia can employ four full-time members of staff within a specified pay range, one or more of whom can be tasked with undertaking research. Canada also provides a well-funded library, governed by the Parliament of Canada Act 1985 and subordinate measures thereunder, which aims to provide a comprehensive research service. Similarly, in Australia the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 establishes the office of Parliamentary Librarian whose primary function is to provide high quality, impartial, timely ,, and confidential information, analysis and advice to senators and members of the House of Representativ<;~ in suppmt of their parliamentary and representational roles 1 ~. Other jurisdictions have opted to establish centralised parliamentary research services rather than making provision for individual members. For example, the National Assembly in Kenya has its Parliamentary Research Services, established in November 2003 19 The rationale for the service is explained in the following terms: 17 As Venier, op cit notes: "one or two individual dedicated staff, no matter how earnest, intelligent and hard working, cannot possibly hope to compete with a group of research specialists trained to provide advice in a parliamentary context, especially when the role ofpersonal staff will necessarily be so much broader". 18 See, eg, section 5 of the Annual Report 2016-17 of the Department of Parliamentary Services (htms://www.aph.gov.au/About Parliament/Parliamentary Departments/Department of Parliamentary Service s/Publications/ Annual Report 2016-17). 19 See Fact Sheet No. 15, The Parliamentary Research Services (accessible from http://www.parliament.go.ke/index.php/the-national-assemblvlresources). .' 5 . ' '' ~··. " ... the ultimate reason for establishing a parliamentary research service is to provide non-partisan and balanced analysis that is adapted to the research needs of parliamentarians." Its services are both demand driven and anticipatory. Among its specific outputs are policy analysis and policy briefs, background and position papers, Bill digests and analyses, briefing notes and issue analysis and motion notes (containing both supporting and opposing arguments so as to facilitate fully-informed debate). The Services are sub-divided into four divisions (agriculture, envirorunent and natural resources; economics and trade; governance and political affairs; and social policy). This builds specialisation and improves efficiency through easier administration and supervision, a by-product of which is greater quality control. A similar approach is taken in Fiji, where the Research and Library Services have evolved . out of its parliament's Library so that it can respond to individual members' requests and it ., also undertakes proactive research to suppmt parliamentary' committees as well as publishing 20 research briefings . It offers a confidential service responding to requests from Members, perhaps recognising that not every Member would wish every question posed to be known to other Members or indeed the public. Although the services offered in some Commonwealth parliaments are clearly more extensive than in others, there remains a concern that there is generally scope for allocating more resource if improvements are to be achieved. For example, in a Review ofInformation 21 Support Systems at the Parliament of Ghana in July 2015 , the Research Department of 10 permanent staff was regarded as "generally under-staffed and poorly resourced''. Ultimately, the resource issue is likely to be relative- a ratio of 10 researchers for 275 parliamentarians will inevitably be stretched thinner than, say, five or six researchers for parliaments of 50 or fewer members. Proliferation of (mis )information- "fake news" ,, What is apparent is that the amount of information available in the 21 '' century far exceeds the amount that was traditionally available previously. Information also comes in a different format thanks to the constantly expanding internet. As a result, a fresh approach to how to make the best use of that information as a means of enhancing the functioning of our parliaments seems timely. Otherwise there is a risk of"infonnation overload", with the possibility of parliamentarians being submerged and unable to function effectively or possibly being tempted to cut comers so that misinfonnation is inadvertently circulated 20 See http://www .parliament. gov. fi/research-and-library-services/. 21 Ghana Infonnation Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS) (accessible from https://www.gov.uk/dtid research-outputs/review-of-infonnation-suppmt-systems-at-the-pat·Iiament-of-ghana). 6 without being adequately checked and so gains unwarranted traction. As Keith Cuninghame 22 puts it in Guidelines for Legislative Libraries : "The lifeblood ofparliaments is information, so parliaments need information services to help them to manage the information flows that sustain democracy across the world." Consequently, the concern is less about finding information and more about sifting from the wealth of information available that which is most useful and discarding that which has no value. This is perhaps why Cuninghame labels the activities of a researcher as those of a "broker" of information23 . Research undertaken on behalf of a Member at his or her own direction, or even more broadly within a party regime's machinery or as a result of information sourced from a lobby 24 o~ otl1er interest group, is likely to involve pursuing a particulm: agenda • Even in a place like Guernsey, where there is no regime of assistance or support, the self-directed research of a Member will most likely involve seeking to gather evidence supporting a particular political stance to be adopted. A Google (or other internet) search will provide much material from which to find some level of support. If the principal or only reason for conducting the search in the first place is to have some source to quote, the risk is that a busy parliamentarian who is really no more proficient then an informed "mnateur" with a computer may not be fully equipped to assess and analyse the quality of that information in as meaningful a way as 25 someone who has been trained to undertake those tasks . This is where the dangers associated with "fake news" can have a serious inlpact. In November 2017, it was announced by those responsible for Collins Dictionary that "fake news" was named the word of the year for 201726. Use of the term had increased by 365% since 2016, attributed to its use, possibly even overuse, by the President of the United States of America. However, labelling some piece of information as "fake news" without being able fully to explain why that is the case can be viewed as a tactic designed to undermine it simply because it supports a different position from that preferred by the person attaching the label, ie, it is used as a means of discrediting the information rather than objectively demonstrating its falsity. .. The UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee is currently holding an 27 inquiry on "Fake News" , which is in its evidence-gathering phase. ill doing so, it asks what is meant by "fake news". If the term means false, often sensational, infonnation 22 2nd ed, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Publication 140, 2009. 23 Op cit, chapter 7. 24 Miller, Pelizzo and Stapenhurst, op cit, page 8, suggest that in order to be free from partisanship, the research service should be free from influence by the Speaker as well. 25 "Accessing information may be easier than in the past, but more specialised knowledge is needed to assess that information and analyse the impacts and effects of different options to address public policy issues.": The IPU/IFLA Guidelines, page !9. 26 See, eg, http://www .independent. co. uk/news/uk/home-news/fake-news-word-of-the-year-20 17-collins di cti on m·y -donald-trump-kell yanne-con way-anti fa -corbynm an ia -a 803 2 7 51. html. 27 l!.tl.Q:!/www. parliament. uk/busi ness/committees/committees-a-z/com mons-s elect!d i gi ta 1- cuI ture-med i a-and sport-committee/inguiries/parliament-20 17/fake-news-17-19/. 7 , ' t' disseminated under the guise of news repmting, that may be regarded as less concerning to or damaging upon the parliamentary process than if the concept extends to state-sponsored misinfonnation from another jurisdiction aimed at influencing public opinion and perception on a given topic. There is, of course, nothing new in propaganda. However, any systemic undermining of the use to which information is being put by legislators could have serious consequences and it ought to be in all our interests to co-ordinate our efforts against them.. It would be troubling in any parliament if a busy parliamentarian, especially one lacking access to appropriate assistance, were to cite as authoritative some piece of information that is then shown to be false. For the Member involved, it could lead to allegations of misleading parliament, a serious offence everywhere that would be personally damaging and so ideally avoided, but more pertinently it would skew the evidence base for decisions as dictated by the good governance principles, which in tum has an adverse impact on the confidence the public need to have in parliament as the source of its laws .. This could be regarded as being as good a reason as any for establishing a research service "to provide neutral analysis coveting the spectrum ofperspectives through products and servides that are 28 non-partisan and offered to governing and opposition parties a/ike" • However, in the absence of any credible research capability on which to draw, who is to know whether a statement articulated as fact is accurate or not? As Cuninghame puts it: " ... in exercising oversight of the executive, parliamentarians are likely to be up against a government bureaucracy with substantial resources at its command: if the parliamentarian is to make an impact, he or she needs his or her own sources of information. "29 Another way to view what would otherwise be an imbalance of research resources is to compare it to court proceedings, where we often bemoan the situation when there is not a level playing field, ie, an equality of anus, and take steps to redress those imbalances by providing publicly funded assistance to litigants who would otherwise not be in a position to proceed with their claim or. defence. Within the parliamentary context, I think it would be short-sighted for a government not to recognise that there exists a public perception that the quality of decision-making will be enhanced if those who wish to run counter-argument§ have access to some research facilities to assist them in scrutinising substantively what the government proposes. It is a truism that the strength of one side of an argument is only as good as the proponent's ability to recognise and rebut contrary contentions. The need to equip Members to avoid the potential pitfalls brought about by the volume of information available to them multiplying rapidly involves someone, whether the parliamentarian or, more likely, someone with research expertise and experience, having the 30 time and skill to make a qualitative judgment about reliability and authenticity • For example, checking any sources quoted so as to plot an audit trail of verifiable accuracy can be time-consuming and not the best used of a parliamentarian's own time. As a result, it makes 28 The IPU/IFLA Guidelines, page 13. 29 Op cit, chapter 2. 30 See, eg, Cuninghame, op cit, chapter 7. 8 much more sense, comparable to the work of the civil service when formulating the govermnent's output, to entrust these functions to those qualified to undertake them, Aside from the possibility of regulatory bodies being able to tackle false facts, the principal means for parliamentarians to guard against using misinformation seems to be to have adequate resources devoted to assessing the reliability and accuracy of information and, where false information is unearthed, to be in a position to share widely that the information is verifiably false. In this way, those searching for information should have the means to disregard the proven misinformation and take comfort that the facts to be synthesized and presented in a balanced manner are genuinely from the best sources available so as to offer added value to the client parliamentarian. This solution involves critical analysis of the vast array of information available and that will inevitably be resource-hungry. In times of austerity across public services, introducing such a solution will often appear less palatable, in particular because it does not produce outcomes that are readily tangible. •J I Rationale for providing research services I However, there is a solid argument that having some research capacity is not a luxury but an essential component of a democratic society. In his foreword to the Guidelines for Parliamentary Research Services, the Secretary General of the IPU wrote: I "Well-resourced parliamentary research services are one ofthe building blocks ofan effective parliament. They are of incalculable value as a source ofindependent, neutral and non-partisan analysis. They offer a safe space where parliamentarians from all political parties can ask questions and get answers they can trust. They contribute to a parliament's autonomy by providing a reality check on the perspectives put forward by the executive branch ofgovernment, lobby groups and I the news media. Their analysis informs a parliament's legislative and oversight work and provides parliamentarians with the information they need to do their job well. "31 l. According to Robert Miller a'hd others: "The role of the parliamentary library or research service is to search for the right ,, information, integrate it with other materials, synthesize it and translate it into non technical terms and to disseminate it to all parliamentarians in a form that is as objective and nonpartisan as possible. "32 With those ideals in mind, my thoughts about why it is desirable, if not essential, for there to be an adequate research capacity available to Members so as to improve the quality of debate and decision-making and so enhance the effective functioning of the parliamentary assembly are as follows. 31 The IPU/IFLA Guidelines, page 4. 32 Miller, Pelizzo and Stapenhurst, Parliamentary Libraries, Institutes and Offices: The Sources of Parliamentary Information (World Bank Institute, 2004). .' 9 ' ' .' ' ' As just mentioned, the risk to a parliamentarian attempting to conduct his or her own research without expert assistance is that "fake news" may slip through the net and be advanced as the reason to support the parliamentarian's viewpoint. Not only does this result in ill-informed debate, there seems to be a strong possibility that it will impact on parliamentary time. The parliamentarian advancing the case will find others wishing to argue the contrary position, again with the risk that any source material being cited is equally flawed. Exchanges in debate relying on inadequately researched positions are unlikely to assist other Members in deciding the best outcome. It also follows that any resulting legislation may not be the most appropriate to solve the mischief at which it is aimed or, at the least, that more valuable parliamentary time than strictly necessary will have been needed to reach that outcome. In considering how best to make research services available, one potentially difficult area that will have to be addtessed is whether the entirety of a research service's output is to be made public. The obvious benefit is that other parliamentarians and the public at large are better informed as a result. The disadvantage is that a parliamentarian may be less inclined to make an enquiry for information if his or her identiiy is also publicised as the enquirer. For example, the Member may not want it known that a particular line of enquiry is being pursued at that time because it would not be politically expedient for that to enter the public domain or it may be as benign as not wishing to be criticised for not knowing something already. On balance, at least at the outset, it seems preferable to establish a responsive service on a confidential basis. The identity of the Member seeking an answer to an issue should be capable of being kept secret if the Member so wishes. In that way, any concerns about being seen to ask a stupid question or fear that a particular political line will become public knowledge earlier than would be ideal can be mitigated. The use of an intranet across parliament might be feasible as a means of circulating more widely the service's product to parliamentarians and, where applicable, their staff, than to the public. Clearly, for anticipatory output, such as briefing papers and Bill analyses, this should be made available as widely as possible as early as possible, enabling parliamentarians to digest it and, where appropriate, consider seeking further research clarification before the m'\)ter is debated in the Assembly. The responses to individual ~nquiries are less easily categorised in that way, but there should be scope for some of the service's product to be capable of being disseminated more widely than just to the enquirer, especially where it could have some more general utility. I suspect it is an issue on which the practices of the service would have to evolve as its credibility develops rather than some fonnula being applied, eg, where a similar question is asked by more than one Member, dictating whether it should automatically reach a wider audience. The parameters of the services offered must be made clear for the service to operate as effectively as possible. Being non-partisan, it would not be the role of the service to engage in political speech-writing or direct correspondence with constituents". Those are the functions of the Member and any staff employed for such purposes. Building on one of the topics from CSPOC23, the existence of the service and how to make the best use of it really 33 The IPU/IFLA Guidelines, page 25. 10 should be a core topic for the orientation and continuing development of parliamentarians34 . Indeed, there would be a strong argument for regularly refreshing Members' awareness of what the service can offer throughout a parliamentary term. By way of a simple example, if a Member wants an answer for a particular purpose where it is time-sensitive, it would be necessary for the researcher undertaking that work to know the date by which it is needed. If the request is made using a template form, the form should be designed to elicit all the relevant points to ensure that the product of the service is usable by the Member. If the approach is made less fonnally, those working for the service and the parliamentarians themselves should be encouraged to liaise adequately to avoid any such misunderstandings. When it comes to populating any research service, care will need to be taken to put together the most effective team and to build it as demands on the service grow. Any service necessarily has to be interdisciplinary in nature. Initially, broad areas of law and economics are likely to be regarded as most appropriate35 , but there is a strong argument for having staff who can read in' a number of languages, because the ability to review infmmation from ,, •J elsewhere in different languages may well make the service more rounded and so credible in I the eyes of Members. I take that view because a large part of any research service ought to be devoted to making comparative studies and, wherever possible, those comparisons should not be constrained by language barriers. It is all too easy for those of us whose first language is English to think that the best sources of information will necessarily be found in that language. I Those working for the service also need to be capable of understanding the different ways in which their parliamentary "clients" would like to have the information sought presented. Within a small team and a small parliament, this is more readily managed than perhaps it can be in larger jurisdictions. The required level of understanding becomes a two-way iterative process in which each side learns from and develops alongside the other. Whilst there ought to be an objective approach to organising, analysing, evaluating, interpreting and summarising facts, the actual output can I believe properly be tailored to suit individual ' . parliamentarians' expressed preferences and needs. It is clear that there is no one size fits all soluti.on. •• Conclusions In an ideal world, ie, one without significant financial constraints, the optimum solution to assist parliamentarians would in my view be a hybrid one, by which I mean a combination of personally-employed research resources (extending to where the researchers are shared across like-minded groups of Members with common interests) as well as access to a non-partisan, professional department, probably under the auspices of the parliament itself rather than entirely separate from it, the core function of which is to provide information, advice and 34 Miller, Pelizzo and Stapenhurst, op cit, page 7: "Parliamentarians need to know how to use the information that they have. Often this requires training for both them and, perhaps more especially, for their staff" 35 The IPUIIFLA Guidelines, page 27. 11 . ' .' conduct research and policy analysis so as to advance and inform parliamentary discourse. In the less than ideal world in which we are forced to operate, any choice between the different models available will depend on the existing cultural and traditional context, but I believe that for a jurisdiction like Guernsey with little or no existing parliamentary research resource establishing an appropriately sized non-partisan service accessible by all parliamentarians is likely to offer the best solution from which to develop a more-enhanced service in time. It strikes me that a small team covering a variety of disciplines is likely to be more cost effective than allocating resources to the parliamentarians themselves, where there exists the risk of duplicated effort and so wasted expense. There ought to be economies of scale available, because the service would, even when responding to enquiries made confidentially, be able to use its repository of knowledge when answering. Further, if this were to be coupled with a form of parliamentary intranet, the output of the setvice should be capable of being disseminated fairly broadly across the parliamentary spectrnm. However, any service is only going to be as useful and effective as the ability of the Members to use it appropriately. It is all too easy to think that just making available solne resource is sufficient, whereas there really needs to be a full programme of explaining to Members what the service can provide and what it cannot in order to help them to make the best use of it. Such an approach should also foster a better element of co-operation between service provider and user. The aim should be to equip Members in their roles as parliamentarians to perform effectively. Parliamentarians have responsibilities on a number of different levels. Perhaps the reason why Guernsey has been slow to recognise the importance of distinguishing between these different functions is because each Member of the States of Deliberation plays a greater or lesser role in government, and also has the function of scrutinising what is happening elsewhere in that government. There are very few Members who do not sit on one or more of the Committees performing delegated govermnental functions. However, those Conunittee responsibilities, to whatever degree they exist, are accompanied by the Member's constituency and other responsibilities. Ihdeed, given the smallness of the Island, both geographically and by reference to popu\iltion, constituency responsibilities can for some Members expand into responding to concerns of any Islander, even one outside the Electoral District the Deputy represents. Quite understandably, some Members are more skilled than others when it comes to gathering information to perform those functions. I incline to the view that the people of Guernsey would find themselves better setved by their parliamentarians if a small amount of the resource available were diverted so as to be allocated to support Members as parliamentarians rather than being exclusively devoted to supporting the government side of things. However, it will take a significant shift in perspective among Members for that to happen. If it is recognised, as I think it should be, that marshalling information plays a key part in the art of political persuasion, in order to build confidence in the parliamentary process the public ought to demand that there is more than lip-service paid to Members reaching infonned, transparent decisions. I very much doubt that when choosing Deputies to represent them electors consider how well each candidate might carry out his or her own research. There has 12 • been some resistance towards paying Deputies something approaching a meaningful salary, so there is simply no realistic scope to seek further funding for each Member to employ his or her own staff, including researchers. A Guemsey Deputy may well look with envy at the resources made available in other jurisdictions, but I am sure each would be sanguine enough to know that the most that could be hoped for would be to establish some centralised resource to which each would then have access as the need arose. The expectation of such a research service is that it would be somewhere to which a parliamentarian could tum for guidance, including on a confidential basis if the Member so wishes. The balance between being available to respond to individual enquiries and proactively producing relevant research briefings would have to be struck over time. I expect that initially any research service would be more responsive than proactive. One of the benefits of introducing a research service should be the cotTesponding level of increased trust it instils in Members. I imagine that a Member quoting from material the provenance of which has been verified would be received more favourably than the interventions in debate ~ d of a Member whose individual efforts are treated with greater suspicion. I do not envisage I' that a research service would completely replace Members' individual efforts, but rather that it should be regarded as supplementing them. It is even possible that one of the ways in which the service might be used would be to obtain a second opinion, operating as a means of checking the reliability or accuracy of the information already gathered by the Member. In that way, the skills inherent in trained researchers becoming generally available to Members I should avoid some of the pitfalls arising from the "fake news" problem on which I have touched. The greatest challenge for a jurisdiction like Guernsey, and any others that would be starting from scratch, will be to persuade Members that this is a justifiable expense. None of the material I have seen quantifies the benefits ofhavu1g such a service. However, as parliamentarians operate in increasingly open and transparent ways, with their contributions in debate capable of being scrutinised in Hansard, and as the world faces up to the spectre of .. . ' the threats posed by "fake news", the importance of having some means by which the information used by parliamentarians in ea\;h of our legislatures is assessed for accuracy and ,, reliability should not, I think, be under-estimated. ,. When it comes to other jurisdictions that already have the means to support parliamentarians' research effmts, whether through directly employed staffers or a research service or a combination of both, I guess the key is to re-assess whether the model being used is the most beneficial for those parliamentarians. For example, rather than making as much funding available to Members to employ their own staff as at present, are there potential benefits in re-allocating some of that funding to introduce or enhance the type of independent and non pmtisan service recognised in the IPU/IFLA Guidelines as improving the effectiveness of a parli=ent? Is it possible that greater comfort will be given to the public if they know and can see that their parliamentarians have access to such a service, can see for themselves the quality of any output made publicly available, meaning that constituents can engage from a similarly well-informed basis with Members? For any existing service tbat is perceived to be under-resourced, does the threat presented by "fake news" provide the foundation for .' 13 ' ' " • requesting increased funding on the basis that a strengthened parliamentary research service ought to make the governance of the legislature through Members' oversight and scrutiny functions rnore credible? Is there any scope for greater co-ordination between our parliaments to share with each other not just publicly available briefings but also misinformation has been verifiably identified? What I think is clear is that the new dynamic presented by the ever-growing amount of information available to parliamentarians (and to those who scrutinise what parliamentarians do), where it is evident that some of that information will not be reliable, means that every parliament should be taking the opportunity to consider the best and most cost-effective ways of supporting Members to perform their functions, especially as legislators. The public want their parliamentarians to be able to hold their governments to account and parliamentarians need to tools to be able to do that to the best of their abilities. This process may lead to new services becoming available or it may involve the re-deployment of existing resources. In some cases, all it may require is increasing awareness of what is available should a Member choose to make use of the services. I would like to think there may even be an opportunity "' for research services to share directly with each other, or through some pooled resource (although that always begs the question as to who takes responsibility for it), as much of their output as is feasible. I i . ' ,, .' 14 . ' '. CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH 8·13 January 2018, Savoy Hotel and Spa, Seychelles Presentation by Hon M.G. Boroto, MP- House Chairperson for International Relations (National Assembly) Parliament of RSA TOPIC 3: STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH FOR THE EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF LEGISLATURES Hon Speakers, Presiding Officers, Distinguished Guests, It is my honour and privilege for me and my country South Africa to be offered this opportunity to speak on this important topic, "The Strengthening of Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning of Legislatures". A comparative study on the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government in many developing countries i has revealed that the most least prioritized arm of government with regard to the allocation of resources Is parliament. When members of the executive are assigned personal secretaries and special assistants, the members of parliament are often left with inadequate support. Lack of I' adequate support staff for Members of Parliament has a negative impact on the effective performance of this arm of government. Without adequate support and sufficient information, the elected representatives risk making costly or even dangerous decisions for the whole nation. ! ,,I . ' Thus, access to reliable and timely information is essential to the proper functioning of democratic legislatures. Members of Parliament require support and information as they go about their multiple tasks, such as legislation, committee membership, constituency representation and as delegates to national, regional and international meetings. These tasks require parliamentarians to be able to criticise, propose, and vote from informed perspectives. In addition to the above, parliaments serve as a centre of accountability and oversight in democracy in at least two ways. Firstly, as the agency through which government lll'agc " is held accountable. Secondly, elections constitute the mechanism through which parliamentarians are held accountable by the electorate. The actual workings of any parliament are governed by these considerations. Thus, for democracy to flourish in any democratic country, parliament, as an arm of government, must be strengthened and be protected. Moreover, another key role for parliamentarians around the world consists of developing, assessing and voting legislation. Furthermore, as stated above, parliamentarians are expected to hold the government to account. This include scrutinizing the activities of the government in order to ensure that the decisions of parliament are being implemented. Parliaments. as the pillar of democracy, should always be supported and fully capacitated to withstand challenges aimed at eroding parliamentary democracy. The requested information should be available in time to enable Members of Parliament to execute their constitutional responsibilities. For instance, if the deadlines are not met, the analysis could be of little or no value to the parliamentarian. For example, if the research is requested for a delJate in the House, it is useless and of no value if the requested information is received after the debate has ended. This prevents parliaments from effectively overseeing the executive branch of the government. The strengthened parliamentary research is vital for the properly performing parliament because research becomes an effective way of obtaining unbiased analysis to help improve the quality of decisions of the Members of Parliament. Honourable Speakers, without proper parliamentary resources, the balance of power inevitably shifts to the executive which leads to less rigorous oversight. This could even create situations where governments bypass parliaments altogether in the development of policy and legislation. This means that the strengthened parliamentary research service is of significant importance for the proper functioning and effectiveness of parliaments. Stronger parliaments with more robust information service branches are likely to have sufficient degree of autonomy from the executive. Therefore, the ability of parliamentarians to perform these important roles is dependent and shaped by their access to authoritative and reliable information. 2jl'age Accordingly, as they prepare themselves for their parliamentary activities, parliamentarians have daunting task to secure access to authoritative and concise material that presents synthesis and analysis of the relevant facts necessary for them to intervene effectively on public policy issues. Due to a number of public commitments and responsibilities that they have to deal with, parliamentarians might not have sufficient time at their disposal to do their own research. Therefore, the function of the parliamentary research services is to provide independent, appropriate, timely, up-to-date and accurate information to the Members of Parliament. This will enable Members to come up with appropriate and timely responses to challenges faced by their constituencies in particular and by society in general. Therefore, a strengthened parliamentary research becomes an important source of information for Members of Parliament. For instance, the strengthened parliamentary research can assist by synthesis and analysis of the proposed legislation, policies or I programmes considered by parliament. These activities can include the preparation I of factual assessments, provision of second opinions on information provided by the government or even the assessments of whether the government has implemented the actions it committed to take. Honourable Speakers and distinguished guests, Keith . ' Cunninghame, a former senior manager in the United Kingdom's House of Commons Library staled that, "The lifeblood of parliaments is information. So parliaments need Information services to help them to manage the information flows that I' sustain democracy across the globe". Without research and factual analysis about ' parliamentary issues, Members of Parliament run the risk of approving laws as they come from the Executive without proper consideration. ' ' In this regard, the role of parliamentary research service will be to provide analysis covering the wide range of spectrum through products and services t11at do not attempt r i to lobby Members of Parliament, are non-partisan and are offered to both the governing and opposition parties alike. Honourable Speakers, many external sources, such as universities. political parties, civil society organizations and lobbyists are available, but most of these pursue a specific agenda. On the basis of the above, the analysis produced by the external sources may be aligned with the interest of the person or group providing the analysis, and generally 31Pagc .. t' I may not account for parliamentary context. Therefore, due to the above risks, parliaments should establish and strengthen their parliamentary research for accurate, unbiased, timely and up-to-date information. It is worth noting Honourable Speakers, that Parliamentary researc11 pi The Inter Parliamentary Union, fully supports the view that electorates wili not be well served if parliament do not have sufficient resources to carry out its functions. As the IPU notes, "democracy is not well served by weak or ineffective legislatures". Honourable Speakers, the International Federation for Library Associi!lion (IFLA) contends that Parliamentary research services exists for the sole purpose of assisting members in their representative, lawmaking and oversight roles. This means that they are not' traditional libraries developing comprehensive collections or universities producing original research and writing lengthy papers. It also means accepting as core business the requirements of client focus first and foremost. In the same wavelength, the International Federation for Library Associations ;:md Institute recommends that at a minimum, a parliamentary research service must have the capacity to deliver a legislative analysis service, an economic analysis seNice and a statistical service. In summary, a well-functioning and robust parliamentary research :~ • Answers to the inquiries; • Creation of and access to legislative database; • Research reports; 41Page • Materials describing and comparing current legislation proposals and their status In the legislative process; • Providing external expertise in case of lack of internal resources; • Preparation of economic and financial analysis, for polici8s and legislation submitted for review in parliament; • Policy analysis studies that identify alternative courses of action for the legislature and the consequences if adopted; • Seminars and training programs for legislators and staff: • Preparation of various publications relating to the business or F'arliament. Honourable Speakers, I would have failed you if I end my presenl In order to meet the information needs of the South African Momh~rs of Parliament, I Parliament Committees are supported by the specialist F~eo;r':ilrchers, Content I Advisors and Committee Secretaries. Apart from the State Law Advisors, which usual provide legal advice to the Members of Parliament, the Parliament nf the Republic of '•• South Africa also has in-house-legal advisors. In addition to the above, each House (The National Assembly and thr_, Notional Council of Provinces) has its own Secretary of the House, Undersecret8rk'" responsible for running the House, Senior Procedural Advisors, Procrod 111 :c.1i Officers and Undersecretary responsible for Research on Parliamentary Practic:;:. •• All the abovementioned officials play different but complementor)' roles in assisting Parliament. Furthermore, the Parliament of the South Africa h;J:'' cl well-equipped library with subject specialist personnel to assist and fulfil the inforrol:ilion r1eeds of the Parliamentarians. THANK YOU SO MUCH HONOURABLE SPEAKERS AND PRE~iiUING OFFICERS FOR YOUR ATTENTIVE LISTENING! ------··· ·····-·------ Sll'agc RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY Emerging security issues for Parliamentarians - an example from the UK Parliament Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference (SLIDE 1) Threat level - I want to start my talk by looking at the context of the world we live in. I I i (SLIDES 2 - 5) The UK threat level from international terrorism has been 'Severe' (i.e. 'highly likely') since 2014, and twice in 2017 went to Critical (Manchester attack, Parsons Green tube bomb). Five attacks took place ,, ! in 2017 and many more plots have been disrupted by police and security services. .' ~I This threat level applies to everyone in the country, and former heads of our security services have said publically that it is likely to continue at this level for another 5-1 0 years at least. In other words, the threat is not going away any time soon. Indeed, with the return of many jihadis from Syria and Iraq to their countries of origin the threat is morphing more firmly from one which had been based more overseas to one which is on our doorsteps. " ~ ... RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY When the Director of Security at the UK Parliament, Eric Hepburn, talks to new Members of Parliament and staff about this threat level he says that it can be interpreted as being 'be alert, not alarmed'. Eric has a difficult job to ensure that Members and their staff and the staff of the House of Commons take responsibility for their own safety, look out for the safety of others and adhere to his advice BUT are not disproportionately or irrationally scared. It is a balance, but there is no doubt that in the last few years the evidence of attacks (physical and online) has led to greater anxiety amongst citizens and the community within Parliament. On the plus side, in turn this has led to a greater awareness and understanding of how we can protect ourselves or respond in the event of an incident. However, for Parliamentarians international terrorism is probably not the major threat, or at least it is the same threat as it would be for any other British Citizens. For MPs there are additional threats which are far more prevalent and likely to cause them harm - domestic terrorism, fixated individuals, individuals with mental health issues or those with extremist views. This combination of threats is unique to Members of Parliament (to a lesser extent Peers) and of course, it is important not to forget that RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY these threats have an impacts on their staff who are at the front line and MPs families who are also exposed. There are not many jobs where complete strangers will have such open access to somebody, whether at events, at surgeries, at their constituency offices or even online. For many Members of Parliament this creates a dilemma - how can democratic access to an elected representative be maintained whilst also ensuring that measures are in t place to keep them safe? The Parliamentary Security Department has i been working hard to help Members get this right and I will address this I,, later on. Why are MPs particularly at risk? • (SLIDE 6) They debate and vote on divisive issues - abortion, fox •• hunting, Brexit • They are public figures who need to be accessible and recognisable; "! • They are dealing with and trying to help people in vulnerable and desperate circumstances; • They use social media to connect with constituents opens them up to abuse and intimidation online; • They are subject to media scrutiny and coverage which can inflame " public opinion . . ' RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY Where are Members of Parliament most at risk? .... Threat in constituencies The threat manifests itself wherever the Member is, but is particularly acute in the constituencies. We can make the Palace of Westminster a fortress but this will still leave Members and their staff and families vulnerable beyond that perimeter. (SLIDE 7) The murder of Jo Cox MP in June 2016 was shocking and tragic. Jo was on her way to meet constituents at a routine surgery when Thomas Mair shot her with a sawn off rifle and stabbed her twice outside the local library. Mair had singled Jo out because she was a passionate defender of the European Union and immigration. He viewed her as a traitor to white people and a collaborator. He had mental health problems and also had links with right-wing political groups including the National Front and English Defence League. This was the first killing of a sitting British MP since ian Gow was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1990. It was not the first time an MP has been attacked working in constituency but an attack of that extent is rare (Stephen Timms was attacked with a knife at a surgery in 2010 by a 21 year old student who RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY wanted to murder him because he voted for the Iraq war. In 2000 Nigel Jones MP was attacked with a samurai sword by a constituent with a mental health issue. Nigel's political assistant, Andrew Pennington, was murdered helping him). (SLIDE 8) Although such physical attacks are rare, in the last couple of years sadly there has been a big increase in the intimidation of MPs and the threat of attack - office windows smashed in, leaflets burnt in I letterboxes, MPs being followed and approached late at night, phone calls or tweets saying somebody wants to 'do a Jo Cox' to a Member I f ! ' What can we do about this? [' Parliament was already in the process of reviewing how security for ' Members both on the estate, off the estate and online could be improved l.' in late 2015 but the murder of Jo Cox gave us a much bigger driver to develop plans much quicker. Parliament cannot get rid of the threats but r it can help protect against them. (SLIDE 9) We responded by setting up dedicated team, called the Members Security Support Service focused solely on the security of : Parliamentarians, their staff and families. This Service works with our ;,' dedicated onsite police team. ' ' RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY (SLIDE 10) We established a contract with a national security firm which can make assessments of the gaps in security protection at a constituency home, constituency office and London home and recommend and install any measure for these properties (alarms, locks, video entry cameras, new doors etc). The Service also provides personal security and social media security advice and support. For example, if a Member was concerned that they were putting themselves at risk at a particular location for a surgery then the team could visit to see if there were any practical, non-costly measures which could be put in place to improve the situation - simple things such as ensuring there is an appointment booking system, there are always two people in the room, there is a desk between the Member and the Constituent, carrying a lone worker device which can raise an alarm if needed, there is an alternative exit if the main entrance is blocked etc. There is continued strong demand for security off the estate, but it is optional - MPs are not required to install security measures if they do not want to. However, the important thing is that it is offered and that Members consider that they have a duty of care to the staff they employ as well as their families. ·~ ' RESTRICTED ACCESS· SECURITY There has been a big awareness campaign, led by Lindsay, to promote these measures to MPs and to get them to then follow up on getting them installed. Excellent progress has been made but there is still a way to go - it is hard to get attention from Members when something so practical can be considered to be just one other thing to deal with on top of a very busy day job. Funding for these security measures installed via the House of Commons is provided by the body which pays for other MPs expenses, I the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. It only covers MPs, but alternative funding would be found for House of Lords member if I necessary. The other key point to note is that none of that expenditure is f· published in detail. It is published in aggregate only. This may sound like ' a small thing but many MPs have been put off from obtaining security •• ' measures previously because a) the cost of it will be published and . scrutinised by the press and the voters and lead to further Freedom of Information Requests and b) such information could lead to people knowing what security measures a Member has and where. This should not be a barrier to Members, their staff and families feeling safe. I. ' ' RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY Threat online (SLIDE 11) The increased threat in the constituencies has been accompanied by growing abuse and intimidation of Members on social media - 'keyboard warriors'. This is reflected in recent debates in the House, media coverage, and a Committee on Standards Public Life inquiry. Perhaps unlike some physical threats MPs receive, these threats are not just from people with extreme views, or those with mental health problems or vulnerable and disillusioned electorate. It has become normal for anybody to express a view online and criticise those who hold different views (to troll). It has become normal to the point where even those who would consider themselves ordinary law abiding citizens, who would not dream of threatening somebody in person, feel safe sitting behind their laptops to express hateful views towards MPs in the online environment. The Members' Security Support Service in Parliament now offers monitoring of public social media accounts for MPs during office hours to assist in identifying posts of concern. We ask Members to sign a form to give consent for us to monitor their public facing social media. We are RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY particularly vigilant if we know there is a Member who will speak during a controversial debate, who has done a media interview expressing an opinion which might be challenged, or who has recently received other threats. There have been some successful prosecutions recently against people making threats online (women, and particularly BAME women are most vulnerable). However, just as with physical threats, more Members need to come forward and say they will not tolerate it and push it through courts. I i We have had some interaction with social media companies to support I' I us in managing such threats and giving advice about IT settings on social media accounts but they also have a greater role to play. What t· I ' they deem to be offensive or hateful seems to be subjective. In the past they have been slow to respond to our requests to take material down I . ' I. from sites or ban those who author such posts and this needs to be r improved. Could it be something which is legislated for - Members have ! started to ask this question. Of course, the online threat doesn't just come in the form of abuse or threats. There is the wider issue of cyber-attacks. Whether these attacks are attempting to just cause chaos, or infiltrate a system and extract 1• ,_ 1 l-J RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY information, or to sit on our systems and watch what we do, they can cause significant damage and we know they are happening all the time. It is publically known that the Houses of Parliament were subject to a major cyber-attack by a hostile state actor in June 2017. Fortunately due to a programme of works to improve our networks and educate our IT users the damage was not as great as it might have been but there is no doubt that one of the main reasons we were attacked was because of who we are. Yet again Parliamentarians are a target! RESTRICTED ACCESS - SECURITY Threat in Parliament (SLIDE 12) Apart from the murder of Jo Cox, the physical threat to Parliamentarians and iconic London buildings was probably most visible to the world on 22 March 2017 when we had an attack on our doorstep. The attacker did not get far thanks to existing security measures. As we all know the attack started when a car was driven over Westminster Bridge hitting and injuring about 50 and killing 4 members I ! of the public. The car then crashed near Parliament and the attacker, I' Khalid Masood, armed with a knife, tried to run through the gates of the ,,I Palace of Westminster and stabbed one of our own police officers, PC Keith Palmer, who died, before he was himself shot dead. No link was found by the police between Khalid Masood and any terrorist . ' organisation and it was thought he acted alone. However, police reported that he did send a final text message claiming he was waging jihad in revenge for Western military action in Muslim countries in the Middle East. Naturally the attack resulted in increased scrutiny of our security arrangements in the press (perhaps not helped by the fact that it was i ' the press who had filmed some of the events on the Estate and ~' ' ' RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY released information during the attack before the House had had time to review what had happened). However, it also led to an increased understanding and support for required security enhancements amongst those who work on the Estate and those who can fund it. (SLIDES 13 and 14) An independent a review of perimeter security was conducted afterwards; the recommendations were built into our existing plans for security enhancements. (River Boom, more armed police, fencing along front of Lords, ballistic cover built into pavements etc.) (SLIDE 15) The attack also gave new impetus to existing plans we had been making. A major new project we are moving ahead with (in partnership with the local authority, Transport for London, Heritage England and other partners) is the closing of the road outside of the Palace. We were inspired by a visit to the Canadian Parliament and the UN where it was clear that creating as much 'stand-off' as you can is vital in reducing any impact of a vehicle-borne attack and giving security teams and police more time to act. The Palace of Westminster is on a very confined site and so the only way to create more stand-off would be to close and pedestrianise the road outside it. There have been plans to do this for many years, originally with a view to 'beautifying the public realm' but now there is an added incentive which seems to be RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY galvanising the partners into action. Plans are at an early stage but further than they have been for some time. ! ,. •• r ! .' RESTRICTED ACCESS- SECURITY Mitigating the threats It is important to stress that despite all these threats Parliament remains secure and our mitigation is highly effective. (SLIDE 16) We have a holistic approach which combines layers of security- perimeter, personnel, access control, measures in homes and constituency offices, cyber, social media, personal security. We consult with external organisations including police and government security agencies to stay up to date on latest information and guidance. Strong partnerships ensure we share knowledge and increase effectiveness of processes including incident management. We are proactive in raising awareness of security issues, training and providing advice for those who work on the estate and for parliamentarians. One key way to mitigate the threat is to encourage Members not to accept such threats as merely 'part of their job'. Many Members now have a high tolerance level for behaviour which should not be tolerated. RESTRICTED ACCESS - SECURITY Politicians need to speak to each other, peer to peer, to encourage each other to be safe. Continuous improvement and continuous engagement are key; the evolving threat requires an evolving approach. (SLIDES 17 - 20) It is also important to learn from others. We have already taken away good ideas we are putting into practice from the ! parliaments of Canada, Australia and Singapore; other heritage tourist I attractions like the Sydney Opera House, the National Gallery of i f Singapore and the 9/11 memorial and museum; other public bodies like I the UN, the Mayor of New York's Office; the Attorney General's Office in I. Canberra; and private sector bodies such as BAE systems and Wilson Security. •• The emerging threats I have described in this presentation affect us all, although perhaps to differing degrees, but it is more important than ever that we continue to talk to each other honestly about our security issues, share best practice and learn lessons from each other. Thank you. . ' r I' . REPUBLIC OF KENYA THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 24™ CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF COMMONWEALTH 8'h -J31h January 2018 Seychelles Presentation Paper Hon. Justin Muturi, EGH, MP. Speaker of the National Assembly 0 0 I I I I I 0 I I 0 I 0 I 0 I I 0 I 0 0 II 0 0 0 II I I o o 0 oo 0 I EMERGING SECURITY ISSUES FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS 1.0 INTRODUCTION I. During the last decade, the global security situation has changed dramatically giving I rise to new and emerging security dimensions. The wave of globalization and technological advancement has also changed the character of threats to human, national and international security. ,, 2. Today's security discourse stands in major contrast to the traditional understanding of security. While old threats have faded away, new and daunting security challenges have emerged. This has prompted a new thinking about the very ideas underlining human security1• 3. The emerging security issues have penneated all spheres of life from the economy, political and social struchrres thus heralding disincentives to effective and optimal performance of individual and collective societal and developmental roles. Security concerns - have also continued to dictate the private and public discourses with interventions necessitating legislative action. Similarly, parliamentarians have not been spared of the dangers of the heightened security risks portend in the performance of the role within and outside Parliament precincts. r· I I 1.1 Why Security is Important for Parliamentarians ! 4. Countries are obliged to guarantee security of its citizens as part of the universal requirement to respect fundamental rights and freedoms. As new threats to human security become more apparent, the environment in which parliaments operate is also changing. Security issues for parliamentarians are fast emerging with considerable consequences to parliamentarians' work and political ambitions. 1 Parliamentary oversight of the security sector: Principles, mechanisms and practices "Vis consilii expers mole ruit sua" (Force without judgment, collapses under its own weight) Horace, Odes, 3, 4, 65 " liPRS-2017 ' ' 5. Parliaments remain a symbol of hope and security for the political destiny of a country. Within a constitutional democracy, parliamentarians are elected by the electorates to secure a country's good governance through long established traditional roles namely; law making, representation, and oversight. 6. However, continued threats posed by emerging security issues conspire to deny parliamentarians and the people they represent the sense of hope and security that a peaceful world can guarantee. If left unchallenged, security issues occasion negative externalities on a country's economy, governance, the societal social fabric and cohesion which are critical ingredients for prosperity and governance in a country. In addition, insecurity adversely impacts on parliamentarians' execution of their constitutional responsibilities. 2.0 EMERGING SECURITY ISSUES 7. Security remains an integral aspect in the governance of a country. The governed desire security to express their constitutional rights to participate in economic development, free and fair elections, and inclusive democratic governance. These activities require an elaborate legislative framework that guarantees the electorates and parliamentarians security. I . 8. Various security issues have emerged in the world today with profound influence on the conduct of parliamentarians constitutional, national and constituency responsibilities. These threats are largely driven by the exponential growth in Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector. 9. While the security concerns transcend all spheres of human interactions, specific security issues have continued to expose parliamentarians to security risks. With time, security for parliamentarians has deteriorated with the emergence of cyber-attacks, social media, and even localized security risks at the constituency level. The dynamic nature of these security issues calls for elaborate and targeted actions that assure parliamentarians security, and that mechanisms are in place to keep track of the trends. 10. State and non-state actors also play an important role in addressing the varied security issues for parliamentarians. In some contradictory way, they can be catalysts in the security risks that confront parliamentarians in this digital era. 2.1 Cybersecurity ll. Rapid transfonnation and advancement in infonnation technology in the last half century has opened new frontiers of human interactions hitherto unexplored. Recent innovations and introduction of a series of new infonnation technologies have revolutionized conununication and the way business is conducted. While this has been a boon for enhanced security, it has also exposed humankind to serious new security threats as sensitive data has now found abode online. Recent confidential data releases through WikiLeaks attest to this growing concern. 12. Cyber connections are now widespread in every aspect of commercial and private activity. Countries and institutions, Parliament included, have invested heavily in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to ease communication, business and other fonns of interactions. 2JPRS-20 17 13. Unfortunately, with all its benefits, the widely acclaimed cyber space is today an aggressive security concern globally. This new-age digital era innovation and its applications has been infiltrated by a new class of ruthless actors keen on taking advantage of security vulnerabilities inherent in these platforms. Cyber-attacks are now a common occurrence leaving users exposed. In essence, humankind and countries have become victims of the very intrusive technology they have so much become dependent on. 14. Subsequently, parliamentarians have become an attractive target for cyber-attacks. Among the cybersecurity issues facing parliamentarians are:- (i) Sustained and frequent hacking of email accounts; and (ii) Attacks on email servers. 15. The range of cyber-attacks is increasing as perpetrators adopt more sophisticated methods to penetrate software. The motives of the various cyber-attacks targeted at parliamentarians are as diverse as the perpetrators/sources and include:- (i) Political blackmail; (ii) Extortion; (iii) Access to personal and official data; and (iv) Phishing of emails - that is, attempts by cybercriminals posing as legitimate institutions, to obtain sensitive information from targeted individuals. 16. Cyber-attacks on parliamentarians are not confmed to individual and organized crime but are also perpetrated by state-sponsored actors. The entry of State sponsored cyber-attacks !' on parliamentarians has complicated the threat posed by cybersecurity. 17. The scope and extent of cyber-attacks on parliamentarians has not been fully acknowledged or documented but pose a rapidly evolving and potent security issue for parliamentarians. Similarly, the frequent change in tact by perpetrators makes tracking of the vice costly. 2.2 Constituency Concerns •• 18. Globally, parliamentarians are ever entangled in meeting the growing expectations of their constituents amid increasing security concerns. The accumulation of security issues for parliamentarians has not been entirely confined at national level but also at the constituency level. Parliamentarians derive their mandate from the electorates and must therefore be secure to serve them. 19. In performing the lawmaking, representative and oversight roles, parliamentarians are often tom between serving the inherently divided loyalties mainly of protecting their constituents' interests and the public good. Over time, security issues for parliamentarians emanate from divided loyalties portrayed as constituency concerns. These security issues include:- (i) Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW); (ii) Drugs and human trafficking; (iii) Street gangs and vigilance groups; " 31PRS-20!7 '-' ' ' I (iv) Terrorism; and (v) Rising youth unemployment and poverty levels. 20. Examples abound as to the extent parliamentarians' security can be impaired by the very acts of loyalty to the constituency they represent. For instance, within pastoralist communities in Kenya, cattle rustling is culturally considered a rite of passage for young men. It is a recurring security issue for the constituents and parliamentarians with frequent parliamentaty interventions being sought. In order to protect their livestock against rival rustlers, practicing pastoralists ann themselves with illegally acquired Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). This has led to the proliferation of SALW which also find their way into the criminal world. However, it is rare for parliamentarians representing these areas to raise alarm over illegal SALW. This divided loyalty and tolerance constrains parliamentarian's commitment and debate on laws to address security issues in the pastoralist areas, yet it is a real security risk to the parliamentarians. 21. Dmg and human trafficking are globally recognized security issues for parliamentarians that have defied proactive legislative action. The mthless nature of the cartels invblved discourages parliamentarians from actively engaging in contributing to debate and legislating against the vices. Because of vested interests in these illicit and lucrative vices, a parliamentarian's life may be on the line if perceived to be pursuing action against dmg and human trafficking cartels. Hence, even the most ardent parliamentarian is constrained from sponsoring Bills to legislate against these and other illicit activities. 22. Terrorism is also fast emerging as a security concern for parliamentarians. Unlike in the past when recmitment into terrorism was mainly within the major cities, it has now permeated deep into the mral constituency areas. Recmitment and orders for execution of terrorist acts has also gone online compounding the security concern for parliamentarians. Other more localized security issues may stem from youth gangs and vigilant cells. For parliamentarians, the security risk associated with such groups can be used for political expediency and they often come to life during electioneering period. 23. Rising youth unemployment and poverty levels is certainly a security concern for parliamentarians. The fmstration associated with unemployment and abject poverty may condemn many youth at constituency level to venture into criminal activities. They also become easy prey for recmitment into criminal gangs. The persistent fmstration and build-up anger among such youth is likely to be turned against the local political leaders thus exposing parliamentarians to imminent insecurity. In the case of Kenya, such form of security issues have been mitigated under the "nyumba kumi" initiative. Loosely translated, it means constituents coming together within their neighbourhoods and getting involved in the security affairs in partnership with the local administration and the police. In some constituencies, parliamentarians have become involved in this security arrangement and in the process used the National Govermnent Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to constmct and equip police posts in their constituencies. 2.3 Social Media 24. The ICT revolution has drastically changed communication and information dissemination in the world today. Newer, user friendly and widely available communication 4IPRS-2017 platforms have consigned traditional mediums of infonnation dissemination and interactions to oblivion and rendered some partially obsolete. The most notable of these innovations is the social media which is now exemplified by computer and mobile telephony applications such as:- (i) Facebook; (ii) WhatsApp; (iii) Instagram; and (iv) Tweeter. 25. The general popularity and appeal generated by social media has defied social class and age. Its application has significantly beneficial attributes, but also calls for restraint. Used wisely social media has proved an invaluable tool in parliaments and parliamentarians engagement with the electorates. It has served to demystify parliaments and parliamentarians mandates, as well as to amplify their profile and achievements. As a platform that has made information more transparent and accessible, social media offers low-cost and user-friendly means for parliamentarians' engagement with the electorates. Further, it also provides a spontaneous platform for informal reactions to ongoing dialogue between citizens and their I I representative. 26. Initial lessons of the importance of social media for parliamentarians and political I regimes became evident during the "Arab Spring"- the pro-democracy revolutionary wave in North Africa and Middle East that began in December 2010. Social media contributed ! heavily to the spread of the sporadic uprising leading to the eventual downfall of i govenunents in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and the lawlessness that has prevailed in Syria ever I,, since. 27. The remarkable advantage with social media is that it offers parliamentarians and users opportunities to reach a large audience in real time or within a short period. However, the fact that the social media does not require journalistic intuition or intervention to spread is a cause for worry for parliamentarians. With the kind of information society created by social media, and just like the cyber space, social media has been infiltrated by myriad players which is likely jeopardize expose parliamentarians to security manifested in the following:- (i) Existence of many social media outlets - hence difficult to identify and address attacks that are published via these channels. (i) Viral nature of its spread - unsolicited for criticisms of political figures and institutions sometimes going viral. This can be in fonn of undeserved anger r ventilated on parliamentarians' individually or collectively. (ii) Proxy bloggers - With proliferation of "proxy bloggers", imposter social media accounts that can be used to distort or misrepresent facts through disinfonnation. (ii) Intrusiveness - Social media presence is prone with security pitfalls for parliamentarians such as stalking. The intrusive nature of social media makes it necessary to have tolls and limit extent of engagement to avoid security lapses. (iii) Fabricated news stories - Smear campaigns and falsehoods targeting parliamentarian's private life, and their inclination to debate in the House to the may expose them to insecurity. SIPRS-20 17 ,_, ' ' 3.0 HOW PARLIALVIENTS CAN MITIGATE THE SECURITY ISSUES 28. Security issues for parliaments can lead to polarization in the conduct of Parliamentary business when certain issues become too risky to legislate upon. Parliaments therefore need to have in place mechanisms that guarantee safety and protection necessary for parliamentarians' to effectively undertake their constitutional mandate. Among the interventions include:- (i) Enhanced powers and privileges for parliamentarians - With the emerging security issues, it is time for Parliaments to revisit and enhance the immunities and privileges accorded parliamentarians within and outside Parliament. (ii) Enhance security for parliamentarians - Parliamentary precincts are high security premises in many countries. This is not entirely so for parliamentarians outside these revered precincts. Lawmaking and oversight deals with a host of issues and interests that predispose parliamentarians to security threats which may arise from:- a. Political competition - Opponents given that politics today is a very competitive occupation; b. Cartels - Individuals may feel aggrieved by a parliamentarian's contribution to a parliamentary discourse related to their illicit activities; c. Constituents - Electorates who may feel disenfranchised and inadequately represented; and d. Vested interests- Group(s) or person(s) who may feel their interests are being curtailed by parliamentarians; The above demands that parliaments work closely with the executive to avail armed security to parliamentarians. Where necessary, the security entitlements can be reviewed to enhance armed security assigned to individual parliamentarian. (iii) Criminal justice system- There is need for practicable recourse for parliamentarians faced with insecurity outside of Parliament. This requires mechanisms that are not constrained by the criminal justice which sometimes takes long and may injure the reputation and aggravate the security risks of the aggrieved parliamentarian. A close working relationship between Parliaments and the judiciary will ensure that reported cases are expedited without necessarily infringing on the independence of either arm of government. (iv) Public awareness creation -Parliaments are deliberative chambers. It is certain that parliamentarians have severally been held personally liable to contribution made in parliamentary discourse. While the debate is made with the best interests of the electorates and the country, parliamentarians have come under threat and in some instances lost lives or political careers ruined. In Kenya for instance, political careers have stalled owing to sponsoring of Bills that despite enjoying public support have elicited outcry from vested interests. One such Bill was the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act in Kenya which sought among others to regulate alcoholic drinks operation hours for bars, control of production illicit liquor, and packaging of alcoholic drinks. Hence, perpetrators of such backlash at a parliamentarians work must be made aware of parliamentary immunity and privilege for members as they execute their mandates. 6IPRS-2017 (v) Parliamentary groups - General regional and country insecurity is a security concern for parliaments. Parliaments and Parliamentary groups have in the past half century been instrumental in global and regional security and peace efforts. In this regard, security of parliamentarians needs to find space in the agenda of these regional bodies. This would entail parliaments working together to make this a reality. The Forum of Parliaments of Members States of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR), for instance, has been at the forefront in articulating security and peace efforts in the Great Lakes region of Africa and also the security of parliamentarians in the insecurity prone jurisdictions within the region. (vi) Enforcement of laws -Insecurity thrives in situations of lawlessness or the absence of enforcement of the enabling laws. Incidentally, security issues for parliamentarians may be an outcome of their inaction to enact the relevant Jaws or carry out their oversight function. It is therefore incumbent upon parliaments to enact laws or domesticate into law international protocols that address emerging security issues for parliamentarians lest they become victims of their inaction. 4.0 CONCLUSIDN 28. With contemporary security issues dominating the new world order, reaping the huge benefits associated with globalization and the communication technology revolution can only I be realized in an atmosphere devoid of the inherent security risks. Although security of parliamentarians, like that of any other citizen is guaranteed under the constitutions of the Commonwealth jurisdictions, the nature of their work exposes them to greater risks and can constrain parliamentarians from pursuing their lawful responsibilities and ultimately imperil the institution of Parliament. ,. 29. The exponential growth witnessed in the communication technology sector has greatly influenced parliamentarians' engagement with the electorates. These newly found ,. virtual interactions have also come with security risks. Cyber space and social media attacks on parliamentarians are on the rise, partly catalyzed by their social standing in position of leadership and contributions to parliamentary discourse. This is an indictment on Parliamentary leadership to ensure that no parliamentarian is held personally responsible for participation in parliamentary work that may lawfully disenfranchise vested interests. " Safeguards need to be in place, and laws and enforcement mechanisms must be enacted and regularly reviewed to confront the fluid nature of constituency concerns, cybersecurity, and social media as emerging security issues for parliamentarians. H " 71PRS-20 17 ' ' EMERGING SECURITY ISSUES FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers ofthe Commonwealth Seychelles, 8-13 January 2018 The Hon Tony Smith MP Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives In Australia, the ultimate responsibility for maintenance of security at I Parliament House rests with the Presiding Officers- the President of the Senate and I acting jointly. Today I'd like to say a few words about cyber-security challenges we are dealing with and also the work we are undertaking to ,,I strengthen electronic and physical security at Parliament House. Cyber-security It is a reality of the world we live in that parliamentarians and their offices are public targets for cyber-security threats. •• The range of threats facing today's parliaments is complex and diverse. The main cyber threats are: • hacktivism, where issue-motivated groups use cyber means to make political statements or to influence the political process • cyber-crime, where the main motivating factor is to compromise systems for financial gain • cyber-attacks, which aim to cripple or disable the operations of a parliament. ;, ' ' • cyber-espionage, primarily the domain of state-sponsored actors, where information may be stolen from parliamentary ICT systems to give a nation state an economic or diplomatic advantage. We have also seen recent global cases where information stolen from parliamentary and political systems is publically released in an attempt to influence the outcomes of national elections, and • cyber-warfare. This has become a feature of modern military operations, and it is possible that parliaments could become a cyber target as part of a military conflict with another nation state. Regardless of motivation, by far the single most com~on method used by cyber-attackers is phishing emails. This involves an attacker sending an unsuspecting user an email that contains a malicious link or attachment. If the user clicks on the linlc or attachment, malware is loaded onto the user's PC which is used as a staging point to launch further attacks on the parliamentary network. Almost 7 5% of all cyber-attacks are now known to start with a phishing email. I see it as an impmiant part of my role, and that of the specialists working in my depmiment, to ensure that parliamentarians and their staff are aware of simple things they can do to address cyber threats. The vast majority of threats have simple mitigation strategies. The risk of cyber-attackers exploiting vulnerabilities in an IT system is mitigated by IT security specialists in my department who put in place technical controls and regimes of patching to protect our systems. The risk of a user on the network doing something to open a door for an attacker is combated by cyber security awareness and user training programs to help parliamentarians and their staff to effectively identify threats. Electronic and physical security I'd like to tum now to electronic and physical security, which have been areas of intense activity at Parliament House in CanbeiTa for several years now. In response to the heightened teiTorist threat environment in Australia, a taskforce was established in late September 2014 to undertake; a review of security anangements at Parliament House. The taskforce developed the APH Security Upgrade Implementation Plan which included many projects to harden the security of Parliament House's entry poinls, building fabric and infrastructure. t A first group of projects, completed in June 2016, largely focused on strengthening security at entry checkpoints between those areas of the building I to which the public have access and those to which access is restricted to I members, staff and other passholders. A second group of works is cunently underway and is expected to be completed by December 2018. The projects in this group relate to both electronic and physical security measures. Notable among the new electronic security measures being installed is an Electronic Access Control System. This incorporates access controls on doors to most office suites in the building (through a new card anangement) which will enable the Parliament House security operations room to automatically close and lock intemal doors should that be necessmy, for example, if a person with a firearm were to gain access to the building. The physical security component of this group of works largely entails extemal hardening activity including: hardened new ceremonial doors and skylights; reconfiguration and hm·dening of the main entries to the Senate and House of ' ' Representatives wings of the building; and an additional entry point at the front entrance to Parliament House. But by far the most visible aspect of this work is the installation of new perimeter treatments, including a range of fencing and landscape barriers to provide increased stand-off from the building. This aspect of our works has drawn the most media interest, frequently based on assumptions and misinformation. Everybody agrees that Parliament House is an iconic building of significant architectural achievement. Australians have a strong interest- and an <;ntirely legitimate one in my view - of ensuring that Parliament House and the work that goes on inside remains open and accessible to all. However, Parliament House was designed and built in the 1970s and 1980s when the threat environment was vastly different. In this challenge, we have been fortunate to have the assistance of a senior member of the original Parliament House design team, one of two people administering Mr Giurgola's moral rights, in the final design. I am pleased to say that the system ofbaniers now being installed strikes an appropriate balance between honouring the ("' design intent of the building and meeting contemporary security requirements. With those remarks I am pleased to begin our Workshop and I look forward to the discussions to come. [889 words] The role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency Address by the Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada I ' ,, 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) Seychelles " 11 January 2018 ,, ,, For more information: Heather Bradley Director of Communications Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario KlA OA6 CANADA [email protected] 613-995-7882 0 I " The role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency I am delighted to be with you all at this 24th Conference of the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth. This gathering is a welcome opportunity for meaningful discussions on matters of importance to each of us individually as Speakers, and also to us as a community of leaders within our legislatures. This year, we are asking ourselves, and each other, how to approach the vital issues of accountability, openness and transparency within our legislatures. It is a timely topic, as our legislative assemblies operate in an environment in which our procedures and practices, and indeed the conduct of our membership, is under increasing public scrutiny, not to mention the greater demand for citizen participation in the decision-making processes of elected bodies. I will focus my remarks on how we can balance accessibility to parliamentary information with the protection of Members' parliamentary rights and privileges. I will then address the need to promote mechanisms for engaging citizens, and touch briefly on some of the Canadian Parliament's unique outreach programs. The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Con ada CSPOC 2018 1 In Canada, as in many Commonwealth countries, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the chief servant of the House. He is the servant, not of any part of the House or any majority in the House but of the entire institution and its best interests. Despite the Speaker's considerable authority, he may exercise only those powers conferred by the House, within the limits established by the House itself. Mine is the voice that expresses the collective will of the House. In Canada, the House and its Members possess certain rights and immunities to allow them to perform their parliamentary functions; other rights, known as the collective or corporate rights of the House, are the means by which the House effectively discharges its functions. Together, they are referred to as privileges and immunities. Ij, Since the House of Commons' inception, its proceedings have taken place in public; in fact, the public has been granted continuous and increasing access through admittance to the House's public galleries as well as via radio, television and our French and L English-language websites. And there are, of cdurse, daily published records of deliberations and decisions. This type of access is the more traditional means to ensure I" transparency and openness. Today, accelerating technology and connectivity and evolving public expectations of citizen involvement mean that legislative bodies must look to any and all opportunities to ensure that their work is visible and their citizens engaged. i,, The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC 2018 2 .' Among the House of Commons corporate rights and privileges is its exclusive jurisdiction over its premises. The Board of Internal Economy, its authority derived from the Parliament of Canada Act, oversees and regulates the activities of the House administration according to its by-laws. Functioning like a Board of Directors, the Board examines and approves the annual budget estimates of the House, controls the budget expenditures of committees and approves the renewal of collective agreements for House administrative staff. Its membership includes me, as its Chair, two Ministers of the Crown, the Leader of the Opposition (or a representative), and representatives from each recognized party (i.e., those holding at least 12 seats in the House), appointed in numbers resulting in an overall equality of government and opposition representatives. From its inception in 1868 until this past spring, meetings of the Board were held in private, but this practice was increasingly being called into question, even by some of the Members themselves. In June 2017, Parliament amended the Parliament of Canada Act to enable the Board to meet in public and, even on occasion, televise its proceedings. The amended Act does allow the Board to meet in private to consider r r. certain confidential issues or, if the members of the Board present unanimously agree, a meeting can take place in private. The agendas and transcripts of these meetings are published on the House of Commons public website, another demonstration of the House's commitment to transparency. To date, we have held a total of four public, televised meetings. The Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC2018 3 As the expectations of taxpayers evolve, the House has taken other steps to enhance transparency in terms of financial accountability. For example, we publish online the Members' Expenditures' Reports and reports from the House administration so that Canadians can see what Members are spending and what the House administration is spending. We have also made public a travel register of those people eligible to travel at public expense, on behalf of Members, for work-related duties. In 2012, the House of Commons asked the Office of the Auditor General to examine the operations of the House's administration. Unlike departments in the Government of Canada, Parliament is not subject to periodic value-for-money audits by the Auditor I General. However, voluntarily submitting to the rigours of an audit process was I. consistent with contemporary public expectations of transparency and accountability, and would ultimately help support the House's credibility with the public. '~· The Auditor General's Report, delivered in 2012 and made public, made ;, recommendations for improvement in how the administration operates, serving as a road map to improve its strategic planning, financial management, human resources, "i information services, and security services. The House accepted all the recommendations and quickly went to work implementing them in good faith. The Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC2018 4 ' . " Increased transparency is an important component in informing Canadians about the work of the House of Commons, but it is equally important for Members to hear from their constituents, and to encourage their participation in the democratic process. The Committees of the House of Commons devote considerable effort to gathering the views of those knowledgeable about or directly affected by the issue before them. Depending on the subject, they may consult a relatively small group of technical experts . or the Canadian public at large. Information and commentary are generally gathered in two ways: by the direct testimony of witnesses and by the submission of written briefs. This past year, more than 6,000 witnesses appeared before committees to speak on a wide range of topics, from the manufacturing sector to violence against women and girls in Canada. The annual Report to Canadians presents highlights of the work undertaken by Canada's Members of Parliament and the efforts of the House of Commons Administration in supporting Members' daily activities. The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC2018 5 By opening a window into the workings of the House of Commons and increasing the public understanding of Canada's parliamentary system, the Report to Canadians contributes to the transparent public governance expected by Canadians. Much of the drive to change comes as Members realize what technology has made possible and as they come in contact with Members of other Parliaments. As a result of a private Member's motion, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs studied the idea of electronic petitions and recommended the implementation of an "e- I petition" system in 2015. Now any Canadian citizen or resident of Canada can create ' and sign petitions online, and everyone can easily follow the progress of the electronic petition and see the government's response online. For Members, this is another direct mechanism which increases their engagement with their constituents. Since the beginning of the 42nd Parliament there have been over 1 ,340 petitions launched, 85 I•· presented to the House and nearly 1.2 million signatures added-130,452 on one petition alone. In the last year, electronic petitions have accounted for roughly one third of all traffic on the House of Commons website, with approximately 2.5 million visits to r- f· thee-petitions site, from over 3,000 different communities. ,, E-petitions are the first step taken by the House towards having a variety of parliamentary documents more available to the public. To this end, the House of Commons recently modernized its Website to support Members in their work in the The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC 2018 6 ' . '" Chamber, in their constituencies and while traveling on parliamentary business, by making it easily accessible on multiple platforms such as a smartphone or a tablet. The site now allows users to follow deliberations in real-time by linking to the Webcast of the Chamber. We have also established social media feeds-Twitter and lnstagram primarily-that provide instant information concerning House and committee business, parliamentary diplomacy, and other parliamentary activities. As Speaker, I too have Twitter and In stag ram accounts which I use to share information about my activities and the work of the House of Commons and Parliament. These official accounts provide alternate access to timely, non-partisan information about the House of Commons and parliamentary activities, as well as facilitate the sharing and reuse of information about our major renovation projects and our extensive curatorial collection. For those who need data for research, we now have a "one-stop shop" of open data that allows the downloading of reports concerning Members, bills, Chamber proceedings, electronic petitions and committee evidence. The Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Conado CSPOC 2018 7 The work of House of Commons committees is now more accessible with buttons on committee pages that encourage those interested either to ask to appear before a committee or to submit a brief. Committees are now able to post briefs online, sharing them with participants in the study and the wider public; they have also started to use e- consultations, when looking to consult a broader or more targeted audience through approaches as surveys, issue polls or questionnaires. This new tool facilitates public participation at a distance in a meaningful and efficient manner. I This is only the beginning of what will always be a work in progress. I can foresee a day 1 when every document tabled in the House and every bit of data generated by the House I I I ' and its Committees could be online for use by Members, the public and the media within I hours-perhaps even minutes-of its landing on the Table or its generation, "pushed" to subscribers via social media platforms. , t I Social media is allowing the House to reach - and teach - more people than ever .. before, in particular young Canadians. We have our part to play in informing our country's current and future voters about how we govern ourselves. " Engaging youth is therefore an important aspect of my role as Speaker, particularly helping them access and understand the importance of our parliamentary work. Every year, the House of Commons Page Program hires 40 first-year students from across the country to work part-time in the Chamber while attending university in the National ,, The Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC 2018 8 ' ' ,, Capital Region, and the Library of Parliament hires bilingual university students to lead guided tours of Parliament. Graduates of the Page and Guide Programs often pursue careers within Parliament; indeed, several of our sitting Members are former pages and guides, as are a considerable number of the administration's employees. Another important outreach program is the Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy, an initiative of former Speaker Gilbert Parent. Offered by the Library of Parliament with the participation of the Senate and the House of Commons, the Institute benefits Canadian students by offering teachers from across the country an opportunity to observe both Houses during a week on Parliament Hill, to interact with parliamentarians and to return with "important resource materials that support teaching about Parliament, governance, democracy and citizenship." I hope that my remarks have given you an understanding of the changing context in which we, as presiding officers, strive to carry out our responsibilities ..As I see it, we Speakers play significant roles in our democracies. And I think it's our'duty to use our authority as Speakers, wherever possible, to improve the public image of our legislative assemblies. The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC 2018 9 As the representatives of political institutions that must maintain legitimacy and relevance as much as judicious exercise of their powers, we are in the position to see to those interests, even if, as Speakers of our legislatures, we often have "neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak[ ... ], but as the House is pleased to direct [us]." Thank you for your attention; I look forward to your comments and questions. I I 1. i· L -- I l •• r• ~I The Han. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada CSPOC 2018 10 ' ' ANN t 'f- .:tit (;JF;ff Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Topic 1: The Role of Speaker in strengthening Parliamentary Diplomacy In both regional and international cooperation (Chaired by Speaker-Isle-of-Man}'-. \> C\ l \Jt- V\ Isle of Man •!• Two presiding officers; both have roles to play in strengthening Parliamentary Diplomacy and the wider community of the Isle of Man. •!• Much of this work involved in explaining to our own population as well as visitors •!• We also corporate with similar jurisdiction •!• Presiding officers in the Isle of Man provide leadership in developing action to achieve the objectives •!• Firstly, as presiding officers; take the lead to establish what we are and what we are not. We are a small independent community which manages its own affairs which had link with the United Kingdom. We had the world oldest Parliament and continues existence I •!• Secondly is to support the government with its own diplomatic objectives Allows us to provide a further dimension in explaining our national position in our own I collecting point of view. We approach tis in our own position as being a small, although occasionally. Structurally different from the Western model. We are in the news in relation to tax issue and related matters when such stories do arise, we find that many people feel able to make confident but often wrong statement on the scope of our business •!• Thirdly, strengthening personal links between the members of different parliaments enable to exchange the knowledge and experience In a suitable way. Meeting and conferences by CPA forged strong friendship. British Assembly is a good example; meeting twice yearly, it is a forum where over 60 Parliamentarians not holding executive office in government meet to discuss matters of mutual interest to respective jurisdiction. Formed in 1990, strive to engage with •• jurisdiction with ·specific governance issues; work with other colleagues elsewhere by providing services and guidance to other parliaments on parliamentary administration issues, this work has been done in collaboration with various organization. We had provide assistance to Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Pakistan. We aim to provide more support to other small jurisdiction rather t' than to leave it only to UK branches •!• Our branch diplomacy follows two main areas of practical action; firstly common problem of limited resources scope for more greater cooperation in pulling resources providing services and guidance, the aim is the small jurisdiction help each other rather than seek help from larger jurisdiction. We have an open door policy of receiving visitors from other venue. We had received various staff for training. Anyone wishing to send staff from training we are delighted to discuss further. Secondly; on a more general approach the evolution, receiving may visitors to examine the island relationship with UK in order to understand how to develop their practice t' ,, . ' ' •!• Training has been a source of strength for staff member an parliament •:• Regular interaction apart from conference, more discussion, the more we learned from one another, Parliamentary diplomacy whether internal or external is important Fiji •!• Speakers debate, they started by inviting 50 person but the turnout was 300 members of the public, •!• Public managed to question ministries on their concern on chosen theme India •!• Diplomacy develop support friendship •!• Speakers of different state comes together once a year to discuss the way forward, sustainable development goal, •!• Meet with other countries, learned and sharing best practices to develop diplomacy •!• How smoothly can we run our parliament •!• Beyond what we do we try to build relationship with other parliament from other jurisdiction Canada •!• International diplomacy; to learn about other country, working cooperatively •:• learned valuable experience from different jurisdiction regardless on their size geographically. •!• Parliamentary diplomacy contact Is develop and enable one to help constituency at times in difficulty in other jurisdiction. Ghana •!• 2 deputy speakers, I elected from majority party and 1 nominated from minority party •!• All leaders- minority and majority come together to do outreach activities in the community •!• Strengthen personal relationship between parliament from other jurisdiction Jamaica •!• Social media, control by press, control by government •!• Have joint select committee •!• Make suggestion that are accepted by whole house •!• Speaker has to involve media in their joint select committee to record •!• Joint select committee are important in parliamentary diplomacy as you get divergent views from the MPs Question for discussion How can we corporate better with Government? Sometimes there is insufficient communication between government and Parliament about the objectives of Diplomacy and the scope for sharing the benefits of the links gains between parliamentarians. This a problem shared by both small and large places. It not always clear how the collective knowledge or collective memory of parliamentarians and those in government prove effectively. So I invite the working group to consider to choose proper cooperation between government and parliaments to achieving common objectives. Cyprus •!• More open with the people •!• Citizen need result action •!• Supporting action the government •!• Today's environment citizen want positive actions •!• Communication with citizen, networking with other countries by use of technology Australia i •!• It is very important that parliaments themselves create and build on the relationship not at all in context with the executive but as a complimentary strength to the nation. In Australia we seek to do these, there are number of ways it is practice through international programme. •:• Outgoing delegation programme ,,i •!• Formal parliamentary friendship structure allowing parliament and senators to specialize in particular region and countries, help build knowledge in understanding and is a real investment in the future •!• We emphasized on capacity building, it looks at parliamentary strengthening involving as well as clerk and members of staff. •!• Conference between country to country and within countries allows members to move beyond party line •!• Provide valuable learning opportunities, personal relationship and best practices in terms of what to do and what not to do, •!• Some government hostile to introduce parliamentary diplomacy because parliamentarians could discuss on parliamentary level rather than national level ,. Pakistan •!• Learned a lot for participating in quite a number of meeting and conferences and put into practice what is pick up from the meeting •!• Parliamentary friendship group is one example, we established 88 of them in 2013,views exchange, learned best practice and discover that the biggest problem faced in various parliament was minutes writing, legislative drafting and research, based on that finding a course was developed and today there are several countries joining to follow courses •• .. National Assembly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Topic 1 - The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation (Chaired by Speaker Motanyane from Lesotho) •:• The chair introduced the Topic (as above) and opened the room for deliberations 1. Deliberations • The forums of Parliamentary Diplomacy regionally has since expanded to include others. • Speakers has a huge role to play at both National and International Level when it comes to Parliamentary Diplomacy. • Speakers should use Parliamentary Diplomacy to discuss issues such as Gender, health related pandemics. • Additionally the stand taken by SADC PF calls parliamentary actions • Taking into account the promotion of Political Parliamentary Diplomacy the functions of Parliamentary Diplomacy should not be underestimated. • Speakers can use Parliamentary Diplomacy to discuss National issues threatening their specific countries in their specific regions. • Parliamentary Diplomacy is an added value that provides an opportunity to strengthen the process and produces results. ! • Common knowledge tends to view diplomacy in general as a branch of Government. What is really lacking though is the concrete expression of what Parliaments mean by Parliamentary Diplomacy in order to justify their claims. • Parliamentary has a traditional function in discharging diplomatic roles and these roles '' are much clearer when Speakers are in the House however, definition varies per country. • Parliaments are yet to identify the scope and purpose of Parliamentary Diplomacy. • Parliamentarians should engage diplomatically in order to enhance and promote peace ~ ' and stability at both National and Regional Levels. • Some practices Parliamentary Diplomacy inside their respective Houses as they have been elected as Speaker by the Parliamentary Members and being diplomatic is to respect the opinion of the Parliament and to not interfere with the debates. ' ' • Being Diplomatic also means to consult the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order " to know what to say in conferences such as these. " i' og I o National Assembly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Topic 2 - Use of Technology to support Members and House Business (Chaired By Speaker Chan Jin Tan- Singapore) •!• The Speaker of Singapore introduced the Topic (as above) and opened the room for deliberations 1. Improvements and benefits in the houses with the use of technology • Development of websites, social media networks and groups, blogs and citizen portals whereby all parliamentary information and documentaries are accessible to the Parliamentary members, staff and the public. This enhances democracy and transparency. • Internal portals, electronic databases and SMS Systems to disseminate and exchange information to the parliamentary members which is more cost effective and efficient. • All members from most countries are assigned laptops, tablets and iPad for easy transmission of information such as order papers, motions, budget paper etc ... • Internet Access and free Wifi in the houses. • Media houses are allowed in the houses which enables live Streaming and broadcasting of Sittings though radio and television stages. I • Recordings and videos are uploaded online and are accessible to the members of the i I public. • Special apps which are designed I to be designed to engage members of public with parliamentary works for example: E-Petitions, public views and commentaries on parliamentary discussions. i 2. Challenges houses and MP's faces with the use of Technology. • Certain countries faces the issue of cybercrimes. l • Funding is still an issue for certain countries. I • Fake news and reporting decreases the integrity and reputation of the Parliamentary members and the Houses. • Information are inaccessible to the less fortunate and rural areas despite the change that technology has brought worldwide especially when broadcasting are done through payable television stations. • Social media users are eager to be the first to publish Parliamentary information to the public which most of the time results in fake reporting and heated arguments. • Again fake news and hoax doesn't really portrays transparency and democracy • Certain country feels that the use of social media and technology for the transmission of technology undermines the role of speakers in their decision making and rulings. • Electronic voting are not secret as data can be printed later. og'h January 2018 Prepared by: G. Come (NA Rapporteur) ' ' " Topic 2: Use of Technology to support Members and House Business Contributions from MP's- Marie Louise Room Most parliaments embraces technology for benefits of members Initiate common portrait to share and learn from each other; create synergy Televised debate making communication a priority provide members with ipad as source use of technology Commonwealth parliaments should come together to initiate a common project to the use of technology. So as to share the software's and online platforms. Certain parliament~ now have an application called "boardcard" whereby all the order papers and sittings documents are disseminated to MP's The use ofWatsApp groups, text messaging and other social media platforms enables the MP's to communicate and coordinate researches. Technology has enable institutes to communicate and engage1 with the parliament through Social Media. Information are accessible to the members of the public through live bro.adcasting through radio and television Certain parllamen~ has introduced live streaming and the members of the public can follow the work of the parliamentatfthrough lives feeds. ,, I ,.i " ,, •• t' TOPIC 3 SUMMARY STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY RESERACH FOR THE EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF LEGISLATURES, 11.01.18 1. A modern Parliamentarian requires the provision of background materials in the discharge of his or her functions which ought to be made available by Researchers; 2. In any case, Members of Parliament are not experts and therefore, require the assistance of experts in the discharge of their functions; 3. The scope of modern legislating is increasingly l expanding and becoming complex, hence the need to put at the disposal of Members of Parliament I: researchers and experts; 4. Unlike the Executive Branch of Government which is ; ~' aided by Researchers through line Ministries in their policy formulation, generally, Parliamentarians are not ~' similarly circumstanced, hence the need for library and I research services; 6. The provision of Library services and researchers assures the independence of mind of Members in their debates as well as in the discharge of their functions; 11 i' ..•. . ' r, I I 6. Research also ensures confidence in the quality of debate and the flow of non-partisan information; 7. Parliamentary Research services must provide independent, timely and accurate information for use by Parliamentarians in the performance of their legislative, oversight, budgetary functions and generally decision making in an efficient and effective manner; 8. Research support enhances the legitimacy of the legislature by providing Members with information that is necessary to initiate and amend proposed legislation that is based on informed policy initiatives and reliable facts; 9. Research support also ensures that Members have access to information which enables them to appreciate and articulate the intricacies of governance and executive actions; I 0. The Research team sho~ld be inter-disciplinary in order to provide an integrated analysis of the complex issues facing Legislatures. The breadth and depth of this inter-disciplinary team should include experts in law, economics, defence, homeland security, environmental protection, public administration, education, healthcare, immigration, energy, science and technology/ICT; 11. Access to well researched information by members will equip them with the necessary tools to identify fake 21 .·· .. or false news which 1s usually spread or peddled through social media; 12. Research and Library services provided to Members should be adequately resourced; 13. A well organised parliamentary research service must assist Members to discharge their legislative, oversight and budgetary function by preparing synthesis and analysis of proposed legislation, policies or programmes which will come before parliament for consideration and scrutiny; and 14. In conclusion, what clearly emerged from the deliberations was the fact that the capacity of Parliamentary Research units vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Parliaments that have had parliamentary research services established for longer periods enjoy mote comprehensive research services than i parliaments where these facilities al;"e relatively new. I •• " However, the consensus was that every Parliament should aspire to establish or expand its research services and capacities. I L ., .. 3 I ;· ,I: ,.. . ' r' 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) Topic 3: Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning of Legislatures Workshop summary After the introduction by the Hon. Speaker of Zambia he commented on the morning's presentation which he referred to as a very interesting session after which the Deputy Bailiff McMahon launched the workshop with a presentation concentrating on Guernsey stating that the country has little or no formal research capacity to better assist its members. The presentation sought to compare and contrast this position in a number of Commonwealth islands, including some proposals on how those might be enhanced themselves with a view to identifY what the optimum solution for a place such as Guernsey might be. The address comprised of five headings namely a brief overview of what the position is in Guernsey; a brief comparison between some different models; the dangers presented by the growth in awareness of fake news; the rational of Parliamentarians being given some assistance and the conclusion. Points raised during the workshop indicated that in some Parliament there is no distinction between government and the opposition thus it is important to have proper parliamentary research that is completely non-partisan. In such cases neither Government nor the opposition interfere with the selection of research analysts who provide assistance to all parliamentarians. It is an advantage when Parliament is fully autonomous. One Parliament indicated that it works closely with faculties at the country's Universities after which the Universities come back to them with experts to supplement research in order to assist the parliamentarians. The universities also assist Parliament in other domains such as with profiling of questions. It has been established that it is imperative to establish an efficient library with a good method for parliamentary research which can also cater for independent and confidential research for members including a comprehensive service with 'analytical capacity. Having a large library which is excellent in every respect with large collections of papers including individual academicals research papers is the strong point of a few Parliaments. Modern libraries should cater for modern means of communication and increased capacity for research that can be done outside of the library, especially so as newest and often youngest members of parliament are less likely to use the Parliamentary libraries. Tailor made services according to requests should be designed with trained personnel who can attend to Parliamentarians research needs. At least one Parliament stated that its MPs have the option to choose the researcher that they want to work with and that aside from the research officer, the Parliament also claims to have a budget officer which it considers as a great step forward. Not all Parliamentary Libraries operate in the same way. Some have an excellent library service which is most effective but do not, on the other hand offer specialized service, keeping only a record of all past parliamentary proceedings where MPs come in to do their own research. In at least one instance where there was a clear demarcation between the executive and the legislative and where formerly, unless required by MPs, all research remained with Government and the opposition and government did not sit on the same platform the Speaker has formed a, Caucus grouping all parties with a mandate to carry out research. Pertaining to fake news MPs decided that there should be a distinction between the many forms that currently exists such as false news reporting especially on social media through targeted messages and its psychological impact. Fake news, which most of the time can be perceived as legitimate, are only news or propaganda that mislead. This also applies to false news reporting on modern social media that does not differentiate between personal and other forms of news, and so begged the question "How do we distinguish between fake news and false news?" Regarding the issue of accessing information, it was said that while many Parliamentarians I do their own research either in a library or online, many others have no time to read or access the internet due to the load of Constituency work. Therefore it is imperative that they are adequately assisted with the expertise of qualified researchers. ; The conclusion was that regardless if Parliaments have small or large libraries that are f either adequately or inadequately staffed, they are all bound to experience certain problems at some point. Therefore it is important to know their individual needs and to assist each other. ,. -END- . ' National Assembly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Topic 3- Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective Functioning of Legislatures (Chaired By the Speaker of Malaysia) Room3 •!• The Speaker of Malaysia introduced the Topic (as above) and opened the room for deliberations • Summary of presentation by HON. Boroto - House Chairperson for International Relations (South Africa) According to a comparative study on the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government in most developing countries the least prioritized arm of government to be allocated resources is parliament. Lack of adequate support and insufficient information negatively impacts on the effective performance of the Parliament resulting in costly or even dangerous decision making. In order to hold executives accountable and be accountable by the electorate parliamentarians relies on credible and authentic Information and analysis. Due to public commitments parliamentarians may not have sufficient times to do their own research hence why they depend on parliamentary researchers to provide independent, timely, up-to-date and accurate information to the MP's. I • Members inputs on how to Strengthen Parliamentary Research for the Effective Functioning of Legislatures. i . ' Parliamentary requests reports, documentations and other non-partisan mutual I researches from the researchers. The use of IT and Social Media enhance the interaction between parliamentarians and the public during sittings. Parliamentary are equipped with Analysts, Legal Advisors, In - Houses advisors which gives the parliamentarians mutual and independent information frgm researches done. Parliamentary are equipped with equipped libraries to facilitate the accessibility of information. i . ' .' Staff parliamentary are not involved in Politics and should disseminate independent and Impartial information to the parliamentarians in order to challenge the government. Researchers are technicians and not politicians therefore they provide " independent and mutual information. Budget committees depends on researchers to provide independent information so as to compile accurate estimates. 09'" January 2018 Prepared by: G. Come (NA Rapporteur) ' ·, National Assemoly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth • Challenges Media sometimes being anti-government and anti-politicians sells fake news to the public which affects the integrity of the Parliamentarians and the House as a whole. Another important point that was raised was in relation to information received from the government itself. Parliamentarians stated that it is difficult for them to challenge the executives when the only source of information on certain issues are given from the government. In a world where everything has moved digital doesn't necessarily means that information received online and through other websites are reliable and credible. Budget is a constraint when employing the right personnel to research. ParliamentJ., in certain countries still lacks capacity building. Certain parliamentJv in some countries still lacks a budget committee. 09" January 2018 Prepared by: G. Come (NA Rapporteur) National Assembly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Topic 4- Emerging Security Issues for Parliamentarians (Chaired By the Speaker of Uganda) Room3 •:• The Speaker of Uganda introduced the Topic (as above) and opened the room for deliberations • Summary of presentation by Speaker Motur)l' i Parliamentarians usually deliberates and debates on sensitive issues such as drug trafficking and human slavery issues which results into threats made directly or indirectly to the MP's and the House. Cybercrime is a constant struggle and members refrains from commenting and addressing issues due to the level of crime threats towards them. MP's participating actively in pushing the legislation constantly puts their lives and that of their families at risk. MP's are intimidated by small cartel groups and therefore they find it difficult to respond these particular groups. Uniting Security Issues are of great importance and emergency security issues are widespread through globalization. • Members lnj)uts on what can be done to enhance security measures for I Parliamentarians Parliamentary needs to come up with tactical approaches on how to deal with corruption. Enhance security at the House Precinct I,, Due to heated arguments and set up committees within the parliamentary to deal with threats towards the MP's. Enhance the budget debate for parliamentary security ie: each parliamentarian should have a Police Officer assigned to them. I' ' Parliamentarians should be careful of their surroundings when discussing sensitive issues ie: drivers, housekeeping staffs. Enhance security details and arrangements internally which monitors who goes in and out of the Precinct. Security issues should not be treated with flexibility- It should be maximum at •• all times. Certain Parliamentarians needs to take individual steps to individual security Always have one or more person in a room when dealing with the members of .. the public. • Challenges Parliamentarians faces when dealing with security issues Parliamentarians feels that certain debates and deliberations constantly puts their lives and that of their families at risks The Parliamentary is a Public Institution and public are allowed to enter as and when they want to. Public gets access inside chambers which increases the level of risk. 09'• January 2018 Prepared by: G. Come (NA Rapporteur) ~I I ' " NatiOnal Assembly Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Siding with one party on international related issues increases the amount of risk. Uploading MP's schedules online tends to increase the level of threat and the use of technology such as smartphones and GPS tracking can easily have MP's location tracked. Cybercrimes is on the rise • Fake news and hoax • Fake profiles • Wikipedia (false reporting and information) • The idea of liberation and solidarity is a bit harmful at times Media sometimes being anti-government and anti-politicians sells fake news to the public which affects the integrity of the Parliamentarians and the House as a whole. 09" January 2018 Prepared by: G. Come (NA Rapporteur} REPORT OF SMT. SUMITRA MAHAJAN, HON'BLE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA (INDIA) ON THE TOPIC "EMERGING SECURITY ISSUES FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS: CYBERSECURITY, CONSTITUENCY CONCERNS, SOCIAL MEDIA Chaired the Session on "Emerging security issues for parliamentarians: cyber-security, constituency concerns, social media" Hon'ble Speakers from various countries Mr. Smith (Australia), Mr. Angelo Farugia (Malta), Hon'ble Deputy Speaker, Mr. Lindsay Hoyle, . (UK), Hon'ble Speaker, Mr. Mokitimi (Lesotho), Mr. t.· . Mallard (New Zealand), Mr. Luveni (Fiji), Ms. Hanoomanjee (Mauritius), 'I Mr. McMahan (Guernsey) and Mr. Dennis, Lister (Bermuda) Ms. Joan f· I . Wright (President Bermuda) had given their observations. The following important observations were made: - ,. • In general, Speakers mentioned about the security measures ,. i taken to increase the security of the buildings at entry, electronic systems and various devices installed for strengthening it in their Parliament. l I "' ' ' .' with Parliament or State police or Defence authorities as Fiji Speaker mentioned that their Parliament is secured by Ministry of Defence. In any case Parliament security needs to coordinate with other organizations. UK had given details of very strong security system to take care of terrorist threats. • Members mentioned that Parliament Members have to explain to the people why they are moving with so much security. • The nature of work of Members need a lot of traveling, inter-action security threat is attached to their job. • Cyber security has become real threat. Your location can be tracked by anybody any organization. • Security to self, Members of the family and to the party workers is now a challenge and require huge money. • Members have Oversight Role of Parliament they expose corruption. This has invited threats from various groups. These threats are always there through social media. better interaction with the people but at the same time it exposes you to various threat. How to meet this challenge. • It was suggested that politicians should interact with people as much as possible so that they may aware of some problem which may help in diluting the security threat. • One of the Speakers mentioned that emerging threats is not limited to one country. International Terrorist organization track your participation and your view while participating for national goal in I I international organization. ,,I • Members are facing challenges in balancing democracy and threats from different people I organiszations. Concluding remarks: • All of us are worried about security of our members also in general r• as a country rightly said by Speaker, Canada that two types of security electronical and physical are there. ' ' " person checking system or so on - but today as moderl'1 technology processing we are more worried about cyber security multi media- social media etc. • Sometimes it happens we have so many Laws & Checks but we. find that outsider Group are more ahead In Technology or usin~ advanced technology using it they even try to publisize such thin~ which have adverse effect on our young generation. Also socia· media sometimes miss-inform which spreads wrong thing abou Parliamentarians & Leaders which can cause in some sort o wrong. • We have to be cautious - we must try to disseminate true information and try to check misinformation and misuse of socia media through awareness. Thank you Han. Speakers for patient listening. 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) Topic 4: Emerging Security Issues for Parliamentarians Workshop summary After the introduction by the Hon. Speaker oflndia, the Hon. Tony Smith, Speaker of the Australian House of representatives proceeded with his presentation which stated that in Australia, the ultimate responsibility for Parliamentary security rests with the presiding officers. He continued with an explanation on cyber-security challenges currently being dealt with and also on the work being undertaken to strengthen electronic and physical security at Parliament house. An important subject that should be addressed is that Parliaments cannot always rely on what other parliaments are doing as all countries and all Parliaments are different. Countries with multi-cultural society with a lot of immigrants and various cultures can have connections with terrorist organisations and it is important for all Commonwealth countries to share important security sensitive information, which are not necessarily parliamentarian issues. This is important so that everyone can protect themselves as terrorists are becoming more professional and are all over the continents. I It was noted that the Australian Parliament which was once the most open Parliament in the world is now the most closed Parliament in the world. And the question was "how has this been achieved?" Currently all staff and MPs are stopped and searched unlike in many i other Parliaments. t' Security measures deemed important and effective included relevant coloured passes for employees and MPs and removal of former employee and former member passes, installation of electronic gates, advanced security systems with tracking devices as, for example the advanced and complex system in Dubai, while at the same time keeping in mind that this could lead to a lack of privacy issue, body scans upon entering Parliamentary precincts, security officers for Speakers, absence of mobile phones and internet in the i chambers, and the provision of security outside of Parliament, especially during campaign ~. periods when former MPs become ordinary citizens. This protection should also be extended to first time candidates. A Committee should be put in place, as currently active in one Parliament, to handle issues ,, of violence where members can have around the clock contact with Committee members if security issues arise so that immediate action can be taken. It was suggested that each parliament should undertake a risk assessment to identify individual Parliamentary security needs especially as one Parliament stated that its members meet in a common building where other services are on offer. Spe~tking about the obtaining of guns by the mentally ill, it was brought forward that all of them go through the health system, but sometimes they act out of desperation and frustration and this is when they become violent. It was noted that Parliamentarians should .' ,, ' ' become increasingly careful as other methods, such as the use of knives, are being used to attack them and even parliamentary staff. The community should be able to identify such individuals and alert the authorities so they can receive the right support and access to health services. As public representatives all forms of security, including cyber security, is important for MPs as they should be able to use modern technology without fear. Cyberspace is often talked about but one should also know how to stop the misuse of same. Parliament must think about this issue when disseminating information on social media to ensure that only authentic information is disseminated. Questions were raised on "whether Parliamentary security should be in the hands of the Speaker and a few security officials or in the hands of the state security, and why?" and also on "is there somewhere that smaller Parliaments can go to look at ways on how they should be setting benchmarks to provide the right security for their Parliaments?" Questions still begging for answers. One workshop MP pleaded to all Parliaments to "please take security seriously and to take measures to secure parliament", while another MP stated that "if we come together and if we corporate we will have a peaceful globe". -END· ,.i t· '' ' ' Conference of Speakers and Presiding OffiGers of the Commonwealth CONFERENCE OF SPEAKER AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH (CSPOC) Conferences and Standing Committee Meetings Dates and Locations 1969 to present DATE LOCATION CONFERENCE STANDING COMMITEE September 8-12, 1969 CANADA (Ottawa!Toronto) No.1 I .' 1970 UNITED KINGDOM (London) X 1971 I INDIA (New Delhi) No.2 1972 KENYA (Nairobi) X September 23-28, 1973 I ZAMBIA (Lusaka) No.3 1974 I I June 16-17, 1975 JAMAICA (Kingston) X 1976 I UNITED KINGDOM (London) No.4 ----- I 1977 BAHAMAS ----- X 1978 I AUSTRALIA (Canberra) No.5 ----- " 1979 ------January 2-8, 1980 I CYPRUS (Nicosia) ----- X " April 23-25, 1981 CANADA (Ottawa) No.6 ----- L 1982 I GAMBIA (Banjul) ----- X 1983 ------L ----- I 1984 NEW ZEALAND (Wellington) No.7 ----- January 9-10, 1985 I ZIMBABWE (Harare) ----- X I January 4-12, 1986 INDIA (New Delhi) No.8 ----- 1987 I MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) ----- X -, " 5th Floor, 131 Queen Street, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1A OA6 Tel.: 613-992-6637 Fax: 613-992-3674 [email protected] . ' " DATE LOCATION CONFERENCE STANDING COMMITEE July 20-24, 1988 UNITED KINGDOM (London) No.9 ----- March 27-31, 1989 MALTA (Valleta) ----- X January 8-12, 1990 ZIMBABWE (Harare) No. 10 ----- PAPUA NEW GUINEA January 7-11, 1991 X (Port Moresby) ----- January 6-10, 1992 JAMAICA (Kingston) No. 11 ----- January 3-8, 1993 NAMIBIA (Windhoek) ----- X January 3-7, 1994 PAPUA NEW GUINEA No. 12 ----- January 5-7, 1995 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) ----- X January 3-9, 1996 CYPRUS (Nicosia) No. 13 ----- January 3-8, 1997 SOUTH AFRICA (Cape Town) ----- X January 5-11, 1998 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (Port of No. 14 ----- ~ai!:!l_ January 5-8, 1999 CANADA (Ottawa) ----- X January 5-1 0, 2000 AUSTRALIA (Canberra) No. 15 ----- January 4-6, 2001 TANZANIA (Bagamoyo) ----- X January 8-13, 2002 BOTSWANA (Kasane) No. 16 ------'- January 10-12, 2003 JERSEY (St. Helier) ----- X January 8-13, 2004 CANADA (Montebello) No. 17 ----- January 6-9, 2005 SINGAPORE ----- X January 3-8, 2006 KENYA (Nairobi/Monbasa) No. 18 ----- January 2-5, 2007 THE BAHAMAS (Nassau) ----- X January 2-6, 2008 UNITED KINGDOM (London) No. 19 ----- January 4-7, 2009 MOZAMBIQUE (Maputo) ----- X January 4-8, 2010 INDIA (New Delhi) No. 20 ----- January 12-15,2011 ISLE OF MAN (Douglas) ----- X January 7-12,2012 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (Port of No. 21 ----- ~ai!:!l_ January 10-13,2013 NAMIBIA (Swakopmund) ----- X January 21-25, 2014 NEW ZEALAND (Wellington) No. 22 ----- January 15-18,2015 JERSEY (St. Helier) ----- X January 9-14,2016 MALAYSIA (Kola Kinabalu, No.23 Sabat!)_ ----- DATE LOCATION CONFERENCE STANDING COMMITEE ir January i 0-13, 20i 7 UNITED KINGDOM (London) ----- X January 8-i 3, 20i 8 I SEYCHELLES (Victoria) No. 24 ----- TBC- 20i 9 MALTA ----- X I TBC- 2020 CANADA No. 25 ----- TBC- 202i GUERNSEY ----- X I I TBC-2022 AUSTRALIA No. 26 ----- TBC-2023 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO I ----- X O¥>c1t 'K '·' .. r· I KM OTTAWA, October 25, 20i7 ~ I . ' D!PARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI DEPARTMENT OF lNFORMATlON MALTA Press Release PR 180017 08. 01.2018 PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER Speaker Anglu Farrugia participates at the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Speaker Anglu Farrugia will be participating at the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth which is being held in the Seychelles between the gth and the 13th of January 2018. Speaker Farrugia, who is the Chairperson of the Small Branches of the Commonwealth and a member I of the Standing Committee of the Speakers' Conference, will be addressing the conference on the following themes: 'The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation' and 'The role of the Speaker in strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency." ~ . .. .. Attachments: none Page: 1 of1 3, CASTILLE PLACE, VALLETTA VLT 1062 Tel +(356) 2200 1700 Fax +(356) 22001775 . ' [email protected] www.doi.gov.mt " DIPARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA Press Release PR 180030 10. 01.2018 PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER Speaker Anglu Farrugia participates in the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth being held in Victoria, Seychelles Speaker Anglu Farrugia is currently attending the 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), which is being held in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles between gth and 12th January 2018. This conference is held every two years and serves as an opportunity to "maintain, foster, and i encourage impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments; promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms; and develop parliamentary institutions." Various themes directly affecting Speakers and Presiding Officers are discussed during the ,, conference. The themes chosen for this year's conference include: (I) The role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation; (2) The use of technology to support Members and House Business, which will be tackled on the first day of the conference; (3) Strengthening Parliamentary research for the effective functioning of legislatures, and (4) Emerging security issues for Parliamentarians, which will be tackled on the second day of the conference. .' In addition, a special plenary session dealing with "the role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency" will also be held. ,. For the first time during the course of the conference, the four workshops will have two sessions each, so as to give Speakers the opportunity to attend all workshops. This was decided in the Standing Committee meeting, which was held in London in January 2017. Speaker Anglu Farrugia participated in the first two workshops held yesterday, where the role of the Speaker in strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in both regional and international cooperation, and the use of technology to support Members and House Business were discussed. During the first workshop, Speaker Farrugia explained that parliamentary diplomacy played an important role in mediating amongst countries. The Speaker went on to recall that Parliamentarians have an important role in the international spectrum and gave the example of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean intervening in the talks between Israel and Palestine in December •• Attachments: none Page: 1 of2 3, CASTILLE PLACE, VALLETTA VLT 1062 Tel +(356) 2200 1700 Fax +(356) 2200 1775 . ' [email protected] www.doi.gov.mt " 20 I 0 during the Morocco Plenary Session. Speaker Farrugia concluded that parliamentary diplomacy should be used as a toolbox to organise a pre-emptive dialogue and enhance the common good of our citizens. In the second workshop, Speaker Farmgia noted that nowadays, the use of technology to support members is significant as the public has greater access to parliamentary proceedings, and thus, expects more from its elected representatives. The public expects parliaments to be more transparent, more accountable and more efficient. Speaker Farrugia explained that since May 2015, the public has been enabled to also follow the proceedings on a dedicated parliamentary TV Channel, as well as by means of a newly revamped website. The most recent technological leap made by the Maltese Parliament was made during the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of20 17, when for the first time, Parliament launched an application which enabled users to follow the proceedings of meetings of the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency. During the conference, the Speaker also participated in the Standing Committee Meeting, where the agenda for the meeting was discussed and a number of future meetings, particularly the next Standing Committee Meeting to be held in Malta in 2019, were confirmed. PR 180030 Page: 2 of2 DIPARTIMENT TAL·INFORMAZZJONI- DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA DIPARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA Press Release PR180048 11. 01.2018 PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth comes to an end, with Speaker Farrugia being re-elected to the CPA Standing Committee as representative of the BIMR The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth came to an end with the election of the 2018-2020 Standing Committee Members. Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia was reconfirmed for a second term as the representative of the British Isles and Mediterranean Region seat following unanimous agreement within the region. This also comes in view of the fact that the next Standing Committee meeting will be held in Malta in January 2019. ! The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth was concluded with the second day workshop sessions tackling the themes of "Strengthening Parliamentary Research for the Effective functioning of Legislatures"; and "Emerging security issues for Parliamentarians". A special plenary session dealing with "The role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an •· Institution of Accountability, Openness and Transparency" was held on the third and final day. During the first workshop session dealing with strengthening parliamentary research, discussions were held as to how best to maximise the interaction between parliaments and sittings. It was highlighted that the public is becoming very demanding and accountability of legislators is very high. Speaker Farrugia explained how the research department of the Maltese Parliament is set up, with the engagement of eight research analysts who provide assistance to Maltese parliamentary delegations participating in international fora. They also provide assistance to the thitteen Parliamentary Standing Committees, particularly the Foreign and European Affairs Committee. Malta, being a member of the •• EU, must present documents to the said Committee to scrutinize the Government, as well as check for any breach of subsidiarity and proportionality issues. Speaker Farrugia mentioned the preservation of documents which date back to 1834 which need to be highly accessible, whilst being protected due to their fragility. He also referred to the new library premises to be opened within Parliament in due '' course. During the second workshop session tackling Emerging Security issues for Parliamentarians, a detailed presentation by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, l-Ion. Lindsay Hoyle was delivered, in the light of recent terrorist threats which the British Parliament had to face. The discussion developed into a number of measures and recommendations which Parliamentarians and Parliaments should take in order to ensure their safety. During the workshop, it was agreed that, since Commonwealth countries are facing a number of terrorist activities, it is imperative to share important information regarding security to protect Parliaments and their Members. Speaker Farrugia pointed out that, in view of the various terrorist threats mentioned in the discussion, security services within Parliaments should increase. This should lead to facilitating cooperation on sharing security information. i' Attachments: none Page: 1 of2 3, CASTILLE PLACE, VALLETTA VLT 1062 Tel +(356) 22001700 Fax +(356) 2200 1775 ' ' [email protected] www.doi.gov.mt " The Special Plenary Session discussed the role of Speakers in strengthening Parliament as an institution of accountability, openness and transparency and a number of methods were mentioned which Parliaments should introduce to increase public participation in the decision-making process of elected bodies. It also delved into how Parliaments balance parliamentary information with protection of Members' parliamentary rights and privileges and how citizens are engaged in their Parliaments. In his intervention, Speaker Farrugia shared the importance of accessibility to information and noted that, more importantly, the Maltese House of Representatives entered a new building in 2015, which is mainly made up of glass to ensure transparency and openness to the public. The Parliament is also open to the public for a number of exhibitions and holds regular sittings involving different strata of society, namely media representatives, university students, primary and secondary school children and grandparents who are given the opportunity to debate issues with Members of Parliament. PR 180048 Page: 2 of2 DIPARTIMENT TAL·INFORMAZZJONI- DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA