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International Office UK Liberal Democrats 8-10 Great George Street London SW1P 3AE United Kingdom [email protected] http://www.libdems.org.uk/international @LibDemInternat LibDemInternat 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword - Iain Gill p. 4 Why Party Political Assistance Matters p. 6 Africa Liberal Network p. 8 Botswana p. 11 Serbia p. 14 Bosnia p.16 South Africa p. 18 Georgia & Moldova p. 20 Political Ideology Barometer p. 22 Conclusion - ‘Our Impact Overseas’ p. 23 Our Impact Overseas | International Office | UK Liberal Democrats 4 FOREWORD IAIN GILL HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE ipation and representation of wom- en, youth and minority groups such as the LGBT community through strengthening internal party pro- cesses and cultural practices. This is a crucial part of advancing human rights, equality of opportunity and greater internal party democracy. Funded by the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by way of the Westminster Foun- dation for Democracy, we have es- tablished an outstanding reputation in the field of democracy develop- While the Liberal Democrats are ment. Evaluations carried out by focused on campaigning across all both DfID and the FCO have con- levels of government and promot- sistently praised our work overseas ing liberal values within the UK, the as the most effective and impactful International Office carries out the projects across the Westminster same functions in transitional de- Foundation for Democracy. mocracies overseas, working with We are very proud of our liberal sister-parties primarily in Af- achievements overseas, and rica, the Middle East and Eastern through constant innovation and Europe. striving for excellence, we are confi- Through providing technical dent that the Liberal Democrats will support in constituency campaign- remain at the forefront of interna- ing, training candidates and policy tional democracy development. development, we enable our sis- Yours, ter-parties to fight elections more effectively and hold governments to account. We promote the partic- FOREWORD 5 In Serbia, we have helped the LDP to become the first political party in the Balkans to form an LGBT committee. Harriet Shone Project Manager for Serbia The Africa Liberal Network has grown exponentially and now encompasses 44 political parties across 30 African countries, and is a leading voice in promoting human rights, good governance and economic liberalism across the continent. Luke Akal Africa Liberal Network Coordinator In Bosnia we have been working as part of the first ever WFD integrated programme, providing technical support to our sister-party Nasa Stranka, to promote gender equality in politics. Nick Thorne Project Manager for Bosnia In Botswana, we helped the BMD to become the official opposition, and to hold the government to account. Victoria Marsom Lead Trainer for Botswana Our Impact Overseas | International Office | UK Liberal Democrats 6 WHY PARTY POLITICAL ASSISTANCE “Politics is about finding solu- nise the politicians who will run tions to real problems in peo- governments and occupy seats ple’s everyday lives. Interna- in parliaments. tional development is about 3. Parties have a ‘civic function’; politics, and political parties they promote a civic culture, are the most effective vehi- making political participation cles for achieving democratic available for the wider popula- change and socio-economic tion, not only for elites. progress.” “The neglect of political par- Lynne Featherstone ties, and parliaments, can un- former Minister for International Development dermine the very democratic process that development as- Democracy and parties sistance seeks to enhance” Democracy empowers citizens and Ivan Doherty provides a framework in which they National Democratic Institute can change politics and hold politi- cians to account, and helps differ- Parties supporting parties ent societal groups to work out their differences through discussion and The Liberal Democrats have devel- compromise rather than conflict. oped strong relationships and pro- vided forums for cooperation with Democracy enables people to pro- a large network of sister-parties. tect their rights and liberties, and at Through building productive trust the centre of democracy are politi- relationship, we are able to share cal parties. experiences to learn from each oth- er. 1. Political parties provide democ- racy with a ‘representative func- Our approach is not a giver-receiver tion’; they link citizens to the relationship; we organise trainings, state by representing them and conferences and study visits and enable them to participate. exchange skills as equals. This ex- 2. Parties have an ‘institutional change spreads hands-on practical function’; they gather and orga- experience, enabling sister-parties MATTERS 7 and their leadership, MPs, coun- political parties in developing de- cillors, staffers and activists to fulfil mocracies, creating viable alter- their roles in policy development, natives for the electorate. Working legislative oversight and party build- together as sister-parties, we are ing. able to support democracy devel- opment, good governance and hu- Through strengthening liberal par- man rights at a level which NGOs ties overseas, we contribute to the and civil society are unable to de- emergence of multi-party politics liver. and greater competition between Building links with the National League for Democracy in Myanmar. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Liberal Democrats Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords, Iain Gill, Head of the International Office, and Robert Woodthorpe Browne, Chair of the International Relations Committee meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. Our Impact Overseas | International Office | UK Liberal Democrats 8 AFRICA LIBERAL NETWORK ALN facts powering liberal parties and spread- ing liberal values in Africa. By being • Launched in 2003 in Jo- a forum to discuss liberal ideas and hannesburg. by offering training and expertise, • Made up of 44 mem- the ALN facilitates the strengthen- ber-parties, of which 32% ing of liberal parties across the con- are in government, 30% in tinent. opposition and 38% em- bryonic as of November In 2013 ALN took a huge step in 2014. adopting the Zanzibar Declara- • An associated organisation tion on Jobs and Growth in Africa, of Liberal International. committing the member parties to • The largest liberal network free trade, property rights, and im- outside the Alliance of Lib- proved infrastructure among other erals and Democrats for policy initiatives. Many parties have Europe. already incorporated the declara- • Managed by the UK Liber- tion into their economic policies. al Democrats through the ALN Secretariat in Cape In a survey, 75% of ALN respon- Town. dents said their parties had promot- ed new policy initiatives as a result “The Africa Liberal Network of being part of the Liberal Demo- programme, managed by the crat family in Africa. UK Liberal Democrats, was a shining example of an innova- In 2014 the Zanzibar Declaration tive and impactful programme” was followed by the ‘Marrakech Declaration on Human Rights,’ UK Foreign and which formalised the commitment Commonwealth Office to provide free primary and second- Triennial Review 2014 ary education for all children and prohibit discrimination on the basis ALN Successes of sexual orientation – a milestone in the work to promote LGBT rights The African Liberal Network has in Africa. been an effective vehicle for em- 9 The 2014 General Assembly was the biggest in the history of the ALN, with more than 100 delegates attending from 44 political parties across 35 African parties, in addition to representatives from the Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy, the Friedrich Nau- mann Foundation, the Dutch VVD party and the Liberal Democrats. (above) The 2014 General Assembly in Marrakech, bringing together the executives of the ALN and Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy. (below) Our Impact Overseas | International Office | UK Liberal Democrats 10 AFRICA LIBERAL NETWORK “The ALN is proactively pursu- Political Communication – providing ing a policy-oriented network invaluable knowledge and tools for that reflects common values ALN parties building future cam- and principles with clearly paigns. measurable impact” Through helping its member parties UK Department for to reach out and connect their elec- International Development torates, the ALN fosters political en- Mid-term Evalulation 2014 gagement and civic culture based on policy and ideology. The ALN is a powerful tool for par- ties to help themselves and each other – sharing best practice and identifying solutions to common problems. To improve communica- tion strategies, a challenging area for many member-parties, the ALN and the Liberal Democrats pro- duced a ‘Best Practice Guide’ on The 2013 ALN General Assembly, where the Zanzibar Declaration on jobs and growth was adopted. BOTSWANA 11 A movement for democratic managed not only to stay in the change game but to establish itself as the main opposition party as part of the Since Botswana’s independence in Umbrella for Democratic Change. 1966 it has been a one-party state and opposition parties have strug- Liberal Democrats and the