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 Arab Parliaments > What We Do > Our Publications
PublicationsCommissioned StudiesBackgroundersNewsletter
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Towards Strengthening the Role of Arab Parliaments in the Reform of Political Party Legislation
[English][Arabic].
2009
This Publication includes the knowledge products of the Working Group on Parliaments and the Reform of Political Party Legislation. In addition to workshop reports, the publication includes the four regional studies that have been commissioned by UNDP on key issues affecting political party life such as party finance and internal organization. The book also includes the General Principles for Political Party Legislation in the Arab Region, around which, the members of the working group have reached a consensus.
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General Principles for Political Parties Legislation in the Arab Countries
[English][Arabic].
2009
This pamphlet includes a set of guiding principles for political party legislation in the Arab region which were debated and adopted by the Working Group on Parliament and Reform of Political Parties Legislation, launched by the UNDP’s Parliamentary Development Initiative in the Arab Region (PDIAR). Members of the Working Group were comprised of more than 40 parliament members from: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Yemen, in addition to researchers and experts on the topic. These guiding principles could serve as a basis for reviewing current legislation or drafting new political party laws in the Arab Region. They could also contribute to the institutional development of political parties within a functioning democratic governance system, and reinforce political participation as well as political pluralism.
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Handbook for Parliamentarians on Public Finance: Budgetary procedures, glossary and guidebook
[Arabic][French].
2009
This handbook published by the Mauritanian parliament in cooperation with UNDP, explains the process of preparing the national budget. It defines the national budget and sheds light on the legislative framework governing it. It clarifies the steps of preparing the budget, voting on it, and conducting oversight over its implementation. The publication also includes general guidelines as well as a glossary of related terminologies.
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Handbook for Mauritanian Senators
[Arabic][French].
2009
This publication, prepared by the Mauritanian Senate in collaboration with UNDP, provides a practical handbook for the Mauritanian senators. It sheds light on the Mauritanian institutional structure, and discusses the Senate’s organization, and the different stages of the legislative process. It also discusses the oversight role of the Senators.
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Arab Parliamentarians Handbook for Empowering Youth
[Arabic].
2008
This handbook, published by UNDP in cooperation with the Arab Scout Parliamentary Union, and the Parliamentary Studies Programme at Cairo University, highlights the basic principles guiding youth policies, and provides Arab legislators with a draft youth law as well as an explanatory note on the draft law.
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The Rights and Duties of Members of Arab Parliaments: Comparative Study of Rules of Procedure of Arab Parliaments
[Arabic].
2007
This book, published by UNDP’s Parliamentary Development Initiative, Presents a comparative overview of the rights and duties of Arab parliamentarians in the light of the Arab parliaments’ bylaws. The study discusses the sources of rights and duties of parliamentarians, members of parliaments’ right to join parliamentary committees, speak in general assemblies and committee meetings, and submit draft laws. The study also compares the Arab parliaments’ bylaws concerning parliamentarians’ oversight role of the executive power, parliamentary immunity, resignation, and their duties in attending parliamentary sessions.
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Parliament and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century. A Guide to Good Practice
[English][Arabic].
2006
This guide, published by IPU, outlines the main characteristics that parliaments should have to be considered democratic: representativeness, transparency, accessibility, accountability, and effectiveness. it also provides examples of how parliaments from all over the world fulfill these characteristics.
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Making Reconciliation Work: The Role of Parliaments
[English][Arabic][French].
2005
This Guide is published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). UNDP funded its translation to Arabic. The guide provides some insights into the particular role played by the parliaments in countries which have experienced or are going through transition from conflict, and highlights the pitfalls to be avoided on the road to reconciliation.
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The General Budget in the Arab Countries: Comparative Study on the Preparation, Approval, Implementation and Monitoring of the Budget in the Arab Countries
[English][Arabic].
2005
This book, published by UNDP, defines the general budget, and sheds light on various aspects such as the budget’s history and development, principles of a good general budget, measures to promote the parliament’s role and the obstacles that limit the effectiveness of parliaments in this domain. The book also discusses methods of preparing the budget in the Arab countries, as well as approving, implementing, and performing auditing and oversight over its implementation. The book concludes by highlighting the final accounts process in different Arab countries.
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Legislative Drafting for Democratic Social Change: A Manual for Drafters
[Arabic].
2005
This guide is coauthored by Robert B. Seidman, Ann Seidman, and Nalin Abeyesekere. UNDP funded its translation to Arabic. It aims to provide guidance to the legislators during the technical procedure of legislation. It highlights several important topics such as the relation between the legislative drafting, good governance, and the process of development. It discusses the technique for preparing a research report, and methods for drafting a draft law. The guide also sheds light on the role of legislative drafting in promoting good governance.
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Parliament, the Budget and Gender
[English][Arabic][French].
2004
This guide, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the World Bank Institute and the United Nations Fund for Women, discusses some of the basic concepts and issues in budgeting, the budget process and the budget as a tool for accountability. It also provides a gender perspective on the budget and suggests ways to strengthen legislative participation in this domain.
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Towards Developing Legislative Drafting for Arab Parliaments
[Arabic].
2003
This book, published by UNDP – POGAR, includes the proceedings as well as the final report, of the Workshop on Developing Legislative Drafting for Arab Parliaments, held in Beirut in 2003. Some of the topics discussed are: legislative drafting for good governance; Legislative drafting in Arab countries; methodologies, means and sources for producing legislative texts. It also focuses on the status of legislative drafting in Egypt, and suggests ways to improve legislation and make them clearer. The book concludes with the discussion of the pillars for an efficient and democratic legislative process.
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Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector: Principles, Mechanisms and Practices
[English][Arabic][French].
2003
This handbook was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It deals with the evolving concept of security and the oversight role that parliament plays in this sector, as well as the stages of national security policy cycle and the relevant international regulations. It also highlights the role of civil society and the media in security sector monitoring. The handbook provides an overview of the constituents of the security sector, as well as the tools and instruments that parliaments can use to oversee this sector. It focuses on three main aspects: defense budgeting, security sector personnel and procurement.
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Assessing Legislation: A Manual for Legislators
[English][Arabic].
2003
This guide is coauthored by Robert B. Seidman, Ann Seidman, and Nalin Abeyesekere. UNDP funded its translation to Arabic. It aims at providing the legislators with the necessary tools that would help them in assessing legislation and proposing them to promote social and democratic change in their countries. The guide highlights and discusses several important topics such as the role of the legislators in facilitating socio-political and economic change, the legislative theory, and the methodology for problem solving, in addition to assessing the technical sufficiency for the proposed law.
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Towards Developing Arab Parliamentary Work
[Arabic].
2000
This book published by UNDP – POGAR, includes the proceedings of the Symposium on Arab Parliamentary Developmentheld in Beirut in 2000. The papers present a comparison between the Arab parliament’s regulations, as well as a comparison between their legislative functions. It also discusses the oversight role of Arab parliaments, and sheds light on the Lebanese parliamentary life. It also includes a plan for developing Arab parliamentary life, and highlights the challenges and possible domains for institutional development.
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Draft International Law for Youth: Arab Countries and Legislations Related to Youth Rights and Duties. Second Study
[Arabic]
This study was prepared by the Arab Scout Parliamentary Union, and the Parliamentary Program at Cairo University, with the support of UNDP. The study aims at observing the best practices in Arab legislation (focus of this study), as well as modern international legislation (the focus of the first study “Draft International Law for Youth: Survey of International Youth Related Legislation”) as it is a legislative and institutional mechanism for Arab youth empowerment.
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Draft International Law for Youth: Survey of International Youth Related Legislation. First Study
[Arabic]
This study was prepared by the Arab Scout Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Program at Cairo University, with the support of UNDP. The study aims at observing the best practices in modern international legislation (the focus of this study) as well as Arab legislation (focus of the second study “Draft International Law for Youth: Arab Countries and Legislations Related to Youth Rights and Duties”), as it is a legislative and institutional mechanism for Arab youth empowerment.
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Effect of Political Party Legislation on Democratization of Political Parties: the Case of Jordan
[Arabic]
Presentation of Mr. Hussein Abu Rumman, Executive Director, Al-Urdun Al Jadid Research Center, Jordan.
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Funding Political Parties in the Arab Countries
[Arabic]
Study commissioned by UNDP and prepared by Mr. Raghid El Solh, Expert in Arab regional affairs, Lebanon.
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General Principles for Political Parties Legislation in the Arab Region
[English][Arabic]
Adopted during the Third Working Group Meeting “Building Consensus on Basic Principles or Minimum Standards For Political Parties Legislation in the Arab Countries”
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Improving the Legal Framework - The Experiences of Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon
[Arabic]
ٌRegional comparative study prepared by Mr. Raghid El Solh, Researcher and Political Science Specialist, Lebanon
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Mechanisms and Conditions for Using Oversight Tools in Arab Constitutions and Parliamentary Bylaws
[Arabic]
Paper presented by Ms. Sara Salman, Parliamentary Development Initiative in the Arab Region, UNDP.
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Minimum Standards for General Principles in Political Party Laws
[Arabic]
Study commissioned by UNDP and prepared by Mrs. Fadia Kiwan, Director of the Institute of Political Sciences, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon.
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Regional Comparative Study: Improving the Legal Framework - The Experiences of Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, and Yemen
[Arabic]
ٌRegional comparative study prepared by Mr. Ahmed Saif, Director of Sheba Center for Studies and Research.
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Regional Study on Political Party Laws: International and Arab Experiences
[English][Arabic]
This paper, commissioned by UNDP as a background paper for the workshop on Parliaments and the Reform of Political Party Legislation: First Working Group Meeting, sheds light on the international experience in legislating political party laws, and focuses on this experience in several Arab countries. It discusses the different types of political party legislation, ranging from laws that prohibit political parties, to laws that encourage their activity through different methods such as the electoral law and party finance.
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Some Procedures Aiming at Strengthening Women Political Participation - Quota System
[Arabic]
Presentation of Ms. Rima Habasch, Expert/Program Associate, UNDP-POGAR, Beirut.
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Summary of Regional Study on Political Party Laws: International and Arab Experiences
[Arabic]
Presentation of Mr. Raghid El Solh, Expert on Arab Regional Affairs, Lebanon.
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The Legal Framework for Parlaimentary Oversight of the Government in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Muaritania, and Tunisia
[Arabic]
Regional comparative study prepared by Mr. Mhammed Malki, University Professor, Qadi Ayad University – Marrakech, Morocco.
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The Role of Political Party Legislation in Developing and Democratizing the Arab Political Life (Comparative Study: Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria)
[Arabic]
Study commissioned by UNDP and prepared by Mr. Nadir El Moumni, Professor of Political Sciences, Mohamed V University, Morocco
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Vetting and the Security Sector
[English][Arabic][French].
2007
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. This backgrounder sheds light on the vetting and security sector. It discusses the importance of vetting, who needs to be vetted, some of the main techniques of vetting. It also sheds light on the human rights and governance challenges that vetting poses, and some of the particular challenges for transition and post conflict countries.
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Parliament's Role in Defence Budgeting
[English][Arabic][French].
2007
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. This backgrounder discusses the role that the parliament plays in the different phases of the preparation of the defense budget, as well as overseeing its execution. The backgrounder also highlights the importance of promoting the role of the parliament in this area, how this role differs from one country to another, and the specific issues facing developing and post-conflict areas.
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Parliament's Role in Defence Procurement
[English][Arabic][French].
2007
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It sheds light on the difference of defense procurement from other types of government procurements, the actors involved in defense procurement, and the stages of defense procurement in which the parliament may intervene. The backgrounder also discusses the main challenges facing this type of procurement, ways to strengthen parliamentary role in this area, and the specific issues facing developing and post-conflict areas.
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Private Military Companies
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It discusses private military companies in the light of the growing demand on them, and compares and contrasts them with military institutions in terms of cost effectiveness and efficiency. It also sheds light on the importance of these companies to governance issues, and how they should be regulated both by international and national legislation.
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Parliamentary Oversight of Intelligence Services
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation into Arabic and publication. It discusses the role of parliament in oversight of intelligence services and identifies the five layers of intelligence scrutiny. It also sheds light on the experience of parliamentary oversight committees in four countries, and outlines the oversight mandate of the parliament, the key challenges facing it and how these challenges can be addressed.
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Contemporary Challenges for the Intelligence Community
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It sheds light on the changes occurring in the strategic environment and the different actors concerned. It also discusses the implications of these changes on intelligence services, highlights ways in which these issues can be addressed and sets the priorities in facing the recent and current changes and challenges.
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Multiethnic Armed Forces
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It discusses the management of diversity within armed forces and the involved actors in this process. It highlights some of the guiding principles in dealing with ethnic groups in armed forces, as well as some methods followed to ensure balanced representation of the different groups, and some special considerations regarding multiethnic armies in post-conflict settings. Finally it sheds light on the main structural approaches to multiethnicity in the armed forces.
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National Security Policy
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It focused on national security policy, and the reasons why a country needs to adopt one. The backgrounder also reviews the legal framework and explains how a national security policy is structured and formulated, the challenges which need to be taken into account while formulating an effective national security policy, and means to implement it. Finally it outlines the principles for an effective and democratic national security policy.
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Parliamentary Committees on Defence and Security
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. The backgrounder sheds light on parliamentary committees on defence and security. It defines what distinguishes the work of these committees from other committees, and which committees are involved in defense and security. In addition it outlines the mandate and role of these committees, and what factors increase their efficiency. It also identifies how these committees organize themselves internally, and how the division of labor among them differs in various countries, listing some examples.
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States of Emergency
[English][Arabic].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation into Arabic and publication. It discusses the key components of a state of emergency, and the importance of this issue. It outlines the essential principles that should be respected during the state of emergency, focusing on the human rights aspect. It also details the special powers that can be proclaimed in such a state and the mechanisms and approaches that can limit the abuse of these powers.
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Military Ombudsmen
[English][Arabic][French].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It discusses the importance of military ombudsmen and on how to ensure effective functioning of these institutions. It also highlights the German and Canadian experiences in this domain, and reviews other available oversight mechanisms.
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Intelligence Services
[English][Arabic][French].
2006
This Backgrounder was prepared by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). UNDP funded its translation and publication in Arabic. It defines the role of intelligence services, their purpose and activities, and how intelligence is produced. It also sheds light on the types of intelligence services, relevant legislations and the democratic standards that should govern them.
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