COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION NEWS
Embracing evaluation for Agenda 2030 is the focus for Parliamentarians at #EvalColombo2018 in Sri Lanka Over 100 Members of Parliament from 70 Parliaments globally, with many Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures represented, as well as international agencies, evaluation experts and civil society organisations, attended the first Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) #EvalColombo2018 global conference in Sri Lanka from 17 to 19 September 2018 on the theme of ‘Responsible Parliaments – Embracing Evaluation for Agenda 2030’. Over the last ten years, interest has grown steadily amongst Parliamentarians about the role of evaluation as a source of evidence for decision-making on national policy making and development and in appraising progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Evaluation provides Parliamentarians with robust evidence on the performance of policies and programmes and allows them to demonstrate achievements, learn from challenges and be accountable and effective leaders. At the opening of the GPFE forum, Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka said that “As MPs, we have a great responsibility on our shoulders and a priority to the SDGs. For this data, information and statistics have to be used.” Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Sri Lanka said that “evaluation is necessary. We will introduce an evaluation culture in Sri Lanka as policy without evaluation puts a huge taxation burden on the people and no return on investment.” The Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Hon. Karu Jayasuriya, MP addressed the forum and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) was represented by many Commonwealth Parliamentarians attending the forum along with Ms Meenakshi Dhar from the CPA Headquarters Secretariat. Hon. Kabir Hashim,
Minister of Public Enterprise Development in Sri Lanka and the Chair of the GPFE recalled the milestones of the Global Parliamentary Forum from 2008 where policy makers were engaged in evaluation and now there is representation from all over the globe. He said: “Our vision is that evaluation becomes so embedded in good governance that no policy maker or manager will dare hold an important meeting or reach an important decision without having reviewed relevant evaluation information.” The Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) together with EvalPartners, the Sri Lanka Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation, Prime Minister’s Office of Sri Lanka, Parliament of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lanka Evaluation Association, hosted #EvalColombo2018 to promote demand and use of evaluation by Parliamentarians through dialogue and exchange, and to generate innovative approaches to policy making using evaluation as a tool.
Commonwealth Ministers set out plan for implementation of Leaders’ CHOGM 2018 mandates in the margins of 73rd United Nations General Assembly Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers have reiterated their commitment to work with the Commonwealth Secretariat to deliver the range of initiatives agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April this year. Chaired by Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) was held in the margins of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2018. Commonwealth Ministers reflected on the CHOGM 2018 themes of a fairer, more prosperous, more sustainable and more secure future. They examined progress made with the implementation of leaders’ mandates. These include boosting trade and investment through a connectivity agenda to support global growth, create employment and promote sustainable development, and addressing climate change through initiatives such as the flagship Commonwealth Blue Charter programme, set up to protect
274 | The Parliamentarian | 2018: Issue Four
our ocean from the effects of climate change, pollution and overfishing. “The meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers is a testament of the power of multilateralism in a week at the United Nations General Assembly where the big question of the value of multilateral organisations was asked and answered,” said the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland. “Clearly countries have seen for themselves the great socioeconomic benefits of their Commonwealth membership: the convening power, comraderadeship, cooperation and the pool of resources to help them achieve their SDGs.” During the week of the UNGA, a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a group set up by leaders to provide support to member states with their efforts to uphold the Commonwealth’s shared values and principles, also took place.