GPG newsletter

July 2021

Insight

Read our recent blogs

This month, former leader of Basildon Borough Council in Essex Gavin Callaghan wrote about how he believes greater devolution powers have been and are essential for better government and offers five key foundations for any government around the world during the pandemic.

Discover the blog written for Border Criminologies by Waging Peace volunteer and SOAS, University of London research fellow Dr Susanne Jaspars on the multitude of hurdles migrants must overcome in order to apply for asylum.

Finally, GPG Associate and Former Secretary General of the Welsh Senedd, Sir Paul Silk, wrote about Wales’ recent parliamentary elections.

Discover our new website
If you’re reading this, you may have noticed – GPG got a brand new website! We are very excited to share this fully refurbished platform with you. We paid close attention to the way its navigation works, as we want it to best display GPG’s global experience and the breath of our projects.

This month, discover one of our five areas of expertise:

Politics, youth and gender representation
Around the world, women and youth are under-represented at every level in politics. The inadequate representation of women and young people distorts the way in which policy is formulated, depriving decision-makers of vital evidence and expertise.

GPG’s projects have involved direct coaching and advice for women to develop and share the skills they need to access and hold leadership positions both within and beyond political parties. This was enacted through strategic communications, the effective use of political power for change, and creating or supporting internal political party mechanisms to provide support for women candidates and foster a pipeline of future candidates. 

GPG’s projects have also engaged with youth representative structures by supporting youth presence in political office and decision-making at all levels. Developing inclusive and transparent processes which allow young people and their representatives to participate in the planning of their living environment. 

Explore the area of expertise’s page: find out about our expert Associates for this topic, including first female Home Secretary, former Minister and MP Jacqui Smith, Former Member of the Scottish Parliament Lord Jeremy Purvis, or Former MP and Scottish Government Minister Margaret Curran.

Scroll down and explore our diverse case studies, ranging from youth engagement for the parliament of Ukraine to our Winning With Women project designed to identify and train potential female political candidates in Lebanon, as well as a variety of projects in MENA region and regional networking events.

Finally, discover our range of related resources. You may want to look into our recent paper exploring the Economic Drivers of Youth Political Discontent in Iraq by Sajad Jiyad and GPG Associates Müjge Küçükkeleş and Tobias Schillings – or listen to Episode 10 of our Politics as Usual podcast in which GPG Associate and Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Gordana Čomić discusses her career. Do take a look at our related Insight: why not try this piece on the 2020 Belarusian youth protests, or this one by GPG Associate and Former FCO Minister and Minister for Women and Equality Meg Munn about the role male allies have to play to support women in politics?

Iraq

Strategic Planning for transition and handover to the new Parliament

During the month of July, GPG’s Iraq team delivered a training session to the Youth and Sports Committee staff which tackled the main stages of parliamentary inquiry, including written evidence and hearing sessions. This is included in GPG’s support to the Committee as part of their parliamentary oversight inquiry into legislation related to the regulation, training, and employment opportunities available for young people in Iraq. As a result, the Committee began to approach several related governmental bodies and civil society organisations to accelerate the inquiry process.

Moreover, GPG held a virtual webinar which aimed to support the Iraqi Parliament in strategically planning for transition and succession for the new incoming parliament. The webinar shed light on the importance of establishing a dedicated team which would bring transition plans into existence by focusing on two main axes: the development of legacy reports and the provision of induction training for new MPs.

Sudan

Sudan moves up to Tier 2 on US State Department TIP Report

The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) is the US Government principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking and it is also the  most comprehensive resource of governments anti-trafficking efforts gathered by the US State Department. It has three tiers, Tier 1 including the countries that have accomplished more progress in tackling trafficking, Tier 3 including the countries that have not. For the first time in Sudan’s history, they have moved up to Tier 2, prior being in Tier 2 watchlist for three years and before that, being in Tier 3. This is a major achievement for Sudan and the NCCT as it continues to build the recognition of their immense commitment to their work within Sudan and within the international community.

Over the pandemic period, the team at GPG worked to ensure that project delivery continues smoothly with our partners in Sudan. Through online sessions, courses, and constant communication with the National Committee for Combatting Trafficking (NCCT)—GPG addressed ways of building the committee’s capacity as they worked to improve Sudan’s human trafficking record. The TIP Report launched earlier this month, commends Sudan for scaling up the efforts to combat trafficking and acknowledges progress made and includes a mention to GPG’s Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Sudanese government (now extended until March 2022), as well as the work conducted between NCCT and GPG over the past year.

Bahrain

Successful launch event for our Guide to Parliaments on Youth Participation with a special focus on Bahrain

GPG held a webinar to launch its thirteenth Guide to Parliaments which covers the topic of Youth Participation, co-authored by Aileen Walker OBE, former Director of Public Engagement at the UK House of Commons, and Francesca Danmole, Public Policy Expert. Chaired by GPG Associate Lord Jeremy Purvis of Tweed, the webinar included a presentation of the main points that feature in the Guide and a discussion of youth engagement efforts in light of the new circumstances imposed by the pandemic, with a special focus on the experience of the Kingdom of Bahrain with guest speakers H.E. Ahmad Al-Alaamer, Member of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain and President of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee for Youth and Sports, and Maryam Al Sada, Head of Educational Affairs at the Bahrain Institute for Political Development.

Global Partners Governance Foundation

Uzbekistan

GPGF project in Uzbekistan extended to assist the Commission on Follow-Up and Compliance with International Human Rights Obligations 

GPGF is glad to announce that our project supporting the Uzbek Commission on Follow-Up and Compliance with International Human Rights Obligations has been renewed by the British Embassy. For the coming six months, we will be working closely with the Commission to assist it in developing the toolkits and mechanisms required for carrying out a parliamentary inquiry. In addition, GPGF and our team of Associates – Baroness Alison Suttie, Meg Munn, Paul Silk, and Nick Walker – will prepare advice and feedback in a written or webinar form to address the Commission’s requests.

As Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, GPGF is planning to organise an inward visit for the Commission members to better shared with them the experiences of their British counterparts.