Parliaments as Peacebuilders – Parliament in Conflict Affected Countries:  Parliaments are coming to the fore as uniquely designed to address contentious issues and relationships in conflict-affected societies. The role of parliament in conflict-affected countries becomes even more acute when considering the contribution parliaments make to poverty reduction and the well-recognized correlation between conflict and poverty.  As conflict often arises from exclusion from the policy process, and poor governance is related to poverty, it becomes evident that parliament, as a multi-party representative institution has a key role to play in the nexus between conflict and poverty reduction. Namely, the conflict module considers:

• The role of a representative parliament in reducing conflict
• Advancing parliament’s legislative function in conflict
• Social accountability

Curbing Corruption: Corruption is a barrier to the enhancement of stronger democratic institutions and successful implementation of poverty reduction and sustainable development programs. This module provides parliamentary staff with the tools to effectively participate in the anticorruption process, and teaches the skills needed to see and analyze corruption in order to make (the fight a success/that possible). This module has learners consider, specifically:

• The classifications, levels and situations for corruption
• The poverty, social, cultural and environmental costs of corruption
• The causes of corruption
• The institutional and cultural responses to corruption

Parliament and Gender:  The objective of this module is to contribute towards the increased inclusion of women in decision-making by raising the awareness of parliamentary staff on gender issues and how the interests of women and men can explicitly be factored into social and economic policies.

Human Rights: The Human Rights module aims to illustrate practical ways for lawmakers to fight for the implementation of human rights standards for all. This module exposes parliamentary staff to the tools needed to assist parliamentarians in their effort to promote, protect, and realize these rights through international and common national methods. This module specifically helps learners to:

• understand the principles of human rights;
• understand the role of human rights in development;
• Know the international human rights standards,
• Comprehend the role of parliamentarians in securing these rights.

Introduction to International Organizations: The aim of this course is to provide basic facts on development and international institutions, explain the structure and operational procedures of these organizations, and point out opportunities for interaction between parliaments and intergovernmental bodies.