In light of the ongoing discussion on better integration of the work of civil society in the works of national parliaments and international parliamentary assemblies, the Open Dialogue Foundation has been a vocal proponent and advocate for more transparent, organised and fair regulation, benefitting civil society.
We believe that the expertise, input and advocacy work of civil society organisations can be hugely beneficial to lawmakers on all levels. First-hand experience and direct work with citizens, as offered by NGOs, leads to more informed, compassionate legislation, better answering the needs of the people. The level of in-depth knowledge of external, civic experts often cannot be matched by that of lawmakers, working at a higher level of generality on multiple topics simultaneously.
For that reason ODF has been working with lawmakers and the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as members of national parliaments, to advise them on best practices (e.g. mechanisms at the European Parliament) and better internal regulation, leading to procedural transparency, equal treatment of civil society actors and, as a result, improved work of the parliamentary bodies.
Below you will find a set of our opinions and input on the topic from 2023:
- Draft motion for a resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, submitted to Members by ODF in January 2023;
- ODF’s input to the Survey on lobbying and NGO access at PACE, submitted in September 2023;
- ODF’s opinion to the OSCE PA Vancouver Declaration and Resolutions, presented during the 2023 OSCE ODIHR Warsaw Human Dimension Conference.
