Theory of Change
Members of Parliaments (MPs) have a key role to play in national and global efforts to promote and protect human rights, democracy and peace: in their capacity as lawmakers, in their Government-oversight functions, and as democratically-elected representatives of the people who play important leadership roles in their communities.
By using a peer-to-peer methodology and country-specific strategies, the PGA Secretariat and leading members work together to educate, sensitize, build the technical capacity and strengthen the political will of parliamentarians in order to take ownership, concrete initiatives and legislative actions to achieve results on PGA’s campaign objectives. PGA works with individual parliamentarians in their national contexts and parliaments, and then leverages that capacity with international networking to support democracy, human rights and peace.
PGA contributes to creating an enabling environment for positive changes, especially through activities that facilitate connections between civil society and parliamentarians, as well as building bridges between domestic and international policy-makers and stakeholders. While many other factors can intervene along the way, the goal of PGA’s actions is to contribute to the parliaments passing new legislation, amending existing legislation or repealing discriminatory or unjust laws, and States ratifying and implementing pertinent international treaties. At times, a PGA campaign may contribute to bringing about new or revised policies and standards at the regional and international level, given that no global problem may be sufficiently addressed through national or local action alone.
The impact of PGA’s work relies on the commitment of parliamentarians to advocating for the prevention of, and accountability for, human rights violations, in turn contributing to the reinforcement of the Rule of Law both at the international level and within national systems. It is the active engagement of committed members that enables PGA to be effective in its campaigns.
While promoting the realization of this human rights-centred concept of Rule of Law through its vision, mission statement and strategic plan, parliamentarians engaged by PGA are empowered to better perform their constitutional prerogatives as lawmakers, policy-makers and defenders of democratic institutions.
