The general debate of the 114th IPU Assembly in Nairobi will unfold under the theme of promoting democracy and helping to build democratic institutions. This comes at a timely moment. Recently, the IPU has undertaken a host of activities which broadly seek to promote democracy. At the Assembly in Nairobi, the IPU President, Pier Ferdinando Casini, will present a new IPU guide on democratic parliaments. The publication is the outcome of a two year project in which parliaments have provided insights and suggestions of good examples on what constitutes a democratic parliament. The guide offers a template of the five core objectives of a democratic parliament - to be representative, transparent, accountable, accessible and effective. It also offers illuminating insights into the new frontier of parliaments - how best to be effective in the international arena.

The publication of the guide follows close on the heels on several other "democracy" products elaborated by the IPU. One of them is the new edition of free and fair elections; a review of development in law and practice over the last ten years since the IPU initially set down the first international principles and criteria of free and fair elections. Another is a synopsis of elections - the fundamental building block of democracies - that took place in 2005. The report draws attention to trends for participation in elections, outcomes, and challenges facing States in overcoming shortcomings in the electoral processes.

These publications are complemented with the draft guidelines prepared by the United Nations in collaboration with several partners and, most prominently, the IPU, on the role of parliaments in reconciliation processes. Based on the experience of parliaments such as those of Burundi, Rwanda and Timor Leste, the guidelines offer convincing arguments about why the international community must pay much better attention to the needs of parliaments in countries moving from conflict towards peace, and offer many examples of how parliaments can and do contribute to peace.

Of course, convincing though they are, these standard setting documents must also be accompanied by political will. It is not enough to declare an electoral process to be free and fair. It is also necessary to respect the result, however politically uncomfortable it may turn out to be. Democracy and free and fair elections also require the international community to behave in a democratic manner and - in short - to be free and fair.

ABJ