Recent Activity

From April 22-24, 2024, the House Democracy Partnership and the George C. Marshall Center held a two-day seminar on the role of parliaments during conflict and post-conflict situations with more than 15 parliamentarians from five countries, including Moldova, Georgia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. The program’s sessions examined civil-military relations, parliamentary oversight capabilities, and the role of parliament in human security.

From April 15-17, 2024, the House Democracy Partnership engaged with the Legislature of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia, focused on supporting citizen participation in the budget process. The program engaged with several high-level representatives, including Senate and House leadership and leadership of several committees, as well as with the Legislative Budget Office, the Public Accounts Committee, and other staff members, to highlight participation in the budget office and the roles that members and legislative staff hold.

The House Democracy Partnership and the Women's Foreign Policy Group hosted Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Congresswoman Carol Miller, and Yaqiu Wang, director of research on China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House for a panel on "Women in China: Regressive Gender Governance in Authoritarian States."

On March 12, HDP’s Executive Director Derek Luyten moderated an esteemed panel with ParlAmericas on parliamentary diplomacy as a tool for strengthening regional democracies. More than 20 Members of Parliament representing 20 countries from across the Western Hemisphere were meeting at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC.

From February 23-28, 2024, HDP organized a congressional delegation visit to Panama, Colombia, and Peru to meet with Members of Parliament and key democratic stakeholders in the region. Too often, Central and South America are overlooked in U.S. strategic plans, but we must be present and engaged with our neighbors to underscore the importance of democracy and the rule of law.

HDP’s Executive Director Derek Luyten spoke on a panel organized by the Women's Foreign Policy Group and hosted by Microsoft on February 6, entitled “Safeguarding Democracy: Technology and Election Security.” The panel, which also featured the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, focused on the role of generative AI in the political process and the challenges legislators face in finding opportunities to use technology to modernize while also protecting democratic norms from technological misuse and harm. 

From January 31 to February 2, 2024, the House Democracy Partnership engaged with the Parliament of Sri Lanka in Colombo, focused on strengthening the research capabilities of the parliament.

A team of HDP staff was in Buenos Aires, Argentina from January 25-28, 2024 to learn and find ways in which the U.S. Congress and Argentinian Parliament can better collaborate with one another and also with other legislatures in the region. Meetings included high-level engagements with U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Marc R. Stanley, Foreign Relations Committee Advisors within the Argentinian Parliament, the Argentina Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NGOs focused on good governance, labor representatives, and academics.