LAHORE: The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) on Saturday acknowledged the need for empowering local government to ensure equitable development and noted with concern detrimental impacts of misinformation, hate speech and digital manipulation on public trust and democratic fabrics of societies.

A charter adopted at the concluding day of the CPA conference stated: “We, the speakers, presiding officers, and delegates from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) branches of Asia and South-East Asia, solemnly adopt the Lahore Charter as a testament to our collective resolve to uphold parliamentary democracy, foster inclusive growth, and advance sustainable development across the region”.

The charter further recognised the indispensable role of parliaments in fostering inclusive governance, ensuring accountability, and advancing the rights and aspirations of all citizens and regional challenges such as climate change, socioeconomic disparities and rapid technological transformation requiring collective legislative efforts, innovative policymaking and inter-parliamentary collaboration. It also reaffirmed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy as a cornerstone for regional cooperation, mutual understanding, and lasting peace and acknowledged the need to empower local governance structures to ensure equitable development and the efficient delivery of public services.

The delegates noted with concern the detrimental impacts of misinformation, hate speech, and digital manipulation on public trust and the democratic fabric of societies and highlighted the shared responsibility of parliaments to address socioeconomic inequalities, ensure universal access to healthcare and education, and advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Charter raises concerns at hate speech, misinformation and digital manipulation

The moot emphasised the critical need for equitable representation of women, youth, persons with disabilities and minorities in legislative processes to build inclusive and just societies and appreciated the initiative of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in hosting this historic conference, providing a vital platform for dialogue, cooperation, and legislative innovation between both CPA branches of Asia and South-East Asia.

In the backdrop of abovementioned challenges, the delegates reaffirmed commitment to uphold democratic norms, constitutional principles, and the supremacy of parliaments as the voice of the people and enhance parliamentary oversight, accountability, and transparency to rebuild public trust in institutions. They also pledged to promote constructive dialogue, mutual respect and inclusivity in the parliamentary discourse to strengthen democratic practices and pursue legislative frameworks that enable local governments to deliver effective services, allocate resources equitably and maintain accountability. They also promised to share knowledge and best practices in decentralised governance to address regional challenges and foster sustainable development, advocate for capacity-building programmes that empower local institutions and leadership and strengthen legislative measures to combat climate change, reduce air pollution and enhance urban resilience. They promised to promote green infrastructure, sustainable public transportation, and climate-adaptive urban planning, advocate for cross-border cooperation to develop and implement regional climate mitigation and adaptation strategies and promote ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in governance.

Pledging to fight misinformation, hate speech, and the spread of fake news, while safeguarding freedom of expression, the delegates promised to promote regional collaboration to establish standards for digital governance and transparency and address disparities in healthcare and education through targeted legislative interventions, prioritising marginalised communities.

The charter also promised to strengthen public health systems and combat malnutrition, child labour and educational inequities through legislations, promote regional initiatives to improve access to quality education and healthcare while advancing SDG-aligned reforms, enhance the representation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and minorities in legislative bodies and policymaking processes and address systemic barriers to participation and foster inclusive policymaking environments.

It also made a pledge to advocate for policies that promote diversity, equity and social justice, utilise parliamentary diplomacy to address shared regional challenges and strengthen inter-parliamentary relationships, foster dialogue and knowledge exchange to promote peace, stability, and prosperity across Asia and South-East Asia and encourage participation in joint initiatives that advance regional development and legislative innovation.

In order to fulfill these promises, the speakers of Commonwealth Parliaments, swore on upholding the principles outlined in this charter and endeavour towards integrating these principles into our legislative agendas, encourage continuous reviews and progress assessments of these principles, foster partnerships with civil society, academia, and private sectors to enhance inclusivity, transparency, and innovation in governance and engage in collaborative capacity-building initiatives to strengthen parliamentary institutions, ensuring resilience and adaptability to emerging challenges.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025