Mr. Daniel Dulca, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General, attended, on 31 March 2022, the online webinar, entitled “Putting the wellbeing of people at the centre of COVID -19 recovery strategies: The critical role of parliaments”.

This event was jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and brought together parlamentarians of the UNECE Member States, parliamentary staff and international staff of the Parliamentary Assemblies.

This online Webinar was moderated by Mr. Dmitry Mariyasin, Deputy Executive Secretary - UNECE, and included a video message of Mr. Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General and an intervention of Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the UNECE.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically set back progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), affecting all the aspects of development. By exposing the vulnerability and inequities of our societies, the global health emergency has served as a wake-up call that shows how crucial it is for countries to have policies and legislation to address current and structural issues. Unemployment has increased, supply chains have been disrupted, poverty as well as gender, economic and social inequalities have been deteriorating, despite the important measures taken by governments to protect working people and to support enterprises during this unprecedent crisis.

The mains subjects on the agenda were: Setting the scene – The regional status of SDG implementation; Promoting inclusive economic growth and decent work for a just and sustainable recovery; Experiences from the region with Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).

The webinar provided the participants with up-to-date information and tools that can help them monitor the status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation, at national and regional levels. The participants had a unique space where they exchanged and discussed concrete actions to boost inclusive economic growth and decent work for a just and sustainable recovery.

The discussions also focused on the importance for parliaments to be engaged in the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) process, in order to monitor government actions, strengthen national ownership and build more political support for the SDGs.