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Directorio Legislativo Participated in the 2025 African Parliamentary Monitoring Conference

The Executive Global Director of Directorio Legislativo, María Baron, spoke at the 2025 African Conference of Parliamentary Monitoring and Engagement Organizations (PEMO), held from September 16–19 in Pretoria, South Africa, at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.

This was the fifth edition of the conference and the first to take place in the southern part of the continent. Under the theme “Getting Back on Track: Renewing the Dialogue Between Legislatures and Civil Society,” the event served as a key platform for exchange among civil society organizations, parliamentarians, regional bodies, and the media.

Discussions focused on strengthening and renewing the dialogue between civil society and parliaments, sharing lessons and case studies on legislative monitoring, and promoting practical recommendations and mechanisms for regional parliamentary bodies. The hybrid format also allowed for virtual participation, including webinars dedicated to open parliament practices.

One of the main highlights was the launch of the second edition of the Open Parliament Index (OPI), unveiled during the conference’s formal dinner. The Index provides a comparative assessment of openness and transparency across 33 African parliaments. It was co-created by Directorio Legislativo and PNAfrica, modeled after the Latin American Legislative Transparency Index, which was first developed in 2012 and has since been applied seven times across the region.

Representing Directorio Legislativo, María Baron shared the organization’s experience in advancing open parliament standards at both regional and global levels. “Our aim is for parliamentary transparency indexes from Africa, Asia, Europe, and, of course, Latin America to be comparable and to help establish common standards that can deepen openness over the medium term”, she said.

The event was organized by the Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations Network (APMON) and co-hosted by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) and the Southern Africa Coalition of NGOs (SAf-NGO). It brought together more than 40 representatives from parliamentary monitoring organizations, civil society, and legislative development experts.

Directorio Legislativo’s participation in PEMO Africa 2025 reaffirms its commitment to strengthening ties between civil society and parliaments, and to expanding the use of tools like the Legislative Transparency Index—already well-established in Latin America and now gaining momentum in regions like Africa and Asia.