Topic 4 – Sharing of best legislative practices

 

Speakers: participants

 

Mr. M. Omar (IPU) urged the participants to think about the relationship between the work they did in parliament and the science they had learned over the course of the 2022 Science for Peace School on the theme of water management. Based on the knowledge acquired, it was important to come up with next steps to promote development and serve the people. For instance, how could parliamentarians use science to deliver actual water to people in areas such as the Sahel and the Middle East? There was a particular need to address the situation in the Sahel which had been neglected. It was only through development that countries could foster peace. 

 

The IPU and CERN would prepare a report on the sessions held during the 2022 science for peace school. There would be chapters on science, peace (particularly the science of peace), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and diplomacy. Guidance would also be provided on how legislators could apply the knowledge acquired during the sessions in their work. The report would be turned into a curriculum that would be available on an interactive web-based platform. Participants were encouraged to provide feedback about their experience to be included in the report.

 

There were very clear objectives for the future. For instance, it was very important to set up a global bank of legislation on water management, create a parliamentary toolkit for the implementation of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, and design model legislation on the same topic. Preparatory meetings would be held in Viet Nam with a view to making those objectives a reality.

 

Many countries very much believed in science for peace schools, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel. The schools could help ensure that science was driven by a sense of humanity, rather than by the market, while also teaching younger generations of parliamentarians to work in a more science-based way.

 

Mr. D. Naughten (Chair, IPU Working Group on Science and Technology) called on participants to provide examples of legislation that worked in practical terms so that countries without a precursor would have a baseline on which to draft their own.

 

Every country and jurisdiction should have clear lines of responsibility in the area of water management. It was important to establish who was in charge of water quality, maintenance and sources for example so that they could be made directly accountable. Otherwise, problems with water supply were more likely to occur. In 2013, 4 out of 10 people in his constituency had been unable to drink water from their own tap, but by bringing in clear lines of responsibility, it had been possible to turn the situation around.

 

Science and technology landscape in Israel :

 

Mr. R. Goldschmidt (Israel) drew attention to a few key strengths of the science and technology landscape in Israel. First, civil research and development expenditure in Israel was high, at 5.6% of GDP in 2021. Most of the expenditure came from foreign investment, multinational firms and local enterprises, which was an indication of the strength of the business sector. The share of research and development funding provided by the Government was relatively small, at 9% of the total. Second, Israel had a vibrant high-tech sector representing 15% of GDP in 2021 and 40% of Israeli exports. It also had the highest number of start-ups per capita in the world. Third, Israel was participating in the European Union’s programme for research and development, Horizon Europe, with more than one billion euros in funding having been provided to Israeli scientists in 2020. Fourth, the country had been a member of CERN since 2014.

Israel had placed a policy focus on water management, which was a real challenge for the country given that more than half of its total land area was desert. As such, it had had a number of successes in that area. For instance, the rate of wastewater treatment was high at 93% and a great deal of effort and resources had been invested into desalination. Additionally, the number of publications on topics such as desalination, water harvesting, and trans-boundary water resources was about twice the global average.

 

Challenges at the parliamentary level :

 

He pointed out three challenges that made it difficult for parliamentarians to exercise oversight over science and technology but stressed that opportunities also existed in those challenges. The first challenge related to the delays that occurred when legislating on new technologies. Indeed, technologies evolved in a very rapid manner, which meant that legislation was often lagging behind. The delays, however, although seemingly negative, in fact gave the new technologies a chance to mature and grow without any regulatory burdens and also allowed more time to better understand the implications. Overall, it was important to take certain principles into account when legislating on new technologies, such as the need to remain tech-neutral, meaning that regulations should not address any specific technology. Parliamentarians were also encouraged to proceed with caution. For example, in the case of drones and facial recognition, legislating too late would not have an impact, while legislating too early could cause new industries to migrate. That said, he did believe that new, unknown technologies should be subject to public debates before they went into everyday use.

 

The second challenge related to science and technology committees in parliament and the tension between their role as an advocacy group for science and technology and their role as an oversight mechanism. On the one hand, the committees must fulfil government expectations, working together with the government department for science. On the other hand, they were also expected to scrutinize government programmes and actions. It was his belief that the committees should embrace both roles to some degree. They should not rely completely on government cooperation, but nor should they become an exclusive club.

 

The third challenge related to the multitude of topics dealt with by science and technology committees, which made oversight a challenging endeavour. Topics included gene editing, artificial intelligence, algorithmic discrimination, fake news, earthquake readiness, climate change and many more. It was, however, an opportunity for committees to use horizon scanning, which would allow them to get ahead of new legislation, sometimes even ahead of the government, as well as to bring multiple stakeholders to the table.

 

Best practices within the Knesset :

 

He mentioned a number of best practices within the Israeli Parliament. At the parliamentary level, two professional reports were regularly submitted to the science and technology committee and discussed at its meetings, namely a tri-annual report called “State of the Sciences” as well as an annual report on research and development. The reports gave parliamentarians access to a relatively broad spectrum of topics and provided them with useful, professional insights. From a research perspective, the Israeli Parliament had started publishing a series of research papers called “First Glance” which provided simple explanations of up-and-coming issues, including on science and technology. For example, one recent paper addressed the topic of algorithmic discrimination. The series was based on a similar one published by the European Union called “EU at a Glance”. Parliamentary research gave parliamentarians the tools to hold in-depth discussions on many different topics, especially those related to fast-paced industries such as technology.

 

Mr. M. Omar (IPU) asked Mr. Goldschmidt to explain what was meant by the term “algorithmic discrimination”. He should also indicate how parliamentarians could gain access to the abovementioned parliamentary research.

 

Mr. R. Goldschmidt (Israel) said that algorithmic discrimination referred to a phenomenon whereby machines made unfair decisions based on certain data sets which privileged one category of people over another. For example, a machine used to analyse CVs for a job application might decide to reject one applicant simply because their name was different to the other names listed in the data rather than deciding based on credentials.

 

Researchers within the Israeli Parliament did their best to provide parliamentarians with the information in a clear manner. It was then up to the parliamentarians to read it.

 

Mr. M. Omar (IPU) suggested that parliaments share their research papers with others. It would be useful to have a collective bank of information. Artificial intelligence was a particularly important topic that must be understood and discussed by legislators.

 

India marching ahead with science

 

Mr. P. Sharma (India) said that coming out of the shackles of imperialism and the shackles of war, India was imagined as a nation state of science, which would run on scientific governance, and the fundamental tenants of logic, reason, discovery and inquiry. India put science and research in the core of its laws and policies for the benefit of the people. Reference was made to several examples based on collaboration between Indian politicians and scientists, including the Green Revolution and the White Revolution, space science and atomic energy. After gaining its independence in 1947, India started its own atomic energy programme in 1948. India started its own space programme in 1957, the same year of the opening of the Space Age. Another important example is the “zero casualty” approach of the Indian national disaster management system, which was celebrated at global forums with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) referring to the recent evacuation efforts as role models for others in the world to be followed.

 

Water Missions Led by the Indian Prime Minister :

 

India is following the belief of its Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, in the ability of science and technology to transcend national barriers, unify the world and advance peace. Two concrete examples are the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Jal Shakri campaign.

 

The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to ensure that every rural household in India has access to safe and sufficient drinking water via individual tap connections by 2024. In addition, the program will make source sustainability measures mandatory, such as managing grey water, conserving water, and collecting rainwater. The mission will be community-focused and will prioritize Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) as a vital component.

 

The Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign launched by the Government of India in 2019. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about water conservation and management, as well as to accelerate the implementation of water conservation measures in 255 water-stressed districts across the country through two phases. The JSA aims to mobilize and engage local communities, groundwater experts and scientists, stakeholders and government officials to promote water conservation and management practices, including rainwater harvesting, rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, groundwater recharge and watershed development. The campaign also emphasizes the importance of sustainable water use practices in agriculture, industries, and urban areas.