The Parliament of Bhutan convened its first Parliament–Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Meet today at Terma Linca, Thimphu, marking an important step towards establishing regular and structured engagement between Parliament and civil society.

The one-day dialogue brought together 20 Members of Parliament and 14 CSO representatives to exchange views on parliamentary work, legislative processes and opportunities for greater civil society participation in policy and legislative processes. The meeting is part of Parliament’s efforts to operationalise its Parliament–CSO Engagement Guideline, which identifies the Annual Parliament–CSO Meet as a formal platform for dialogue, information-sharing, consultation and future collaboration.

The Parliament presented key resolutions from the Summer Session and legislative plans for the forthcoming Winter Session, followed by a plenary discussion on how CSOs can provide evidence and ground-level perspectives during the drafting and review of legislation. Discussions also explored how consultation with CSOs can be made more systematic and accessible, particularly as the sector continues to grow.

CSOs representative presented an overview of the sector, including its governance structure, contributions, priorities and key challenges. The discussion covered issues including the role of CSOs in national planning and budgeting, sustainability following Bhutan’s graduation from the Least Developed Country category, accountability, public trust and addressing perceptions and misinformation.

The afternoon session focused on the way forward, with mixed groups discussing three priority areas: mechanisms for regular engagement; information-sharing and consultation; and areas for joint action.

The meeting established a foundation for regular dialogue and more systematic consultation between Parliament and CSOs, in line with the Engagement Guideline's principles of mutual respect, transparency, inclusivity, accountability and continuous learning.

The Meet was conducted with support from International IDEA under Project ‘Nyamdrel II, Bhutan Center for Media and Democracy and Bhutan Transparency Initiative funded by the European Union.