By Gloria Ikibah
Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has played a leading role in securing the adoption of a major international framework aimed at strengthening post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding efforts.
The resolution was endorsed at the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Istanbul, placing legislatures at the heart of efforts to rebuild societies and sustain long-term peace after conflict. 
Kalu, who served as co-rapporteur alongside delegates from Jordan and the Netherlands, presented the draft document, which outlines a comprehensive approach to managing post-conflict transitions and restoring stability.
The move reflects a growing global shift towards recognising the central role of parliaments in ensuring accountability, inclusiveness and durability in peace processes.
The newly adopted framework is built around five key pillars, including institutional strengthening, fair economic recovery, social cohesion, inclusive governance and continued international support.
It also places strong emphasis on human and collective security as essential foundations for achieving lasting peace, while encouraging preventive strategies that address the root causes of conflict and promote resilience.
Central to the framework is the principle of national ownership, with countries expected to lead their own recovery efforts through inclusive systems that guide reconstruction, legal reforms and institutional rebuilding.
The approach also stresses that external support must align with national priorities and remain subject to democratic oversight, ensuring that recovery processes are both accountable and sustainable.
Kalu said: “The 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union urges Parliaments in countries affected by or emerging from conflict to ensure strong national ownership of peace and recovery processes by leading inclusive nationwide consultations, defining priorities through democratic deliberation and legislation, and ensuring that any external support is adapted to local needs, constitutional frameworks and international human rights obligations.
“Parliaments responsible for implementing peace agreements are called upon to give full legal effect to their provisions by incorporating them into national legislation, establishing clear implementation requirements, and creating permanent, cross-party mechanisms to regularly review progress. These should include hearings with relevant actors, such as women and youth groups and representatives of affected communities, to coordinate parliamentary follow-up, ensure continuity, identify gaps early, and uphold commitments across political cycles.
“When addressing the legacies of conflict, parliaments are also urged to establish national transitional justice frameworks by adopting legislation that enables truth-seeking processes, victim-centred reparations, and fair and transparent vetting or amnesty procedures, as well as effective cooperation with national and international accountability mechanisms. This ensures that justice, recognition of past harms and institutional reform form an integral part of sustainable peace.”
Beyond that, the resolution charges parliaments in countries affected by or emerging from conflict to lead inclusive nationwide consultations and ensure external support adapts to local needs, constitutional frameworks, and international human rights obligations.
Through the IPU resolution, Kalu also urged parliaments to establish national transitional justice frameworks that enable truth-seeking processes, victim-centred reparations, and fair vetting or amnesty procedures, while encouraging the use of human security approaches in legislative, oversight, budgetary, and representation functions.
The document also encourages parliaments to rebalance national and international budgetary priorities in favour of peacebuilding and prevention, prioritize conflict-affected populations in reconstruction and financing, and strengthen transparency and anti-corruption safeguards in recovery funds.
It further charges parliaments to support national and community-level reconciliation through inclusive dialogue and trauma-informed initiatives, promote local dialogue processes that bring together communities and former adversaries, and institutionalize the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and youth across all peace and dialogue processes in line with UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 2250.
The resolution also asked parliaments to strengthen inclusive political participation by ensuring all affected communities are represented in legislative deliberations, foster constructive political dialogue through cross-party platforms, and work with governments, regional organizations, the IPU, and the United Nations to strengthen international support and funding for peace agreements.
It likewise proposes that parliaments consider lawful mechanisms to facilitate reparations for victims and mobilize resources for reconstruction, including the use of frozen or otherwise immobilized assets where lawful.
The resolution requests that the IPU provide targeted technical assistance to parliaments engaged in post-conflict recovery, including advisory missions, capacity-building, peer-learning, and support in mediation and conflict prevention.
