Individual members of both the Commons and the Lords can raise international issues during Parliamentary debate (see Hansard for transcriptions of daily debates). They also have the ability to introduce a variety of bills before Parliament. Public Bills, when enacted, will form part of the general law which applies to all individuals or bodies equally. Most Public Bills are introduced by a Government Minister and are known as Government Bills. A Public Bill introduced by a Member who is not a Minister is known as a Private Member's Bill. In addition, an Early Day Motion (EDM) is a motion tabled by Members of Parliament calling for a debate on a particular subject. Click here find out about current Parliamentary bills and EDMs that have an international focus.

Within both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, Select Committees remain Parliament's major instrument for the oversight of the government's foreign, trade and aid policies.

The Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) remit is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The Committee is appointed by the House of Commons.  It comprises of 14 backbench Members of Parliament from Government and Opposition parties, and is calculated to reflect the membership of the House as a whole. The Committee chooses its own inquiries. The usual culmination of an FAC inquiry is a report made to the House and published in hard copy. The Government then responds to each of the report's conclusions and recommendations within two months of publication. As of May 2006, the FAC has 4 ongoing enquiries on the FCO's White Paper, Developments in the EU, East Asia and Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism. A list of FAC members can be found here.

The International Development Committee (IDC) is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for International Development (DFID) and its associated public bodies. The Committee also takes an interest in the policies and procedures of the multilateral agencies and non-governmental organisations to which DFID contributes. The IDC has 3 current inquiries into Private Sector Development , Conflict and Development: peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction and Making Trade Work for Development: the WTO Hong Kong ministerial. A list of IDC members can be found here.

Within the House of Lords' Select Committee on the EU, Sub-Committee C deals with foreign affairs, defence and development policy. Lord Hannay, Chair of UNA-UK, is a members of this Sub-Committe. A full members can be found here. Alexander Ramsbotham, Head of UNA-UK's Peace and Security Programme has been working as a Specialist Adviser to this Sub-Committee. Further details on his work can be found here.

An unofficial way Parliamentarians can become involved in international issues is through All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). These APPGs are informal grouping of parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament. Although having no formal role within government policy-making, the APPGs perform a useful role in functioning as pressure groups, drawing attention to certain issues and working to keep the government informed of parliamentary opinion. There are over 300 APPGs, with many having a focus on international issues. As well as the APPG on the United Nations, there are groups that bring together members interested in specific countries.

Although the British Government is answerable to the House of Commons, foreign policy has traditionally been an area where Parliament has little control over the actions of the British Government. The controversy over the war in Iraq in 2003 brought to the fore issues of governmental accountability to Parliament in matters of foreign policy. If you would like to find out more about the relationship between Parliament, the Government and foreign policy, visit the One World Trust Parliamentary Oversight programme.