In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IPU will be working differently over the next few weeks to protect the health of our staff and in the interests of social responsibility to prevent the further spread of the virus through human contact. The IPU will temporarily reduce its physical presence in its Geneva and New […]
The IPU Assembly and related meetings, due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16-20 April has been cancelled. This decision has been taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and follows a careful risk assessment based on information provided by the World Health Organization and the Swiss authorities. This exceptional measure aims to contribute […]
From 2nd to 6th March, a BGIPU delegation visited Liberia with the aim of enhancing interparliamentary relations and reciprocating an inward visit to London by the Liberian Group of the IPU in 2018. The delegation comprised of Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Adam Holloway. The hospitality we received from the Liberian Group of the IPU […]
The Annual General Meeting of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was convened on Wednesday 4 March in the IPU Room at the Palace of Westminster to adopt the 2019 Annual Report and elect the Executive Committee for 2020. It was originally scheduled for November 2019 but was deferred due to the December 2019 […]
The IPU has just published Putting parliamentary self-development into practice: Guide to the Common Principles for Support to Parliaments. As the global organization of national parliaments, one of the IPU’s core functions is to strengthen parliaments. The Common Principles set out a basis for support to parliaments by providing a development framework for the work […]
Release from the IPU Secretariat On 17 and 18 February, the IPU and the United Nations, represented by the President of the General Assembly, convened some 200 parliamentarians from over 60 countries, as well as diplomats, representatives from civil society, and experts for the IPU Annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations in New York. […]
The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has released new evidence of human rights violations against 509 parliamentarians from 39 countries, a significant increase compared with the 468 cases that were recorded in October 2019. Most of the cases involve governments putting pressure on MPs from opposition parties. In its latest decisions, the […]
In a recent survey of IPU Member Parliaments by the IPU Secretariat, 31 per cent of respondents confirmed that new legislation had been put in place as a direct result of IPU assemblies, programmes, initiatives and resolutions. Of the sample, 75 per cent also said that they had taken concrete actions following IPU meetings. All […]
An Opinion piece published on the Devex.com Parliaments make a concrete difference in people’s everyday lives. That includes everything from establishing the conditions to create jobs to safeguarding freedom of speech to increasing budget allocations for health workers in rural areas. They are at the heart of inclusive decision-making — without their effective involvement policies […]
In the last few days, the IPU has reported it has received an alarmingly high number of new complaints of alleged human rights violations against Venezuelan parliamentarians. The IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians will examine these complaints, as well as other cases of reported abuse against MPs, in its next session in Geneva starting […]
