Year: 2020

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with the IPU President, Gabriela Cuevas, Executive Committee and other members at the UN Headquarters in New York in February 2020 © Joel S Photo/ IPU

IPU congratulates the United Nations on 75th anniversary of the Charter of the UN

The IPU congratulates the United Nations on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, USA. The Charter of the United Nations was born at end of the Second World War to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Over the […]

MPs & Peers participated to hear from the British Red Cross and MSF on the plight of refugees and migrants facing the impacts of COVID-19

Increased Risks & Vulnerabilities from COVID-19 to Refugees & Migrant Populations

On Friday 19 June, BGIPU hosted a virtual parliamentary discussion on COVID-19: The Increased Risks and Vulnerabilities to Refugees and Migrant Populations with The British Red Cross (BRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The proceedings were chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee member, Chris Law MP, with panellists from both BRC and MSF. The event was […]

The IPU SG Martin Chungong presents to the participants in the Information Seminar

IPU’s annual information seminar for parliamentary staff goes virtual

This year’s IPU information seminar has gone online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since participants cannot travel to Geneva, the IPU is holding a week of webinars for parliamentary staff in French. Every year, the IPU holds an information seminar for parliamentary staff who are Secretaries of IPU Groups or who are responsible for international […]

IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong says its vital to lift the lockdowns on parliaments too

IPU Secretary General Chungong says vital to lift the lockdowns on parliaments too

Op-Ed by IPU Secretary General – During the ongoing coronavirus emergency, extraordinary measures may have been necessary so that national leaders can make rapid and vital decisions that have had a restrictive effect on how we enjoy freedoms. But these measures should be short-term only. They must not become the norm. As many countries begin to […]

The webinar connected parliamentarians with world-leading experts to share best practice to “Build Back Better”

IPU President co-hosts webinar on how to ‘Build Back Better’ with the SDGs

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Parliamentarians for the Global Goals, convened the first of a series of webinars for Parliamentarians on COVID-19 response and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim of connecting parliamentarians with world-leading experts to share best practice to “Build Back Better” through enabling […]

The BGIPU's first ever virtual bilateral exchange was held on 8 June with parliamentary counterparts from Sweden

Virtual exchange with Sweden underscores, as ever, the value of bilateral dialogue

On 8 June, BGIPU members met Swedish parliamentarians in our first ever virtual bilateral meeting.  Swedish counterparts welcomed BGIPU’s initiative of conducting virtual bilateral talks to maintain exchanges at a time when inter-parliamentary dialogue between MPs remains vital but conditions for international travel remain severely disrupted. The meeting was led by BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin […]