In a statement released on 30 September following President Putin purporting to annex parts of the neighbouring sovereign state of Ukraine, IPU President Duarte Pacheco said on twitter “I strongly condemn the illegal annexations of 4 sovereign areas of #Ukraine. They have no legitimacy following sham referenda held under Russian force. This is a clear […]
BGIPU sent a delegation to Helsinki from 26-30 September 2022 led by Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP and comprising Lord Beith, Bob Blackman MP, John Nicolson MP and Dan Carden MP. The visit was the first bilateral visit by BGIPU for twenty years and came at an extremely opportune time, given the close and very […]
The IPU welcomes the prisoner exchange between the Russian Federation and Ukraine that took place on 21 September. The IPU commends all the countries involved in the negotiation involving some 250 prisoners. The exchange is a welcome sign that cooperation is possible and that agreements can be found through dialogue and diplomacy. This exchange is […]
I was delighted to attend the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum 22 in Geneva with Baroness Hooper of Liverpool on 27 September 2022. The forum was opened by the Director General of the WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the main theme was entitled ‘Towards a Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery – Ambition to Action’. The […]
As Liz Truss becomes the UK’s next PM, here’s how women parliamentarians can gain ground in politics. Succeeding in politics is tough – succeeding as a woman is even harder. Millions of women around the world face discrimination, sexism and violence, with women parliamentarians being no exception. Liz Truss’s appointment as the United Kingdom’s Prime […]
Communities impacted by climate change are often already struggling with poverty. Floods, storms, unreliable rainfall, and hotter and drier conditions further affect access to human rights and basic needs such as water, food, livelihoods and land. Sometimes, the consequences of climate change become a driver of conflict, forcing people to leave their homes and communities. […]
Democratization is under pressure across the globe. Here are five major threats to democracy, and how to mitigate them. Democracy is as precarious as it is precious. Some 25 years after the IPU issued its Universal Declaration on Democracy, its principles continue to be challenged and eroded by corruption, populism and autocracy. But there are […]
Dozens of parliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific region have called on the big carbon polluters to shoulder more responsibility for climate change and to meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement. The parliamentarians met in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 13-14 September, for the Third Regional Seminar for the parliaments of the Asia-Pacific region on Achieving the Sustainable Development […]
During tributes to the late HM Queen Elizabeth II in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022, the BGIPU Chair Harriett Baldwin MP highlighted the vital global role played by Her Majesty in encouraging peace and understanding in the world including inter-parliamentary dialogue noting that she opened three IPU Conferences convened in London in […]
It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its wider membership, we offer our deepest condolences to the British Royal Family, the Government and the people of the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Our thoughts also extend […]
