New Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – UN Women data shows women remain far from having equal political power, holding just 22.4% of cabinet posts and 27.5% of parliamentary seats worldwide. Across the world, women remain vastly under-represented in political leadership, with the most powerful decisions still overwhelmingly made by men. In 2026, only 28 countries are led by […]
As of 1 January 2026, women hold 27.5% of national parliamentary seats worldwide, up modestly from 27.2% in 2025, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report Women in parliament 2025. This 0.3 percentage point increase matches 2024’s rate, marking the slowest growth since 2017 for the second consecutive year. The report is based on IPU data […]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global organization of parliaments, was founded on the principles of parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy for peace and democracy. As such, we condemn the military strikes carried out by Israel and the United States of America on the Islamic Republic of Iran. We likewise condemn the retaliatory attacks launched by the […]
Opinion piece by Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General The India AI Impact Summit, held this week in New Delhi, is the first global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) of this scale hosted in the Global South. This signals that the debate about AI – how it is developed, who benefits from it and who governs it – […]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) released today a new global report which reveals that members of parliament (MPs) are facing a worrying rise in intimidation and harassment from the public. When the public turns hostile: Political violence against parliamentarians draws on a broad survey of 519 MPs globally and case studies focused on five countries: Argentina, Benin, […]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) joins the international community in marking the first International Day of Peaceful Coexistence on 28 January 2026. This new international day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2025 through resolution A/RES/79/269, proposed by the Kingdom of Bahrain with support from the King Hamad Global Center for Coexistence and […]
On 19 January 2026, the IPU joined a dozen UN bodies and international organizations in signing a Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Rights of the Child. The Statement reflects a shared commitment to ensure that the design, development and deployment of AI are firmly grounded in the rights, safety and well-being of children, in […]
The IPU has increased its support for political transitions in West Africa with a series of recent engagements in Niger and Gabon aimed at bolstering parliamentary institutions. While visiting both countries, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong emphasized the benefits of practical capacity-building, encouraging institutional stability and a renewed commitment to democratic dialogue. In Niger, the […]
In the lead-up to Human Rights Day, the IPU has published its latest data on human rights violations against parliamentarians. The data is compiled by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, a unique international complaints mechanism with the specific mandate to defend the human rights of MPs. In 2025, the Committee reviewed a record 1,027 individual […]
MPs from around the world have expressed deep concern about the unchecked evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and the absence of adequate safeguards to prevent irresponsible and potentially dangerous use of the rapidly evolving technology. Some 200 MPs, parliamentary staff and experts convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 28 to 30 November 2025 for the […]
