Activities: IPU Activities & Conferences

Vital need to ensure respect for the human rights of the 316 Afghan parliamentarians and the staff who support them, and in particular to the safety of the 86 women MPs, as well as former women MPs and female parliamentary staff.

IPU Committee Chairs make statement on the plight of parliamentarians in Afghanistan

Joint Statement of the Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian law and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU on Afghanistan The Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian law and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU express their deep concern on the current human rights and humanitarian situation […]

Forest fires in Turkey August 2021 ©Omer Kundakci / Anadolu Agency via AFP

Specialised IPU resources will help parliamentarians fight climate change

The recently published sixth report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a wake-up call for parliamentarians the world over. Eight years in the making, and drawing on the work of hundreds of experts and scientific studies, the report confirms that humans are unequivocally the cause of climate change, and worse, it is occurring […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for parliaments, with many embracing new technology to modernize and, as a result, engaging better with the people they represent.

2020 World e-Parliament report: COVID-19 has accelerated modernization of parliaments

The IPU has released its new edition of the World e-Parliament Report which reveals how the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for parliaments, with many embracing new technology to modernize and, as a result, engaging better with the people they represent. Published by the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament, the report’s findings are based […]

© UN Women/ Ryan Brown Women Peace and Security in Mali.

IPU welcomes Canadian funding to advance gender equality in parliament

The IPU has announced it will will receive an additional two million Canadian dollars in funding to support its gender equality work in parliament. The three-year project, Gender Equality in Politics, is designed to support the IPU’s work in increasing women’s political empowerment. The funding will also help strengthen the capacity of parliaments to support […]

Frédéric Passy, French MP. and William Randal Cremer, British MP.

Marking its 132nd anniversary, the IPU looks back at the world when it first began

Marking its 132nd anniversary the IPU looks back to the official birth of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for International Arbitration—later called the Inter-Parliamentary Union— on 30 June 1889. Its foundation was driven by two remarkable parliamentarians  – William Randal Cremer, a British MP and Frédéric Passy, a French MP, – who were driven by a passion […]

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, who marked the International Day of Parliamentarism on 30 June 2021 with the raising of the IPU flag alongside BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin MP and other Executive Committee members. © UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

UK House of Commons Speaker raises a flag to the International Day of Parliamentarism

In a statement marking the day, the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, said curtailing the rights of MPs to speak out will be one of the subjects under the spotlight as Parliaments across the globe celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on Human […]

On 30 June, the IPU and its Member Parliaments will mark the International Day of Parliamentarism with a number of events focusing on youth empowerment following the recent launch of the IPU campaign I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament!

IPU to focus on youth for International Day of Parliamentarism on 30 June

On 30 June, the IPU and its Member Parliaments will mark the International Day of Parliamentarism with a number of events focusing on youth empowerment following the recent launch of the IPU campaign I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament! Although relatively untouched by the disease itself, young people have been severely affected by the COVID-19 […]

© MP Dr Issara Sereewatthanawut of Thailand, MP Sahar Albazar of Egypt, and MP Ms Teenah Jutton of Mauritius

“Fresh eyes are needed in parliament”: thoughts of young MPs on Parliamentarism Day

To celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism on 30 June, IPU asked three young MPs three questions about parliamentary work. The three respondents have recently been elected  to the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, a group within the IPU dedicated to boosting the participation of young people in parliaments and helping to ensure young […]

COP26 will bring together parties from around the world to advance action on climate change to meet the goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ©Joshua Hibbert

IPU holds virtual explanatory session with UNFCCC, BGIPU and Italian Parliament on COP26

As reported by the IPU, in preparation for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021 in Glasgow, the IPU hosted a virtual inter-parliamentary meeting on COP26 on 24 June, in collaboration with the British Group of the IPU and the Italian Chamber of Deputies. COP26 will bring together parties […]