In the lead-up to Human Rights Day, the IPU continue to express grave concerns over the ever growing number of human rights violations against parliamentarians worldwide. The number of cases brought before the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has more than tripled in the last decade, from 311 in 2014 to 956 […]
The Parliament of Brazil, in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), hosted the 10th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit from 7-8 November 2024 in Brasilia, Brazil. This high-level forum brought together the heads of parliament from the world’s largest economies to address critical global issues. The P20 is a multilateral platform for parliamentary diplomacy which provides a parliamentary […]
As the 149th IPU Assembly concluded this week, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians reported on its latest caseload detailing severe human rights violations faced by hundreds of MPs worldwide. The most common violations include attacks on freedom of expression, suspension or loss of parliamentary mandate, threats, intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance. […]
At the 149th IPU Assembly in Geneva, the IPU welcomed back the Parliament of Jamaica as its 181st Member Parliament, bringing the Organization one step closer to universal membership. Jamaica had previously been a member of the IPU from 1983 to 1996. President of the Senate, Mr. Thomas Tavares-Finson, said: “We are convinced that renewing our […]
From 27 – 31 May 2024, a BGIPU delegation of UK Members of Parliament visited Colombia to strengthen bilateral Parliamentary links. The delegation included Tim Loughton MP, Baroness Blower, Patrick Grady MP and Baroness Northover, and was supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU Secretariat. The visit started days after the General Election was called, […]
Latin America has a wealth of vital natural resources, but it also struggles with deforestation, rapid biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change. In an era of escalating environmental challenges, this puts it on the front line of the battle for our planet’s future. The conflict between public and private interest is a major part of […]
This was my first visit to Costa Rica and Panama, as part of a delegation alongside seasoned experts in the region, Baroness Hooper and Lord Mountevans. The visit was immensely informative and was arranged impeccably by the hosts and our Embassies in both countries, with the advantage too that for most of the time in […]
No visit to Panama would be complete without a look at the Canal Locks in action. We met with the President of the Canal Authority, Aristedes Royo Sanchez, who is a former President of Panama and father of the current Ambassador to London, Natalia Royo, and Victor Vial, the VP for Finance. The Canal is […]
Unusually and unexpectedly our delegation consisted of three Peers, Baroness Northover, Lord Mountevans and myself, supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU Secretariat. The original delegation had been carefully selected to reflect balance and ongoing interest in the Region. This was scuppered by the House of Commons Whips who, it appears, no longer accept the […]
A few days before Human Rights Day on 10 December, the IPU has released its annual map of the number of reported cases of human rights violations suffered by parliamentarians around the world. Although the numbers continue to rise, there have been positive developments in some countries, partly due to actions by the Committee on the Human Rights […]
