Parliament House is not only the heart of Australia’s parliamentary democracy, it is also the most high-profile workplace in the country. So when accounts of sexual assault, harassment and bullying in the Parliament emerged in 2020, there was no doubt that changes needed to be made. The accounts led to a national conversation about workplace […]
Close to three billion people were called to the polls last year in a record number of elections worldwide, demonstrating how widely democracy has spread in the last 100 years. However, democracy’s true value should be measured not only by the number of elections held but also by the extent to which the results produce […]
Young and more seasoned parliamentarians from around the world, gathered in Lima for the IPU’s 11th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, have called for urgent action to advance the representation of women in political life, especially young women. Hosted by Peru’s Congress of the Republic from 11 to 12 September 2025, the Conference was opened by […]
The International Day of Democracy is celebrated around the world on 15 September each year. It was established through a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007, encouraging governments to strengthen and consolidate democracy. We encourage all our Member Parliaments to mark the day with events and celebrations. Since the day was first […]
Bahrain’s Council of Representatives has become the first legislative body in the region to secure the ISO 14001:2015 certification for environmental management. The Council’s journey to the certification, awarded in July 2025, involved several key initiatives. Solar panels were installed andnow supply a portion of the chamber’s energy needs, reducing reliance on traditional power sources and promoting wider […]
The IPU strongly condemns the apparent murder of Mr. Aung Soe Min, an elected Myanmar parliamentarian, who is reported to have died earlier this year after being tortured while in detention. According to the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of exiled legislators from the last Myanmar Parliament elected in 2020, Mr. Aung […]
On 12 August, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) celebrated International Youth Day by organizing a webinar for members of parliament and international partners that would highlight new tools and initiatives aimed at empowering young parliamentarians. The focus was on enhancing gender equality through efforts that promoted youth empowerment in politics. The event emphasized peer learning, international […]
On the sidelines of the 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament and the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held last week in Geneva, the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong, signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Parliaments of Zambia, Chad and Mongolia, reinforcing the IPU’s […]
Parliamentary leaders from some 120 countries gathered at the United Nations Office at Geneva for the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, a summit convened every five years by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in partnership with the United Nations (UN). The Conference, regarded as the world’s top parliamentary forum, was held from 29 to 31 July 2025. […]
The 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament drew more than 330 participants from 37 countries, including 30 Women Speakers. Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in partnership with the Swiss Parliament, the event coincided with several key milestones in the global push for gender equality. The Summit was an opportunity to refocus attention on gender equality as […]
