In the context of the IPU campaign, Parliaments in time of a pandemic, the IPU is partnering with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in the organization of a series of webinars for parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. Following the first webinar on COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and […]
On 30 June, on the third edition of International Day of Parliamentarism, the IPU concludes its 130th anniversary year with the publication of a book outlining its achievements over the past 13 decades and including contributions from dozens of its Member Parliaments. The IPU was founded in Paris on 30 June 1889 as the first […]
On 30 June 2020, the IPU and the parliamentary community will celebrate the third edition of International Day of Parliamentarism and the anniversary of the foundation of the IPU. BGIPU has released a video marking the occasion. The IPU was founded 131 years ago on 30 June 1889 by a handful of parliamentarians as the […]
On 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the IPU calls on parliaments to use all their powers to help eradicate state-sponsored physical and psychological abuse and all other forms of serious ill-treatment. The day also marks the entry into force 34 years ago of the Convention against Torture and other […]
On Friday 19 June, BGIPU hosted a virtual parliamentary discussion on COVID-19: The Increased Risks and Vulnerabilities to Refugees and Migrant Populations with The British Red Cross (BRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The proceedings were chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee member, Chris Law MP, with panellists from both BRC and MSF. The event was […]
BGIPU was very pleased to co-host with event partners in the BBC and the APPG for Human Rights a virtual preview panel discussion in advance of the upcoming BBC Four Storyville documentary Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge inviting parliamentarians, civil society representatives and media to hear more about the documentary which highlights the grave […]
This year’s IPU information seminar has gone online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since participants cannot travel to Geneva, the IPU is holding a week of webinars for parliamentary staff in French. Every year, the IPU holds an information seminar for parliamentary staff who are Secretaries of IPU Groups or who are responsible for international […]
Op-Ed by IPU Secretary General – During the ongoing coronavirus emergency, extraordinary measures may have been necessary so that national leaders can make rapid and vital decisions that have had a restrictive effect on how we enjoy freedoms. But these measures should be short-term only. They must not become the norm. As many countries begin to […]
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Parliamentarians for the Global Goals, convened the first of a series of webinars for Parliamentarians on COVID-19 response and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim of connecting parliamentarians with world-leading experts to share best practice to “Build Back Better” through enabling […]
The IPU is increasingly concerned about parliamentarians in detention during the COVID-19 pandemic due to greater risks of infection in overcrowded and confined spaces. In its first virtual sitting, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians paid particular attention to the 43 Members of Parliament (MPs) currently in detention in the world, especially […]
