Region: Global Issues

The IPU's new campaign Bring human rights into focus is a call to bring these rights back into the light.

IPU Campaign in 2026: Bring human rights into focus

Human Rights. Democratic freedoms. These are not abstract ideals – they are the foundations of everything parliaments exist to protect. Yet around the world, they are being pushed into the shadows. Parliamentarians are being silenced. Hard-won protections are being rolled back. The IPU’s new campaign Bring human rights into focus is a call to bring these […]

The IPU encourages parliaments to approve ratification of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. © Fariq Faraj Mahmood/Anadolu/AFP

Comoros, Tonga and Mongolia: Three countries trying to make the world safer

The IPU encourages and supports parliaments in their work to approve and implement existing treaties and conventions designed to limit the threat from chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. In 2025, after a high-level seminar organized by the IPU and United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) on the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Comoros formally presented […]

Lawmakers, IPU and World Health Organization (WHO) officials and other stakeholders from around the world gathered in Geneva on 20 May 2026 for the Global Parliamentary Forum,

Parliaments urged to turn Pandemic Agreement into action

Dozens of lawmakers, IPU and World Health Organization (WHO) officials and other stakeholders from around the world gathered in Geneva on 20 May 2026 for the Global Parliamentary Forum, held on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly. The meeting focused on two urgent priorities: how to turn the WHO Pandemic Agreement into national reality, […]

An IPU workshop on gender equality in the Parliament of Mongolia.© Parliament of Mongolia

Gender equality in Mongolia: Spotlight on the State Great Hural

“Gender equality isn’t just a women’s issue, it requires everyone’s leadership,” said Nomin Chinbat, an MP in Mongolia’s State Great Hural (Parliament). “By working together, we are increasing the number of women in leadership and decision-making roles, building a more balanced and equitable future for all.” Nomin was just one of the new cohort of […]

© IPU

152nd IPU Assembly in Türkiye calls for peace amid Middle East conflict

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) successfully concluded its 152nd Assembly, hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in Istanbul from 15-19 April 2026. The “parliament of parliaments” drew over 1,500 delegates, including more than 720 parliamentarians from 126 countries. Women comprised 37% of lawmakers present. Some 13% of the parliamentarians attending were under 40. The high-level […]

IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. © IPU

IPU marks 50 years of defending parliamentarians’ rights

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is marking a major milestone this year: the 50th anniversary of its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, a unique international body which has spent the past five decades defending lawmakers in danger around the world. According to IPU figures, more than 1,000 parliamentarians suffered human rights abuses in 2025, a record high […]

A young activist calling for equality, justice and human rights in South Africa. © Armand Burger

New IPU Report sees youth representation in parliament flatline for first time in 12 years

For the first time in over a decade, global youth representation in parliaments has shown no progress, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) biennial report, Youth participation in national parliaments. The findings come amid growing demands from young people for a greater say in political decisions. The new IPU report reveals that the proportion of members […]