As the FIFA World Cup begins, football’s power to inspire reaches far beyond the pitch. Some of the game’s greatest names have gone on to shape public life and lead their nations. Discover four footballers who became parliamentarians: George Weah rose from FIFA World Player of the Year to become President of Liberia. Oleg Blokhin, […]
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 […]
Following the success of the first IPU Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Mexico 2025, the Serbian Parliament hosted the second conference from 2-4 June this year. The theme of the conference was “Advancing parity: Breaking the barriers of gender stereotypes and negative social norms”. The conference brought together 193 parliamentarians (155 women MPs and […]
From 1 July 2026, for the first time in its 137-year history, the Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be managed by a woman. Anda Filip of Romania was elected the tenth Secretary General of the IPU at the 152nd IPU Assembly in Istanbul, becoming the first woman to hold the post since the Organization […]
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 […]
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, […]
In 2025, the National Assembly of Zambia became the latest parliament to implement the IPU’s I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament! campaign. Work began in 2021 when the Speaker signed up to the campaign, followed by the creation of the Zambia Youth Parliamentary Caucus in 2022 and a national campaign launch in 2024. Building […]
“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 […]
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 […]
In a historic first, Anda Filip has been elected the ninth Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the first woman to hold the post in the IPU’s 137-year history. As a result, the IPU joins the small but growing club of international organizations led by women for the first time. Anda Filip was elected […]
