At its meeting on 26 June 2020, the IPU Executive Committee decided that, in light of the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual session of the Governing Council would be convened from 1 to 4 November 2020 to discuss and take decisions on pressing issues relating to the functioning of the organization – […]
In ending her term as IPU President, Gabriela Cuevas wrote to the IPU’s members in the following terms on 19 October 2020, the final day of her Presidency: Dear Speakers of Parliament, Dear parliamentary colleagues, Dear friends from the United Nations, Dear friends with whom I shared these years as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, […]
In a new research paper, the IPU shines the spotlight on parliamentary staff, the people who support the Members of Parliament. The paper analyses key dimensions of parliamentary autonomy in administrations – from recruitment practices to budgetary powers – across the globe. Since 2016, the IPU has conducted research through global surveys and in-depth case […]
BGIPU co-hosted with the BBC World Service a virtual discussion on the continuing harassment of BBC Persian staff and families by Iran. The event on 5 October 2020 and was chaired by BGIPU Vice-Chair and Chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, Dame Diana Johnson MP. The discussion followed up earlier BGIPU events and served […]
(Re)discover the IPU’s analysis of women in parliament on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on gender equality. Since the following report was published in March, the proportion of women in parliament has inched up to 25.1%. Report from 6 March 2020: A quarter of a century after the United Nations […]
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reaffirm the right of all people to a decent life, peace and a healthy environment. Parliaments are essential to achieving this ambitious agenda. They play a key role by enacting legislation, adopting national budgets and overseeing how governments implement national and international commitments, including those related to development cooperation. This […]
Watch the fourth in a series of short videos on the Sustainable Development Goals 5 – gender equality. This video shares some shocking facts about violence against women and outlines steps that parliaments can take against this scourge. This is a partnership video project between the IPU, Arizona State University, Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, the Council […]
On 18 September, the world celebrated its first ever International Equal Pay Day. To mark the occasion, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), ILO, UN Women and the OECD, hosted a virtual global Call to Action encouraging all employers, governments and workers to take the necessary steps to ensure that “equal pay for work of equal […]
On 16 September, BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin MP, had a virtual meeting with her counterpart as Head of the Israeli delegation to the IPU, Avi Dichter MK, who also chairs the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset. Both former Ministers in their respective national governments had taken up the role of leading their […]
An informal virtual interactive panel debate for International Day of Democracy, in partnership with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, on Tuesday, 15 September from 17:00-18:30 CET. Open to all IPU Members, parliamentarians, UN partners, students and the general public. During the pandemic, democratic processes have been under assault in […]
