The IPU expresses grave concern over reports of a military coup in Burkina Faso with the arrests of President Kabore, the Speaker of Parliament and other government officials as well as news of the dissolution of the National Assembly. The IPU calls for a swift return to constitutional order with respect for the rule of law and democratically elected institutions. Gunfire and violence on […]
End-of-year statement by President Duarte Pacheco and Secretary General Martin Chungong. 2021 bore witness to several assaults on democracy, starting with what many saw as one of its bastions – the US Congress. Then Myanmar suffered a bloody military coup which unravelled in an instant nearly a decade of democratic progress led by its elected […]
The IPU has recorded another all-time high number of parliamentarians suffering from alleged human rights violations according to its annual figures released on the eve of Human Rights Day. The data reveal that at least 673 parliamentarians from 44 countries are under threat, most of them in countries experiencing political instability. The 2021 numbers confirm a consistent increase since 2014 […]
At the 143rd IPU Assembly in Madrid, Spain, parliamentarians from around the world have rallied around an emergency resolution to support equitable access to vaccines, particularly in the developing world. Against the backdrop of the emergence of the omicron variant and renewed border closures, IPU Member Parliaments unanimously backed the IPU African Group’s proposal: Harnessing global parliamentary […]
A new study by the IPU and the African Parliamentary Union (APU) launched on 23 November 2021 shows that sexism, harassment and violence against women are ubiquitous in parliaments across Africa. This is the second in a series of IPU regional studies, following a 2018 report on European parliaments. The African study reveals: . 80 per cent of […]
Lawmakers around the world have a new resource to help them address gender inequality with the publication of the new IPU and UN Women Handbook on gender-responsive law making. The handbook is timely as countries put in place COVID-19 recovery plans and work to rebuild more equitable and inclusive societies. It serves as a guide for […]
The 143rd IPU Assembly will be held in Madrid from 26 to 30 November 2021, hosted by the Parliament of Spain. Hundreds of IPU Members from all over the world will meet in person in the world’s largest gathering of parliamentarians. The Spanish authorities and the IPU have put in place robust and comprehensive health measures to […]
On 20 September, UK Parliamentarians met virtually with members of the Hungarian Parliament. The meeting was hosted by Chair of the Hungarian All Party Parliamentary Group Craig Mackinlay MP, and Dr Richárd Hörcsik Chair of the Hungarian/British Friendship group. Dr Hörcsik welcomed and introduced the Hungarian members and noted they had been running slightly behind due […]
In honour of the International Day of Democracy, on September 15 the IPU held a virtual discussion on the theme ‘Is democracy really in crisis?’ It is a timely question, given a rising number of authoritarian and repressive regimes, attacks on parliaments and a backlash against traditional political parties and processes around the world. In […]
On Wednesday 15 September, to mark UN International Day of Democracy, BGIPU hosted its first in-person event after eighteen months of reduced parliamentary activity. BGIPU invited a panel of experts on democracy, including Franklin De Vrieze, Senior Governance Advisor at Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Sarah Birch, Professor of Political Science at King’s College London and […]
