Theme: Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation

Vital need to ensure respect for the human rights of the 316 Afghan parliamentarians and the staff who support them, and in particular to the safety of the 86 women MPs, as well as former women MPs and female parliamentary staff.

IPU Committee Chairs make statement on the plight of parliamentarians in Afghanistan

Joint Statement of the Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian law and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU on Afghanistan The Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian law and the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU express their deep concern on the current human rights and humanitarian situation […]

Forest fires in Turkey August 2021 ©Omer Kundakci / Anadolu Agency via AFP

Specialised IPU resources will help parliamentarians fight climate change

The recently published sixth report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a wake-up call for parliamentarians the world over. Eight years in the making, and drawing on the work of hundreds of experts and scientific studies, the report confirms that humans are unequivocally the cause of climate change, and worse, it is occurring […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for parliaments, with many embracing new technology to modernize and, as a result, engaging better with the people they represent.

2020 World e-Parliament report: COVID-19 has accelerated modernization of parliaments

The IPU has released its new edition of the World e-Parliament Report which reveals how the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for parliaments, with many embracing new technology to modernize and, as a result, engaging better with the people they represent. Published by the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament, the report’s findings are based […]

On 13 July, BGIPU hosted a virtual bilateral meeting between parliamentarians from the founding countries of the IPU, UK and France. The meeting was chaired by BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin MP.

Parliamentarians from UK & France meet in cooperative spirit behind the IPU

In advance of Bastille Day, on 13 July, BGIPU hosted a virtual bilateral meeting between parliamentarians from the founding countries of the IPU, UK and France. The meeting was chaired by BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin MP, who was joined by Lord Kirkhope, Baroness Miller, Stephen Crabb MP, Baroness Verma, Tony Lloyd MP, Earl of Sandwich, […]

On 7 July BGIPU and Canning House co-hosted the second of its virtual Latin America roundtables receiving briefings from Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Peru, HE Kate Harrisson, and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Mexico, HE Corin Robertson.

MPs/Peers hear about developments in Mexico and Peru from UK Ambassadors

On 7 July BGIPU and Canning House co-hosted the second of its virtual Latin America roundtables to mark this year’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Leadership Week. The meeting was chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee Member and Latin America APPG Chair, Mark Menzies MP, with discussion moderated by BGIPU Executive Committee Member and Latin America […]

The meeting with UK Ambassadors in Ecuador and Panama was chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee Member and Latin America APPG Vice-Chair, Baroness Hooper, and introductory remarks were provided by Canning House CEO, Cristina Cortes.

Latin America Roundtable for MPs/Peers hears updates on Ecuador and Panama

On 1 July, BGIPU and Canning House co-hosted the first of its Latin America roundtables to mark this year’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Leadership Week. The meeting was chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee Member and Latin America APPG Vice-Chair, Baroness Hooper, and introductory remarks were provided by Canning House CEO, Cristina Cortes. Members received […]

Frédéric Passy, French MP. and William Randal Cremer, British MP.

Marking its 132nd anniversary, the IPU looks back at the world when it first began

Marking its 132nd anniversary the IPU looks back to the official birth of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for International Arbitration—later called the Inter-Parliamentary Union— on 30 June 1889. Its foundation was driven by two remarkable parliamentarians  – William Randal Cremer, a British MP and Frédéric Passy, a French MP, – who were driven by a passion […]