On 9 February, BGIPU hosted a roundtable discussion on human rights in China against the backdrop of the Beijing Olympics, with particular focus on the Uyghur crisis. The meeting was chaired by Tim Loughton MP and heard from Dr Ewelina Ochab from the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Alkan Akad from Amnesty International […]
On 3 February, BGIPU hosted a virtual briefing with the British Ambassador to Tunisia, HMA Helen Winterton. Damien Moore MP, member of the BGIPU Executive Committee and Chair of the Tunisia APPG, hosted the briefing. Tunisia was initially hailed as a democratic success after the Arab Spring in 2011. However, years of political wrangling revealed […]
We, the IPU President and the IPU Secretary General, call for renewed dialogue between the Russian Federation and Ukraine to ease tensions in the region. We call for respect of internationally (UN) recognized borders and territorial integrity and sovereignty of all States. The IPU was founded by parliamentarians who believed in the power of dialogue […]
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 […]
On Thursday 13th January, BGIPU hosted a briefing with Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Her Excellency Kathy Leach, and the Minister for Central Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. The meeting was chaired by Harriett Baldwin MP, Chair of BGIPU. It was attended by a wide range of MPs and Peers, including representatives of the Foreign […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
