Theme: Political Empowerment

© Parliament of Uzbekistan

At global IPU conference, Young MPs call for action to reclaim human rights

Lawmakers aged under 40 from around the world gathered this week in Samarkand for the 12th IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians. Co-hosted by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 4 and 5 September 2026, the Conference was held under the theme Reclaiming human rights, justice and dignity for all […]

The 153rd IPU Assembly will be convened at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC)

153rd IPU Assembly to convene in October in Arusha, Republic of Tanzania

The 153rd Assembly of the IPU will take place in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, on 5-9 October 2026. All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and Committee on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young […]

IPU President Tulia Ackson (middle right) and IPU Secretary General Anda Filip (far right) at the HLPF ©Joel Sheakoski/ IPU

Parliamentarians call for renewed SDG push as 2030 deadline looms

Parliamentarians from around the world gathered at the United Nations in New York on 14 July for the IPU Parliamentary Forum at the 2026 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), where they reviewed progress and shared good parliamentary practice on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The annual HLPF is the main global accountability platform for […]

From the left: Alexandre Kriebitz, IPU, Robert Opp, UNDP Chief Digital Officer, Dina Al-Bashir, Member of the National Assembly of Jordan and Andrei Baciu, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania during the AI for Good Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. © IPU

IPU brings parliaments into the heart of global AI talks

Last week, Geneva hosted the largest concentration of international AI governance activity to date. Three major UN-anchored processes converged in the same week for the first time: the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the WSIS Forum 2026 and the AI for Good Global Summit, and the IPU was there to bring a parliamentary perspective into each. What came out of it were […]

The IPU warns that the pace at which these technologies is advancing, and the concentration of their development among just a few global actors, together poses “one of the defining policy challenges of the moment for democratic institutions”.

IPU urges parliaments to act on AI-driven sexual deepfakes

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has published new guidance urging lawmakers to act faster and more decisively against non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including sexualized deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence (AI), a phenomenon that disproportionately targets women and girls. Combating non-consensual intimate imagery: A parliamentary action guide warns that generative AI has made it easier, cheaper and faster […]

“We should not consider any conflict intractable” Martin Chungong reflects on his 12-year tenure

 As Martin Chungong comes to the end of his 12 years as IPU Secretary General, he reflects on the iconic images that illustrate some of the defining moments of his tenure. Interview conducted by Thomas Fitzsimons, IPU Director of Communications. See also: 12 years at the helm: Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General 2014-2026 – […]

Delegates with IPU President, Dr Tulia Ackson

Belgrade conference urges action on gender parity in parliaments

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 […]