Theme: Political Empowerment

In Spring 2021, the IPU launched the I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament! campaign. It calls for action in and through parliaments to have more young women and men MPs.

IPU’s “I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament!” campaign goes global

Just over ten years ago, IPU Member Parliaments adopted a landmark resolution on youth participation to encourage the rejuvenation of parliaments. Since then, parliaments from around the world have made some limited progress in its implementation. However, the level of youth representation in parliament, as measured regularly by the IPU, remains low. Half the world’s population is […]

IPU143 ©IPU

Global parliamentary solidarity for vaccine equity in the fight against COVID-19

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 […]

©IPU

IPU report highlights widespread sexism & violence against women MPs in Africa

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 […]

The meeting provided an opportunity for parliamentary attendees to hear from experts on the backslide of democracy which has occurred as a result of the increased powers executives have gained to manage the public health crisis.

International Day of Democracy Event discusses key democractic challenges

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 […]

IPU President, Duarte Pacheco said “Over the past year, we have seen how governments have used the pandemic as a pretext to roll back human rights and weaken democracy.

World Conference of Speakers adopts declaration for more effective global solidarity

The world’s top legislators gathered in Vienna, Austria this week for the first major in-person international parliamentary meeting in over 18 months. The Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament brought together close to 100 Speakers from some 115 national parliaments and the heads of over a dozen regional and other parliamentary organizations. Afghanistan, climate change and […]

Over 110 Speakers of Parliament from around the world are expected to come to Vienna for the first physical large-scale inter-parliamentary meeting since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

World Conference of Speakers of Parliament to meet in person in Vienna on 7-8 September

The Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, the world’s largest gathering of the highest level of parliamentary representation, will take place in Vienna, Austria on 7-8 September. Organized jointly by the IPU and the Austrian Parliament, in cooperation with the United Nations, this in-person segment of the conference follows a virtual session held in August 2020. […]

© UN Women/ Ryan Brown Women Peace and Security in Mali.

IPU welcomes Canadian funding to advance gender equality in parliament

The IPU has announced it will will receive an additional two million Canadian dollars in funding to support its gender equality work in parliament. The three-year project, Gender Equality in Politics, is designed to support the IPU’s work in increasing women’s political empowerment. The funding will also help strengthen the capacity of parliaments to support […]

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, who marked the International Day of Parliamentarism on 30 June 2021 with the raising of the IPU flag alongside BGIPU Chair, Harriett Baldwin MP and other Executive Committee members. © UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

UK House of Commons Speaker raises a flag to the International Day of Parliamentarism

In a statement marking the day, the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, said curtailing the rights of MPs to speak out will be one of the subjects under the spotlight as Parliaments across the globe celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on Human […]