A new law in Sierra Leone will ensure that at least 30% of parliamentarians are women and impose similar quotas in other institutions, including government, local councils, the diplomatic corps and the civil service. The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act was signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio on 19 January, a few […]
End of year message from IPU leadership 2022 saw the first year of the implementation of our new 5-year strategy. The Strategy gives us a renewed mandate to continue strengthening and connecting parliaments for peace, democracy and sustainable development. Climate action takes centre stage It opens up new avenues for the IPU to support parliaments in other […]
In a historic first, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution highlighting the critical role of parliaments in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The resolution demonstrates a United Nations growing more open to cooperation with parliaments to advance the international agenda. The resolution entitled Enhancing the role of parliaments in accelerating the implementation […]
The IPU condemns in the strongest possible terms the violence that took place in the Senegal National Assembly this week, committed by two parliamentarians, Mr. Yewi Askanwi and Mr. Moustapha Sy, against a pregnant parliamentarian, Ms. Gniby Amy Ndiaye. Any physical attack on a parliamentarian or between parliamentarians is totally unacceptable, regardless of what is […]
Women account for just over 26% of parliamentarians worldwide according to the IPU’s latest figures. Despite progress made in recent years, significant obstacles continue to block their path to parity with their male counterparts. One of the biggest obstacles is sexism, harassment and gender-based violence. IPU reports show that sexist abuse persists across all parliaments in all […]
In the lead-up to 20 November, World Children’s Day, the IPU and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) have released a joint statement on the role of parliaments in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. The joint statement underscores the role that […]
The 145th IPU Assembly took place in Kigali, Rwanda from 11-15 October in partnership with the Parliament of Rwanda. Some 1000 delegates, of whom close to 600 were MPs, attended, representing 120 countries. What were the takeaways? What were the main themes discussed? Discover the highlights in this 5-minute video.
Parliamentarians from around the world have adopted the Kigali Declaration Gender equality and gender-sensitive parliaments as drivers of change for a more resilient and peaceful world at the end of the 145th IPU Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. The Declaration represents a milestone in progress towards gender equality and gender-sensitive parliaments. It encourages IPU Members to step up their efforts to […]
Ms. Cynthia Lopez Castro of Mexico, and the Chairman and all the Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine have been awarded the first Cremer-Passy Prize at the 145th IPU Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. The prize is named after the IPU founders William Randall Cremer and Frédéric Passy, visionary parliamentarians from Great Britain and France, who convened […]
In 2008, the Rwanda Chamber of Deputies was the first elected national parliament where women were the majority. The proportion of MPs who are women is at 61.25% today, way above the current global average of 26.4%. Rwanda has been at the top of the IPU’s monthly ranking of women in national parliament for years. How […]
