Following recent elections, women lawmakers now account for 30.4% of the elected seats in the Sierra Leone Parliament, up from 14.5% in the previous election. The surge in women MPs is largely thanks to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio a few months ago, which sets a 30% quota of […]
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted many experts to warn about its impacts on democracy. With that in mind, the IPU is preparing a series of five articles on the topic. In this second piece, the IPU asks Denis Naughten, Chair of the IPU’s Working Group on Science and Technology, what advice […]
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted many experts to warn about its impacts on democracy. To explore this issue further, the IPU is preparing a series of five articles on the topic. In this first piece, IPU Secretary General, Martin Chungong, discusses the risks and opportunities for democracy and argues that we […]
Twenty years after the first edition, the IPU and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have published a new version of a handbook for parliamentarians on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol. What is the CEDAW Convention? More than four […]
The first global Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Working together for our common future is expected to conclude with a declaration that encourages interfaith dialogue and calls for all religions and beliefs to be treated equally. The Marrakesh Communiqué calls on parliamentarians to ensure that “all religions, beliefs and faith-based organizations are treated equally and without discrimination under the […]
To mark the two-year anniversary of the I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament! campaign, the IPU organized an online event called Shout Out to Youth Changemakers on 24 May 2023. The gathering served as a platform for taking stock of progress in implementing transformative actions, sharing success stories, and galvanizing further action to rejuvenate parliaments. The event brought […]
For the first time, the IPU has published a report which examines how parliaments around the world engage with issues of religion and belief. The IPU Parliamentary report on religion and belief explores how religion and belief are institutionalized in parliaments; for example, through legislation, representation, parliamentary committees and mechanisms for consultation with faith-based organizations or the […]
2022 was the first year of the implementation of the five-year IPU Strategy for 2022-2026. Through its five objectives, the Strategy has given the IPU a renewed mandate to continue strengthening and connecting parliaments for peace, democracy and sustainable development. In this newly structured Impact Report, we demonstrate how, throughout the year, the IPU has […]
How is climate change affecting your country and what is your parliament doing about it? The IPU is asking dozens of MPs from around the world as part of its Parliaments for the Planet climate action campaign. Check out the videos on the IPU website to hear more about the perspectives and actions of MPs […]
Democracy requires that MPs are connected with their constituents, explaining their work to them and ensuring that constituents’ needs are represented. In Djibouti, one of the hottest and smallest countries in Africa, the IPU has been helping with that two-way exchange of information, connecting parliament with the people. First, it has enabled Djibouti’s parliamentarians to […]
