Theme: Trade and Sustainable Development

The Parliamentary Forum at 2024's HLPF ©IPU

IPU Forum at UN highlights parliamentary role in tackling global goals

This week, the IPU convened dozens of parliamentarians from around the world for its annual meeting at the High-Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations Office in New York. New countries attending included, for the first time, representatives of the China’s National People’s Congress, underscoring the growing relevance of this event […]

Participants attend a workshop in Mogadishu, Somalia, aimed at enhancing youth political participation ©AMISOM / Ilyas Ahmed 2016

IPU knows sustainable conflict prevention requires input from tomorrow’s leaders

United Nations Security Council resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace, and security unanimously adopted in December 2015, recognized the essential role young people play in promoting and maintaining peace and security. The resolution urged Member States to increase inclusive representation of youth in decision-making at all levels, and in institutions and mechanisms to prevent and […]

The 148th IPU Assembly in Geneva ©IPU

IPU global poll finds that world’s MPs are cautiously optimistic despite global challenges

On the eve of International Day of Parliamentarism and the IPU’s 135th anniversary on 30 June 2024, the IPU is presenting the findings of its first global perceptions poll of the parliamentary community. The IPU polled members of parliament and related stakeholders from around the world to gauge their levels of optimism, their perceptions of the greatest […]

Opening session of the 23rd IPU Parliamentary Conference in October 1925 in the US Congress. Copyright Harris & Ewing.

Marking its 135th anniversary the IPU recalls its proud history and global contribution

The late nineteenth century was an uncertain and turbulent period. For many world powers, war was the only way to settle any differences. But two parliamentarians – one British, one French – realized that it did not have to be this way. Visionaries at the time, William Randal Cremer and Frédéric Passy believed that a more peaceful and […]

Meeting with Francisco Coy, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

Cross-Party delegation explores Peace, Human Rights and Climate in Colombia

From 27 – 31 May 2024, a BGIPU delegation of UK Members of Parliament visited Colombia to strengthen bilateral Parliamentary links. The delegation included Tim Loughton MP, Baroness Blower, Patrick Grady MP and Baroness Northover, and was supported by Holly Sloan from the BGIPU Secretariat. The visit started days after the General Election was called, […]

The IPU will celebrate its 135th anniversary on 30 June as the world's oldest multilateral political body.

IPU Anniversary on 30 June: Watch 135 years of the IPU in 135 seconds

On 30 June 1889, visionary parliamentarians Frédéric Passy of France and William Randall Cremer of the United Kingdom brought together MPs from Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA in the first inter-parliamentary meeting in Paris, France. The Inter-Parliamentary Conference, later to become the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was born. […]

Akmal Saidov, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uzbekistan addresses the UN in Geneva. © UN/Jean Marc Ferré

Enhancing the IPU partnership with the Uzbek Parliament to implement the SDGs

As part of a wider strategic objective to connect parliaments with UN processes, the IPU invests in support for parliamentary implementation of the SDGs. Through our annual survey, we encourage parliaments to contribute to the preparation of voluntary national reviews, the UN process through which countries present their progress on the SDGs. While the IPU surveys show uneven parliamentary […]

© korkeng/Shutterstock

IPU highlights the AI-powered parliament: Exploring Risks and Opportunities

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has released a new Issue brief, Using generative AI in parliaments, which explores the potential opportunities and risks associated with the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in parliamentary settings. GenAI is a new form of AI that can generate entirely new content, such as texts or images, based on large volumes […]

Which countries, sectors and facilities emit the most greenhouse gases the

IPU provides guidance to MPs on how to track greenhouse gas emissions in your country

Discover how the global tech community is tracking greenhouse gas emissions with unprecedented detail and speed to tackle the climate crisis. The Climate TRACE database, mobilized by the global tech community, provides an inventory of emissions of more than 352 million assets, and its data is freely available to the public including parliamentarians. Supported by ASU […]