Events
The full advance programme of meetings being convened globally by the Inter-Parliamentary Union can be accessed here and BGIPU will call for nominations of interested MPs/Peers to form UK delegations for such events through the All Party Whip Notice and regular all member e-mails. UK participation in IPU activities without formal approval and selection by the BGIPU Executive Committee is not permitted.
In addition, the BGIPU regularly hosts lectures and meetings within the Palace of Westminster when Parliament is sitting on current topical issues in international affairs. Details of upcoming BGIPU events will be listed below and members’ nominations for participating in delegations will be sought through the All Party Notice circulated by the Government Whips Office during sitting times.
As a fully-funded parliamentary body, we can only reply to queries on how to participate in official BGIPU activities from MPs and Peers or parliamentary staff using internal parliamentary e-mail addresses. More general enquiries about our work can be directed to bgipu@parliament.uk
PRIDE RECEPTION | 17 JUNE
BGIPU, the APPG for HIV, AIDS and Sexual Health, Amnesty International UK and the APPG for Global LGBT+ Rights will be holding a Pride Reception at 1800 on 17th June in the IPU Room. The event will be hosted by DVID Mundell MP, and speakers include Amnesty International UK CEO-Sacha Deshmukh and a queer South Asian Human Rights Defender. Members wishing to attend are asked to contact Rhiannon Edwards at edwardsrl@parliament.uk
BGIPU ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS DURING FCDO HEADS OF MISSION WEEK | 30 JUNE
BGIPU plans to hold two roundtable sessions during FCDO Heads of Mission week. We plan to hold a session on European Security and another on the Sahel and will invite 4 or 5 of our Ambassadors from the regions to brief Members. These meetings will take place during the afternoon of Monday 30 June and members keen to express an early interest are asked to message Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk
BGIPU INWARD DELEGATION FROM SPAIN | 8 AND 9 JULY
BGIPU will host a delegation from Spain in Westminster on 8 and 9 July. Members wishing to meet this delegation are asked to contact Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk.
BGIPU PROGRAMME OF BILATERAL VISITS FOR 2025/2026
The BGIPU Executive Committee has now approved our programme of bilateral activity for the next financial year. Subject to confirmation by the other parliaments the programme will hopefully include visits to Westminster by delegations from Cape Verde, Thailand, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia and Jordan, and visits to the parliaments of Senegal, Moldova, Sweden and Dominican Republic. To express an early interest in any of these visits please contact Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk and please keep an eye open for further updates on these visits in future publications of the All Party Notice.
CALLING ALL MEMBERS AND STAFF WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGES – AND THOSE KEEN TO LEARN!
To help us welcome our visiting delegations it would be incredibly useful to know if Members and staff have any foreign languages – please contact Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk to register any language skills. For those who are keen to practice their language skills we also offer informal lunchtime foreign language conversation sessions. We invite Members and staff to meet in the IPU room and divide into groups depending on level of fluency for a very non-intimidating, relaxed and fun language practice!
We are currently holding French sessions. If you wish to join these, please contact Mathilde Ollivo at ollivom@parliament.uk
PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON INTERFAITH DIALOGUE | 19-21 JUNE| ITALY
The Second Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Strengthening trust and embracing hope for our common future will take place from 19 to 21 June 2025 in Rome, Italy. The Conference is organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Italian Parliament in cooperation with Religions for Peace. It follows on from the first Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Working together for our common future, which took place in June 2023 in Marrakesh, Morocco, and concluded with the Marrakesh Communiqué, in which parliamentarians acknowledged that interfaith dialogue that is “grounded in support of fundamental rights and freedoms, is an essential tool for promoting inclusivity and peaceful coexistence, upholding the rule of law and encouraging collective efforts to achieve a better society”.
The Rome Conference will bring together Speakers and members of parliament with representatives of religions, beliefs, governments, relevant United Nations bodies, international organizations, faith-based and civil society organizations, and academia. Through different thematic sessions, participants will build on key recommendations of the Marrakesh Communiqué and other IPU declarations and policy priorities and, in the spirit of the Jubilee Year, identify forward-looking joint action points to promote peace and inclusion, and the upholding of the rule of law and human rights for all, without distinction. The BGIPU delegation has now been selected but for more information, contact Rhiannon Edwards at edwardsrl@parliament.uk
