The Swiss National Council © The Swiss Parliament
We empower parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace,
democracy and sustainable development.
The COVID-19 pandemic. The war in Ukraine. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Recent events – some that could have been foreseen, others that took the world by surprise. But could the world be better prepared for future challenges? And what role could parliaments play?
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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 third piece, Belgian MP and co-rapporteur of the IPU Standing Committee on Peace and International Security, Christophe Lacroix, talks about the military applications of AI as well as the associated risks.
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IPU Member Parliaments will elect their 31st President at the forthcoming 147th IPU Assembly to be held in Luanda, Angola from 23 to 27 October. The IPU President is the political head of the organization. He or she chairs its statutory meetings and represents the organization at major global events. The President is elected for a term of three years. He or she must be a sitting Member of Parliament throughout the term of the presidency.
Discover the candidates
Close to 300 young parliamentarians from some 70 countries have committed to accelerating the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially through digital transformation and innovation.
Read moreDiscover our new campaign designed to mobilize parliaments to act on the climate emergency. #Parliaments4thePlanet
Voices
Voices
Press releases
News in brief Half the world’s population is under 30 and yet less than 3% of MPs globally represent this age group. The IPU has identified the six ways to change this.
Events
Bringing the Future to the Present: The Democracy of the Future, Artificial Intelligence and Parliaments
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Publication
Climate action begins at home. Parliaments and those who work in them can take concrete steps to reduce their carbon footprint, both as institutions and individuals. By adopting greener policies and embracing a culture of sustainability, parliaments and parliamentarians can ...
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Basic Page
The Group of Twenty (G20) plays a key role in all major international economic issues. Collectively, G20 members represent 85% of global economic output, two-thirds of the world’s population and 75% of international trade. The forum initially focused on broad macroeconomic ...
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Events
Publication
In 2003, the IPU and the United Nations published The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol: Handbook for Parliamentarians. That first handbook aimed to foster a better understanding among parliamentarians of the ...
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Basic Page
Declaration adopted without a vote* by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 161st session (Cairo, 16 September 1997) The Inter-Parliamentary Council, Reaffirming the Inter-Parliamentary Union's commitment to peace and development and convinced that the strengthening of the democratisation process and representative institutions will ...
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Section Page
MPs can sometimes be subject to human rights violations, ranging from arbitrary detention and exclusion from public life to even kidnapping and murder in the worst cases. The IPU has been defending MPs in danger for the past 40 years through its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. The map below shows the latest alleged violations of ...
Read moreEach month, the IPU publishes the global ranking of the percentage of women in national parliaments based on the latest elections. Where does your parliament rank?
