The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
We help parliaments build peaceful and inclusive societies, fight terrorism and violent extremism and curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 188 national parliaments in the world, 81 are bicameral (162 chambers) and 107 are unicameral, making a total of 269 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 183 national parliaments
Throughout the year, the IPU and its Members organize many events for parliamentarians to exchange good practices, acquire the latest information and identify avenues for action.
The IPU has been collecting data on parliaments since its inception in 1889, including information on women’s participation in politics since 1945. In this section, discover the IPU's knowledge bank for and about parliaments.
The urgent need to immediately stop the widespread human rights violations and to restore the democratic rights of the people of Myanmar (Emergency item)
The announcement by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea of its nuclear weapons test and the strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime (Emergency item)
The role of parliaments in stopping acts of violence, and the building of a separation wall, in order to create conditions conducive to peace and a lasting solution to the Palestinian–Israeli conflict (Emergency item)
Parliamentary support for the implementation of the road map for peace in putting an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and achieving a comprehensive peace process and justice in the Middle East (Emergency item)
The need to put an urgent end to the war in Iraq and to re-establish peace: the role of the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (Emergency supplementary item)
The role of parliaments in supporting implementation of resolution 1397 adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 12 March 2002 and particularly the paragraph in which the Council expresses its attachment to "a vision of a region in which two...
Bringing an end to the tension and violence in the Middle East, protecting civilians in accordance with the fourth Geneva convention, and action to save the peace process in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions (Emergency item)