The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 190 national parliaments in the world, 78 are bicameral (156 chambers) and 112 are unicameral, making a total of 268 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 180 national parliaments
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was constituted under the United Nations Charter to help nations settle disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.
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.
2018 was a crucial year for international migration governance. In December that year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). The global parliamentary conference in Türkiye will offer an important opportunity for parliaments and their members to take stock of the state of implementation of the Global Compacts and of old and new challenges that stand in the way of stronger collective, bilateral and national action. The conference aims to collect a series of best parliamentary practices and to identify further concrete steps that parliaments can take to promote more robust international cooperation and national implementation.
The conference is open to all IPU Member Parliaments, Observers and Associate Members. Participating parliaments are invited to send a delegation of up to four members for unicameral and up to six members for bicameral parliaments. Delegations must be gender-balanced and reflect the political representation of the parliament.