- ImpactWe help parliaments to become greener and to implement the Paris agreement.We support democracy by strengthening parliamentsWe work to increase women’s representation in parliament and empower women MPs.We defend the human rights of parliamentarians and help them uphold the rights of all.We help parliaments fight terrorism, cyber warfare and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.We encourage youth participation in parliaments and empower young MPs.We support parliaments in implementing the SDGs with a particular focus on health and climate change.
- Parliaments
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 parliamentsFind a national parliament
The Swiss National Council © The Swiss Parliament
We help strengthen parliaments to make them more representative and effective. - Knowledge
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Latvia’s move towards an electronic parliament: The e-Saeima
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Latvian parliament (Saeima) was forced to adopt digital innovations at a speed never witnessed before. In order to ensure that legislators were able to fulfil core parliamentary functions while adhering to physical distancing requirements necessary to limit the spread of the virus, a holistic technological solution was developed, called the “e-Saeima”.
Through the e-Saeima, Members of Parliament no longer have to be physically present at the parliament building to carry out their work. Apart from being able to work fully remotely from anywhere in the world, the platform enables secure identification of MPs and electronic voting through e-signature in real time. In recognition of their varying levels of experience in the use of IT tools, parliamentarians received extensive training and support as they moved to a new fully virtual parliamentary environment.
E-Saeima sittings are not just open to MPs to deliberate, but to the public at large too. This means that anyone can follow the remote sittings online.