- 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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Our library of essential resources for parliamentsGlobal data for and about national parliamentsLatest data and reports about women in parliamentResolutions, declarations and outcomes adopted by IPU MembersRecent innovations in the way parliaments workThe latest climate change legislation from the London School of Economics' database
News and case studies
Discover the latest news, case studies, press releases, statements, speeches and photos from the IPU here
Case studies
Case studies
15/04/2024
Iceland has an excellent record on gender equality, topping the World Economic Forum’s ranking of most gender equal country for 14 consecutive years. It was also the first country to elect a female president, Vigdis Finnbogadóttir, who won the 1980
Case studies
11/04/2024
In August 2023, Members of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians travelled to Iraq, pleading for the swift release of an opposition MP who had been arrested arbitrarily a decade earlier. The arrest had happened early one
Case studies
09/04/2024
Democracy is not an easy concept to measure, but when the IPU and partners produced the Indicators for Democratic Parliaments, several parliaments tested out this self-assessment toolkit, including Pakistan’s upper house, the Senate. Since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s democratic credentials
Press releases
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Press releases
28/03/2024
Hundreds of parliamentarians from over 140 countries, gathered at the 148th IPU Assembly from 23-27 March 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, have reconfirmed their commitment to parliamentary diplomacy to support peace efforts, and to reinvigorate multilateralism through parliamentary action. In their
Press releases
25/03/2024
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today signed a new memorandum of understanding, reaffirming the critical role that parliamentarians play in enabling good health to foster stable and equitable societies. The new five-year memorandum was signed
Press releases
22/03/2024
The IPU today hosted high-level delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan on the eve of the IPU’s 148th Assembly, which takes place from 23-27 March in Geneva, Switzerland. IPU President Tulia Ackson and IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong welcomed to IPU
Press releases
05/03/2024
According to the IPU’s latest Women in Parliament 2023 report, the global proportion of MPs who are women has inched up to 26.9%, based on elections and appointments that took place in 2023. This represents an increase of 0.4 percentage
Press releases
News in brief
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News in brief
06/03/2024
Earlier this year, the IPU announced that around 70 elections were slated to take place in 2024, in what has been dubbed a super election year. In total, thousands of parliamentary seats are up for grabs. As of March 2024
News in brief
19/02/2024
In 2019, when Italy’s former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi made a bewildering appearance on a satirical news show, hurling insults at his political counterparts, threatening to leave and using inappropriate language, he caused a massive stir. However, soon after the
News in brief
07/02/2024
The IPU Committee on Middle East Questions held an extraordinary virtual meeting on 5 February 2024, against the backdrop of the protracted conflict in Gaza. The meeting, chaired by the President of the Committee, Mr. Hubert Julien-Laferrière of France, brought
News in brief
26/01/2024
According to the latest data compiled by the IPU on its data platform, Parline, 72 elections or renewals of parliamentary chambers will take place this year, compared to 65 last year. Among those, 55 parliamentary chambers will be directly elected
News in brief
Statements
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Statements
08/04/2024
The IPU is greatly saddened to hear of the death of former IPU President Ahmed Fathi Sorour on 6 April 2024. Dr. Sorour was IPU President from 1994 to 1997, a critical period for the IPU when many new democratically
Statements
03/04/2024
Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair; Joy Phumaphi and Githinji Gitahi, Co-Chairs, PMNCH Advocacy and Partner Engagement Committee; Flavia Bustreo, Chair, PMNCH Governance and Ethics Committee; Martin Chungong, Secretary General, Inter-Parliamentary Union. As the world’s leading alliance committed to the health
Statements
27/03/2024
IPU Leadership Statement at the 148th IPU Assembly. In view of the worsening situation in Gaza, we call for urgent action to alleviate the suffering of the people in the region, including women, children and the elderly, who have been
Statements
08/03/2024
As we celebrate International Women's Day this year, we must not only address the current and future challenges societies face globally, but also recognize the perspectives, talents and contributions of half of our population to the causes of human rights
Statements
Voices
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Voices
11/04/2024
Discover how the global tech community is tracking greenhouse gas emissions with unprecedented detail and speed to tackle the climate crisis. The Climate TRACE database, mobilized by the global tech community, provides an inventory of emissions of more than 352
Voices
11/04/2024
As part of the IPU series called 'A conversation with...', we interview parliamentarians from all over the world to find out who they represent and what motivates them. In this edition, we discover Neema Lugangira, a parliamentarian from Tanzania and
Voices
13/03/2024
As part of the IPU series called 'A conversation with...', we interview parliamentarians from all over the world to find out who they represent and what motivates them. In this edition, we discover Xavier Iacovelli, a member of parliament from
Voices
11/03/2024
As part of the IPU series called 'A conversation with...', we interview parliamentarians from all over the world to find out who they represent and what motivates them. In this edition, we discover Dan Carden, a member of parliament from
Voices
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Latest speeches from IPU Leadership
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