News in brief

The IPU has just published Putting parliamentary self-development into practice: A Guide to the Common Principles for Support to Parliaments. As the global organization of national parliaments, one of the IPU’s core functions is to strengthen parliaments. The Common Principles

On 17 and 18 February, the IPU and the United Nations, represented by the President of the General Assembly, will bring together close to 200 parliamentarians from over 60 countries, as well as diplomats, representatives from civil society, and experts

The Serbian Parliament has announced an amendment to its electoral laws with a new minimum quota of 40 per cent of candidates on electoral lists for parliamentary and local elections from the less-represented gender. The Parliament adopted amendments to two

IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong has become the Chair of the Global Board of the International Gender Champions (IGC), a leadership network that works to break down gender barriers in international organizations, governments, civil society and the private sector. Mr

In a recent survey of IPU Member Parliaments, 31 per cent of respondents confirmed that new legislation had been put in place as a direct result of IPU assemblies, programmes, initiatives and resolutions. Of the sample, 75 per cent also

Elections in Djibouti in 2018 brought an infusion of young MPs into the National Assembly with 32 per cent of the new house under 45, above the global average of 28 per cent. To help these young parliamentarians, as well

Parliamentarians from around the world were in Geneva this week for the first edition of the Global Refugee Forum organized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The parliamentarians brought the parliamentary voice to this global gathering to take stock of

After spending more than six months in the Italian embassy of Caracas, Venezuela, two parliamentarians, Ms. Mariela Magallanes and Mr. Americo De Grazia, are now in Italy thanks to the efforts of IPU Honorary President Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini.

Climate change and its impact on health were the focus of a parliamentary seminar on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), held in early December in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The timing coincided with the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain. The seminar Strengthening parliamentary action on the SDGs was co-organized by the IPU and the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. It was attended by parliamentarians from eight Caribbean countries as well as representatives of international organizations, civil society and experts.

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Experts and parliamentarians meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) underscored the urgency of parliamentary action to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency. Over 100 MPs from more than 30 countries attended the IPU’s annual parliamentary meeting during the COP25.

The IPU has held its first regional information seminar in Latin America on the functioning of the organization. The seminar was held in San José, Costa Rica, on 27 and 28 November 2019 in partnership with Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly

Parliamentarians from 20 countries participating in the 2019 Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Global Gathering in Nepal have jointly signed a pledge where they commit to take action on nutrition. The parliamentarians have committed to encouraging their respective governments to

From celebrating 130 years of the IPU's rich past to empowering youth for the future, from the first parliamentary resolution on universal health care to increasing the number of women MPs, discover the highlights of the IPU's 141st Assembly in

Watch how IPU members around the world celebrated the IPU's milestone anniversary.

The IPU, the National Assembly of Zambia and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) organized a climate change workshop in Lusaka, Zambia, on 22 July 2019 to support parliamentarians in their role to translate the international targets of the

Three years after the start of the #MeToo movement, Iceland recently hosted the first major international conference on the impact of gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination with the objective of “relegating sexual harassment to history”. Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, presented the IPU’s landmark work on sexism and violence against women in parliaments.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, as one of the 27 global leaders committed to fighting malnutrition through the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Malnutrition affects one in three people in the world and

Speakers of Parliament from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka assembled in Malé, Maldives, on 1 and 2 September 2019, for the fourth South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As representatives of

Young parliamentarians meeting in Asunción, Paraguay, have called for the pursuit of happiness and well-being to be explicitly integrated into public policy.