Skip to main content

Press releases

Displaying 81 - 100 of 584 items

Press releases
Youth at the IPU

Future Policy Award 2019 crowns eight best policies empowering youth

Policies from Rwanda, Estonia, United Kingdom, Nepal, South Africa and Senegal are among this year’s winners of the “oscars" for best policies.
Read more
Press releases
Belgrade skyline

#IPU141 Assembly in Serbia sets out to strengthen international law

Over 1700 parliamentarians and UN and civil society partners from around the world will meet in Belgrade, Serbia, from 13 to 17 October for the 141st IPU Assembly.
Read more
Press releases
US Capitol

Parliamentarians at risk around the world - Events for US Congress

Parliamentarians at risk around the world/ Violence against women politicians - US Congress Events on Thursday 19 September The IPU will be in Washington, D.C., on Thursday 19 September for two events open to Members of the US Congress, congressional
Read more
Press releases
group picture

IPU and NZ Parliament hold security seminar for Pacific region parliaments

This week, the IPU and the New Zealand Parliament will jointly host a seminar on tackling the global spread of illicit weapons. The seminar focuses on implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1540. This resolution imposes obligations on all states
Read more
Press releases
IPU Logo 130th anniversary

IPU moving closer to universal membership on its 130th anniversary

On 30 June, International Day of Parliamentarism, the IPU will celebrate its 130th anniversary. What began in 1889 as a small group of parliamentarians, dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue, has since grown into the global organization of national parliaments. By the end of 2019, IPU membership will inch closer to being universal - consisting of 180 national parliaments, 12 supranational parliamentary bodies, and increasing numbers of parliamentarians who attend its meetings.
Read more
Press releases
140 IPU Assembly

#IPU140: MPs engage in the world’s biggest platform for parliamentary diplomacy

Parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy were at the forefront of 140th IPU Assembly from 6 to 10 April in Doha, Qatar, as over 800 MPs from 160 countries convened in the world’s biggest platform for global parliamentary exchange. In the final
Read more
Press releases
Cote D'Ivoire election

#IPU140: IPU calls for actions to defend persecuted MPs worldwide

At the 140th IPU Assembly in Doha, Qatar, the global parliamentary community strongly condemned human rights violations against MPs worldwide. At the Assembly, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the only international body with an exclusive remit to support MPs in danger, recommended action in the cases of 187 parliamentarians in a dozen countries whose human rights have been violated.
Read more
Press releases
Climate protests

Nominations now open for the Future Policy Award for exemplary policies that promote and support young people’s empowerment

Global contest announced by the World Future Council, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), with the support of the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Youth Policy
Read more
Press releases
Doha Skyline

#IPU140 Assembly in Doha to focus on education, gender equality and counter-terrorism

Over 1600 parliamentarians, UN partners and experts from around the world will meet in Doha, Qatar, for the 140th IPU Assembly from 6 to 10 April. Under the overarching theme of education for peace, the Assembly will also consider ways in which parliaments can boost gender equality- particularly in the region, take measures to counter terrorism, promote human rights and invest in renewable energy. The Qatar Shura Council will host delegates from around 160 countries including 80 Speakers of Parliament, 40 Deputy Speakers, and over 800 MPs, of which 30 per cent are women and 19 per cent are young MPs under 45. Qatar joined the IPU in 2006 and is hosting its first IPU Assembly.
Read more
Press releases
Women in Politics 2019 map

One in five ministers is a woman according to new IPU/UN Women Map

Women’s representation in political decision-making continues to rise slowly, with slight improvements since 2017, according to the data presented in the 2019 edition of the biennial IPU-UN Women map of Women in Politics. The map, which presents global rankings for women in the executive and parliamentary government branches as of 1 January 2019, shows the proportion of women ministers is at an all-time high at 20.7 per cent (812 out of 3922), 2.4 percentage points higher compared to 2017. It also shows that the types of portfolios women ministers hold are diversifying.
Read more
Press releases
Women in parliament

New IPU report shows well-designed quotas lead to significantly more women MPs

According to the IPU’s yearly analysis, the share of women in national parliaments increased by nearly one percentage point last year, from 23.4 per cent in 2017 to 24.3 per cent in 2018. This 0.9 percentage point increase confirms the continuing rise of women in parliament, at a slightly faster rate of change compared to previous years. Countries with well-designed gender quotas elected significantly more women to parliament than those without, respectively, 7 points more in single or lower chambers, and 17 points more in upper chambers.
Read more
Press releases
The National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela

IPU considers new evidence revealing abuse of the human rights of MPs worldwide

The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has released its latest decisions after considering the cases of 417 MPs from 37 countries at a meeting in Geneva last week. The Committee, the only international body with a special remit to defend persecuted MPs, took decisions on 126 MPs, most of which concern opposition MPs in Venezuela.
Read more
Press releases
youth

Youth representation in parliament nudges up according to new IPU report

The global proportion of MPs under 30 has increased in two years from 1.9 per cent to 2.2 per cent according to the IPU’s biannual report on Youth Participation in National Parliaments published today. Despite this increase, when compared with
Read more
Press releases

IPU acts on record number of human rights abuses against MPs in 2018

The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has announced the highest number of human rights violations against MPs on its books since it was established 40 years ago. The Committee treated 564 cases of parliamentarians from 43 countries in 2018. This is almost double the figure from five years ago. Most of the cases concern opposition MPs from the Americas and Asia.
Read more
Press releases
mobile

IPU report shows that new technologies can help reconnect people with parliaments

A new IPU report shows that information and communication technology (ICT) is helping parliaments become better connected and more transparent, and that MPs are engaging more with people through social media and instant messaging. The report is being launched at the IPU’s World e-Parliament Conference taking place from 3-5 December in Geneva, Switzerland. At the conference, the IPU will also launch the Centre for Innovation in Parliament, a new resource to support the use of digital tools in parliaments.
Read more
Press releases
Jail officers watch the jail vicinity during an anti-drug and contraband inspection codenamed Oplan Greyhound at the Manila City Jail on September 29, 2018.

#IPU139: Assembly gives voice to MPs silenced at home

At the 139th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, the global parliamentary community expressed serious concerns about MP human rights violations worldwide including cases in Cambodia, Venezuela, Turkey, and Uganda. However, there was also good news from Malaysia and the Maldives.At the Assembly, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the only international body with an exclusive remit to support persecuted MPs, met for its 157th session. The committee meets three times a year to hear both complainants and the parliamentary authorities. Based on these hearings and other information, the committee takes position and its decisions are adopted by the IPU’s Governing Council. At this sitting, the committee took position on human rights violations of 295 MPs in 13 countries.
Read more
Press releases
Marae Rauhuru, a stone courtyard with platform and standing stones, built by a Polynesian civilisation

#IPU139: Parliaments demand immediate action on climate change

With catastrophic climate change threatening to hit many parts of the world in just over a decade, 149 national parliaments have adopted an emergency resolution calling for decisive action. Concluding the 139th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the resolution, called Climate change – Let us not cross the line, follows the report published last week by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). According to the IPCC report, limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires urgent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.
Read more
Press releases
MeToo poster

#MeToo: Alarming levels of sexual abuse and violence found in Europe’s Parliaments

A new study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) shows that acts of sexism, abuse and violence against women are widespread in parliaments across Europe. The findings reveal that 85 per cent of women MPs have suffered from psychological violence in parliament; women MPs under 40 are more likely to be harassed; female parliamentary staff endure more sexual violence than female MPs; and that the majority of parliaments don’t have mechanisms to enable women to speak out.
Read more
Press releases
IPU Assembly

#IPU139: Placing science at the heart of parliaments, policy-making and peace

Over 1300 MPs and parliamentary staff from around the world will meet in Geneva for the 139th IPU Assembly from 14-18 October. Under the umbrella theme of science, technology and innovation, the Assembly will cover multiple subjects including fake news, sexism and harassment in parliaments, human rights, disarmament, counter-terrorism, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and migration.
Read more
Press releases

IPU launches new platform with data on parliaments

To celebrate International Day of Democracy on Saturday 15 September, the IPU is launching New Parline, a new version of its online open data platform on national parliaments. The platform is intended for MPs, academics, civil society, the media, and all those interested in parliaments as the core institution of democracy.
Read more