- Our impact
The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.We help strengthen parliaments to make them more effective and representative.We 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 create the global space for parliamentary diplomacy, dialogue and networking.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.We bring a parliamentary dimension to United Nations processes to ensure international commitments become national realities. - Parliaments
Every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 193 countries in the world, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 179 national parliaments. Discover the world's nationalFind a national parliament
The Swiss National Council © The Swiss Parliament
We help strengthen parliaments to make them more representative and effective.. - Knowledge
Discover the IPU's resources
Our library of essential resources for parliamentsYour one-stop-shop for data for and about national parliamentsLatest data and reports about women's participation in politicsRecent innovations in the way parliaments do their work
Press releases
Displaying 81 - 100 of 518 items
Press releases
14/09/2016
The aspirations for a fairer world set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will only be met if there is more democracy worldwide, said the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) today.
Press releases
27/07/2016
The United Nations General Assembly adopted on 25th July by consensus a resolution on Interaction between the United Nations, national parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Press releases
24/06/2016
A new study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has found major steps forward in how the world’s parliaments are using information and communications technologies (ICT) to engage with citizens.
Press releases
15/06/2016
A global meeting of MPs specializing in international trade has called for urgent action to implement multilateral agreements which benefit the developing world. More than 400 parliamentary delegates from around 60 countries attended the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade
Press releases
10/06/2016
A meeting of MPs specializing in international trade is expected to call for urgent action to implement multilateral agreements which benefit the developing world. The Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO), co-chaired by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and
Press releases
02/06/2016
Members of Parliament from the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine, have identified a series of historic first steps to tackle the critical issue of ensuring water supplies across the region. In a unique three-day round-table meeting that ended today
Press releases
27/05/2016
Members of Parliament from the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine, will take part in a round-table event next week to seek solutions to the critical issue of Middle East water resources. The MPs will explore scientific and technological solutions
Press releases
27/05/2016
Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law are to undertake a three-day mission to Lebanon to assess the Syrian refugee crisis. The mission, starting on 30 May, will investigate the situation of Syrian
Press releases
24/05/2016
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has stressed the critical importance of the principle of parliamentary immunity after a vote in the Turkish Parliament amending the constitution effectively stripped a quarter of the country’s MPs of their immunity. IPU is concerned that
Press releases
19/04/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201604191.htm
Press releases
23/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603232.htm
Press releases
23/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603231.htm
Press releases
22/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603221.htm
Press releases
20/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603201.htm
Press releases
16/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603161.htm
Press releases
14/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603142.htm
Press releases
10/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603101.htm
Press releases
04/03/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201603041.htm
Press releases
19/02/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201602191.htm
Press releases
17/02/2016
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressnote201602171.htm