Parliamentary Union
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International organization of national parliaments

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; French: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.

The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, IPU membership was reserved for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed to include the legislatures of sovereign states. As of 2020, the national parliaments of 180 countries are members of the IPU, while 13 regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members.[3][4]

The IPU facilitates the development of international law and institutions, strengthening the foundations and enhancing the vision for peace and the common good, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. It also sponsors and takes part in international conferences and forums, and has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. Consequently, eight individuals associated with the organization are Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

The organisation's initial objective was the arbitration of conflicts. The IPU played an important part in setting up the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Over time, its mission has evolved towards the promotion of democracy and inter-parliamentary dialogue. The IPU has worked for establishment of institutions at the inter-governmental level, including the United Nations, an organization with which it cooperates and with which it has permanent observer status.

The headquarters of the union have been moved several times since its inception. Locations:

1892–1911: Bern (Switzerland)

1911–1914: Brussels (Belgium)

1914–1920: Oslo (Norway)

1921–present: Geneva (Switzerland)

Eight leading personalities of the IPU have received Nobel Peace Prizes:

1901: Frédéric Passy (France)

1902: Charles Albert Gobat (Switzerland)

1903: Randal Cremer (United Kingdom)

1908: Fredrik Bajer (Denmark)

1909: Auguste Marie François Beernaert (Belgium)

1913: Henri La Fontaine (Belgium)

1921: Christian Lange (Norway)

1927: Ferdinand Buisson (France)

At its founding on 30 June 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference had eight members: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Liberia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United States also attended but did not formally adopt the treaty of arbitration.[5][6]

The Inter-Parliamentary Union currently has 180 members.

Regional parliamentary assemblies may be admitted by the Governing Council as Associate Members

Every Parliament constituted in conformity with the laws of a sovereign State whose population it represents and on whose territory it functions may request affiliation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The decision to admit or readmit a Parliament shall be taken by the Governing Council.

It is the duty of the Members of the IPU to submit the resolutions of the IPU within their respective Parliament, in the most appropriate form; to communicate them to the Government; to stimulate their implementation and to inform the IPU Secretariat, as often and fully as possible, particularly in its annual reports, as to the steps taken and the results obtained.

As it can be seen on the map, mostly all the countries in the world have a parliament member of IPU, with the notable exception of the United States, although the 12th (1904), the 23rd (1925) and the 42nd (1953) conferences were hosted in the US.

Associate Members

The participating parliamentary assemblies other than national parliaments are the following:[3]

Name Related organization Andean Parliament CAN Arab Parliament Central American Parliament (PARLCEN) SICA East African Legislative Assembly EAC European Parliament EU CIS Interparliamentary Assembly CIS Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy Inter-Parliamentary Committee of the West African Economic and Monetary Union UEMOA Latin American Parliament PARLATINO Pan-African Parliament AU Parliament of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community CEMAC Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie OIF Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe CoE Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation BSEC

The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are:

Assembly. Meeting biannually, the Assembly is composed of parliamentarians designated as delegates by the Members. The Assembly is assisted in its work by Standing Committees, whose number and terms of reference are determined by the Governing Council; Standing Committees shall normally prepare reports and draft resolutions for the Assembly. No one delegate may record more than ten votes.

Governing Council. The Governing Council normally holds two sessions a year. The Governing Council is composed of three representatives from each Member. The term of office of a member of the Governing Council lasts from one Assembly to the next and all the members of the Governing Council must be sitting members of Parliament. The Governing Council elects the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for a period of three years. It also elects the members of the executive committee and appoints the Secretary General of the Union.

Executive Committee. The executive committee is composed of the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 15 members belonging to different Parliaments (elected by the Governing Council; not less than 12 are elected from among the members of the Governing Council) and the President of the Coordinating Committee of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. The fifteen elected seats are assigned to the geopolitical groups. Only parliamentarians from States where women have both the right to vote and the right to stand for election are eligible to the executive committee. The executive committee is the administrative organ of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The current President is Portuguese MP Mr. Duarte Pacheco, who was elected in November 2020.[7]

Secretariat. The Secretariat constitutes the totality of the staff of the organisation under the direction of the Secretary General, currently Martin Chungong of Cameroon.[8]

The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments is a consultative body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The Assembly is the IPU's main political body through which the IPU's Member Parliaments adopt parliamentary resolutions on global issues. It plays a pivotal role in addressing the issues which threaten peace, democracy and sustainable development, including through its four thematic standing committees. IPU Assemblies are held twice a year either in Geneva or hosted by Member Parliaments.

# Host City Host Country Year 147th Luanda Angola 2023 146th Manama Bahrain 2023 145th Kigali Rwanda 2022 144th Nusa Dua Indonesia 2022 143rd Madrid Spain 2021 142nd Virtual Virtual 2021 141st Belgrade Serbia 2019 140th Doha Qatar 2019 139th Geneva Switzerland 2018 138th Geneva Switzerland 2018 137th St. Petersburg Russia 2017 136th Dhaka Bangladesh 2017 135th Geneva Switzerland 2016 134th Lusaka Zambia 2016 133rd Geneva Switzerland 2015 132nd Hanoi Vietnam 2015 131st Geneva Switzerland [9] 2014 130th Geneva Switzerland 2014 129th Geneva Switzerland 2013 128th Quito Ecuador 2013 127th Quebec City Canada 2012 126th Kampala Uganda 2012 125th Bern Switzerland 2011 124th Panama City Panama 2011 123rd Geneva Switzerland 2010 122nd Bangkok Thailand 2010 121st Geneva Switzerland 2009 120th Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2009 119th Geneva Switzerland 2008 118th Cape Town South Africa 2008 117th Geneva Switzerland 2007 116th Nusa Dua, Bali Indonesia 2007 115th Geneva Switzerland 2006 114th Nairobi Kenya 2006 113th Geneva Switzerland 2005 112th Manila Philippines 2005 111th Geneva Switzerland 2004 110th Mexico Mexico 2004 109th Geneva Switzerland 2003 108th Santiago Chile 2003 107th Marrakesh Morocco 2002 106th Ouagadougou Burkina Faso 2001 105th Havana Cuba 2001 104th Jakarta Indonesia 2000 103rd Amman Jordan 2000 102nd Berlin Germany 1999 101st Brussels Belgium 1999 100th Moscow Russia 1998 99th Windhoek Namibia 1998 98th Cairo Egypt 1997 97th Seoul South Korea 1997 96th Beijing China 1996 95th Istanbul Turkey 1996 94th Bucharest Romania 1995 93rd Madrid Spain 1995 92nd Copenhagen Denmark 1994 91st Paris France 1994 90th Canberra Australia 1993 89th New Delhi India 1993 88th Stockholm Sweden 1992 87th Yaoundé Cameroon 1992 86th Santiago Chile 1991 85th Pyongyang North Korea 1991 84th Punta del Este Uruguay 1990 83rd Nicosia Cyprus 1990 82nd London United Kingdom 1989 81st Budapest Hungary 1989 80th Sofia Bulgaria 1988 79th Guatemala City Guatemala 1988 78th Bangkok Thailand 1987 77th Managua Nicaragua 1987 76th Buenos Aires Argentina 1986 75th Mexico City Mexico 1986 74th Ottawa Canada 1985 73rd Lomé Togo 1985 72nd Geneva Switzerland 1984 71st Geneva Switzerland 1984 70th Seoul South Korea 1983 69th Rome Italy 1982 68th Havana Cuba 1981 67th Berlin East Germany 1980 66th Caracas Venezuela 1979 65th Bonn Germany 1978 64th Sofia Bulgaria 1977 63rd Madrid Spain 1976 62nd London United Kingdom 1975 61st Tokyo Japan 1974 60th Rome Italy 1972 59th Paris France 1971 58th The Hague Netherlands 1970 57th New Delhi India 1969 56th Lima Peru 1968 55th Tehran Iran 1966 54th Ottawa Canada 1965 53rd Copenhagen Denmark 1964 52nd Belgrade Yugoslavia 1963 51st Brasilia Brazil 1962 50th Brussels Belgium 1961 49th Tokyo Japan 1960 48th Warsaw Poland 1959 47th Rio de Janeiro Brazil 1958 46th London United Kingdom 1957 45th Bangkok Thailand 1956 44th Helsinki Finland 1955 43rd Vienna Austria 1954 42nd Washington, D.C. United States 1953 41st Bern Switzerland 1952 40th Istanbul Turkey 1951 39th Dublin Ireland 1950 38th Stockholm Sweden 1949 37th Rome Italy 1948 36th Cairo Egypt 1947 35th Oslo Norway 1939 34th The Hague Netherlands 1938 33rd Paris France 1937 32nd Budapest Hungary 1936 31st Brussels Belgium 1935 30th Istanbul Turkey 1934 29th Madrid Spain 1933 28th Geneva Switzerland 1932 27th Bucharest Romania 1931 26th London United Kingdom 1930 25th Berlin Germany 1928 24th Paris France 1927 23rd Washington, D.C. United States 1925 Ottawa Canada 22nd Bern Switzerland 1924 21st Copenhagen Denmark 1923 20th Vienna Austria 1922 19th Stockholm Sweden 1921 18th The Hague Netherlands 1913 17th Geneva Switzerland 1912 16th Brussels Belgium 1910 15th Berlin Germany 1908 14th London United Kingdom 1906 13th Brussels Belgium 1905 12th St. Louis United States 1904 11th Vienna Austria-Hungary 1903 10th Paris France 1900 9th Christiania Denmark 1899 8th Brussels Belgium 1897 7th Budapest Austria-Hungary 1896 6th Brussels Belgium 1895 5th The Hague Netherlands 1894 4th Bern Switzerland 1892 3rd Rome Italy 1891 2nd London United Kingdom 1890 1st Paris France 1889

President Years Country August Beernaert 1909–1912 Belgium Philip Stanhope 1912–1922 United Kingdom Theodor Adelsward 1922–1928 Sweden Fernand Bouisson 1928–1934 France Henri Carton de Wiart 1934–1947 Belgium William Wedgwood Benn 1947–1957 United Kingdom Giuseppe Codacci-Pisanelli 1957–1962 Italy Ranieri Mazzilli 1962–1967 Brazil Abderrahman Abdennebi 1967–1968 Tunisia André Chandernagor 1968–1973 France Gurdial Singh Dhillon 1973–1976 India Thomas Williams 1976–1979 United Kingdom Rafael Caldera 1979–1982 Venezuela Johannes Virolainen 1982–1983 Finland Emile Cuvelier 1983 Belgium Izz El Din El Sayed 1983–1985 Sudan John Page 1985 United Kingdom Hans Stercken 1985–1988 West Germany Dauda Sow 1988–1991 Senegal Michael Marshall 1991–1994 United Kingdom Ahmed Fathi Sorour 1994–1997 Egypt Miguel Angel Martinez 1997–1999 Spain Najma Heptulla 1999–2002 India Sergio Paes Verdugo 2002–2005 Chile Pier Ferdinando Casini 2005–2008 Italy Theo-Ben Gurirab 2008–2011 Namibia Abdelwahad Radi 2011–2014 Morocco Saber Hossain Chowdhury 2014–2017 Bangladesh Gabriela Cuevas Barron 2017–2020 Mexico Duarte Pacheco 2020–2023 Portugal Tulia Ackson 2023– Tanzania

Any proposal to amend the Statutes shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least three months before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such proposals to the Members of the Union. The consideration of such proposed amendments shall be automatically placed on the agenda of the Assembly.

Any sub-amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least six weeks before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such sub-amendments to the Members of the Union.

After hearing the opinion of the Governing Council, expressed through a simple majority vote, the Assembly shall decide on such proposals by a two-thirds majority vote.

The IPU marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, in 1995, by holding a special session in the General Assembly Hall before the start of the session,[10] where they planned for closer cooperation with the United Nations. The General Assembly Resolution passed during that session requested the Secretary-General to put this into action.[11] An agreement was signed between the IPU and the Secretary-General on 24 July 1996 and subsequently ratified by a General Assembly Resolution, where the United Nations recognizes IPU as the world organization of parliaments.[12][13] Pursuant to this resolution, the Secretary-General submitted a report[14] which was noted with appreciation by the General Assembly, who requested further strengthening of cooperation and another report.[15] This report detailed the measures that had been taken, including opening a liaison office in New York, and cooperation on issues such land-mines and the promotion of representative democracy.[16] Following an entire morning of debate[17] the General Assembly passed a resolution which simply stated that it "looks forward to continued close cooperation".[18]

The following year (1999) the Secretary-General reported on an increased number of areas of cooperation,[19] the issue was debated for an entire afternoon[20] (interrupted by a minute of silence held for tribute to Vazgen Sargsyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia who had just at that time been killed by gunmen),[21] and passed a resolution requesting the IPU be allowed to address the Millennium General Assembly directly.[22]

Following another report,[23] and another half-day debate,[24] the General Assembly welcomed the IPU declaration entitled "The Parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium" and called for the Secretary-General to explore new and further ways in which the relationship could be strengthened.[25]

On 19 November 2002 the IPU was granted observer status to the General Assembly.[26]

In the Resolution 59/19, Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the UN General Assembly takes note of the recommendations in regard to engaging parliamentarians more systematically in the work of the United Nations.[27]

The final declaration of the Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, hosted at United Nations headquarters, took place in September 2005, was entitled Bridging the democracy gap in international relations: A stronger role for parliament.[28]

In the Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, 61/6, Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, on 27 November 2006, it calls for the further development of the annual parliamentary hearing at the United Nations and other specialized parliamentary meetings in the context of major United Nations meetings as joint United Nations-Inter-Parliamentary Union events.[29]

Every year during the fall session of the General Assembly the IPU organises a Parliamentary Hearing.[30] A resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU allowed for circulation of official IPU documents in the General Assembly.

UN and the IPU cooperate closely in various fields, in particular peace and security, economic and social development, international law, human rights, and democracy and gender issues, but IPU has not obtained the status of UN General Assembly subsidiary organ.

The fourth world conference on UN 70th anniversary marked by Ban Ki-Moon as "UN70" was organised in September 2015 where Speakers of all IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) member parliaments and of non-member parliaments were invited from across the world. The theme was on peace, democracy, and development.[31]

Resolution of the United Nations: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 27 November 2006.[29]

Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations, 16 August 2006.[32]

Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 8 November 2004.[27]

Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (see Part 5 of the Annex), 1 September 2004.[33]

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 21 November 2002.[34]

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly: Observer status for the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the General Assembly, 19 November 2002.[35]

Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 3 September 2002.[36]

Cooperation Agreement between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union of 1996.[37]

Inter-parliamentary institution

e-democracy

Global democracy

Third World Conference of Speakers of Parliament

International Day of Democracy

Internationalism (politics)

List of peace activists

Millennium Development Goals

Supranational union

Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations Democracy Fund

United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)