Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians

Every year, many MPs around the world face abuse, mistreatment or even death. The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians seeks to protect and defend them. The only international mechanism with such a remit, it has an outstanding track record of helping MPs under attack.

To find out more about the cases currently monitored by the Committee, see the interactive map below.

The Committee holds hearings, undertakes missions and sends trial observers. During IPU Assemblies, IPU Members through the IPU Governing Council, approve the Committee’s decisions, highlighting the importance of parliamentary solidarity. The Committee continues to speak out on cases until there is a satisfactory solution.

If you would like to report an MP in danger, use this form.

The Committee consists of 12 members from all over the world. Members serve in a personal rather than national capacity. They are selected on the strength of their competencies and commitment to human rights.

The composition of the Committee should reflect an equitable geopolitical distribution of seats and be gender balanced. In principle, there should be equal numbers of men and women on the Committee. In any case, there must be at least four members of either sex. At present, 50% of the members of the Committee are women.