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Budget and finance

Our work to promote peace and democracy is financed mainly by our Members and Associate Members out of public funds. We also receive a growing amount of income from donors, including governments, development agencies, UN bodies and foundations. 

The amount our Members contribute is based on their capacity to pay. Our scale of contributions is directly patterned on that of the United Nations, which is calculated from gross national income and other criteria. The IPU scale of assessments is approved by our Governing Council.  It can be found in Section 4 of the consolidated budget document.

This system reflects current economic realities and limits the burden of contributions on the least developed countries. Associate Members, meanwhile, contribute 5 per cent of the average contributions paid by the parliaments they represent.

This solid base of contributions from Members and Associate Members supports our basic needs. However, to implement our Strategy for 2022-2026 and meet increasing demands for assistance to parliaments, we aim to mobilize a growing level of external funds. This allows us to expand our work to promote democracy, peace, equality, human rights and development. You can find out who our external donors are below.

Donors

Parliament of Bangladesh
Parliament of Benin
National People's Congress, China
Parliament of Egypt
Parliament of the Federated States of Micronesia
Parliament of Republic of Korea
Parliament of Republic of Korea
Qatar
Qatar (the Shura Council)
Federal National Council of United Arab Emirates
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
European Union
Irish Aid
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
United Nations Population Fund
UN Women
World Health Organization
Worldwide Support for Development
Arizona State University
 
 
More info

We also derive a small amount of income from other sources such as investments and renting out our meeting rooms. Our budget also benefits from staff assessment, a system of internal taxation paid by our staff who are classified as international civil servants.

Every year, our budget document sets out our work plan over the coming 12 months. It shows as clearly as possible what our Members and donors can expect from the work that they fund.

It also gives details on the relative positions of men and women and the resources given to gender issues and activities, in line with our commitment to being a gender-equal organization.

We systematically include environmental factors in our budget - acknowledging our own greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting the impact of our carbon footprint. We have been doing this since 2008 in line with our wider commitment to protecting our planet.

We have a Sub-Committee on Finance which acts as an advisory body to our Executive Committee. It reviews and makes recommendations on financial matters and guides the annual budget process.

All our budgeting and financial processes are transparent. Our Financial Regulations are approved and amended by our Governing Council, which also validates our annual financial results prepared in accordance with our accounting policies.  We have a system of internal accounting controls established to accomplish our objectives while managing risks, safeguarding assets and ensuring that our financial reporting is reliable and accurate.

Our financial statements are compliant with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards and are audited annually by an external auditor. Our internal auditors also review our financial statements. All our staff sign our fraud and corruption prevention policy. 

Fraud and corruption prevention policy

The IPU is committed to high ethical standards, transparency and accountability to all internal and external stakeholders, including its Member Parliaments, personnel, beneficiaries, donors and cooperating partners. The IPU has a zero tolerance policy for fraud and corruption practices.