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Members' events for the IPU's 130th anniversary in 2019

Parliaments all over the world are celebrating the IPU's 130th anniversary! Click on the links below for more information. 

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Angola

The Angolan Parliament held a workshop on the International Day of Parliamentarism. The First Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, Emília Carlota Dias, called for the commitment of MPs to help the country to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. She stressed the need to combat climate change, which is affecting the lives of citizens. Read more.

Armenia

The Armenian National Assembly posted the IPU's video, 130 years in 130 seconds, on its website with a congratulatory message. Go to the National Assembly website.

Austria

For the IPU's anniversary, the Austrian Parliament posted the video, 130 years in 130 seconds, on its website, with a description about the Organization. Go to the Austrian Parliament website.

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Bahrain

In commemoration of the IPU's 130th anniversary, the Bahraini House of Representatives broadcast a special programme on Bahrain TV with First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Abdulnabi Salman and First Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Jamal Fakhro. The episode was broadcast on 30 June 2019. Watch the video (in Arabic). Two Bahraini MPs also recorded video messages for the anniversary: A.A. Alardi, member of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, and Jamal Fakhro. The Parliament also published two videos, one on the IPU's history and the other with messages from Bahrain's IPU group, and distributed cookies with the IPU's 130th anniversary logo. 

On the International Day of Democracy, the Speaker of Council of Representatives and the Shura Council made statements, and the heads of the Committee on Human Rights in the Council of Representatives and of the Committee on Human Rights in Shura Council made comments to mark the occasion. A special television programme was broadcast where several MPs from both chambers spoke about the democratic experience in Bahrain. A quiz on the International Day of Democracy was also held for the public, with cash prizes.

Bangladesh

The Parliament of Bangladesh is currently displaying the IPU’s 130th anniversary exhibition. The exhibition was opened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Speaker of Parliament Shirin Chaudhury and IPU Honorary President Saber H. Chowdhury were present at the opening, as were whips and other members of parliament. Read more.

Bolivia

Ruth Itamari Choque, Bolivian MP and member of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians, tweeted a video message for the IPU's 130th anniversary.

Bhutan

On 30 June, the National Assembly of Bhutan issued a press release to commemorate the 130th anniversary. The video 130 years in 130 seconds was published to the National Assembly's Facebook page.

The National Assembly also marked the IPU's 130th anniversary on International Youth Day. The Assembly, in collaboration with UNDP and the Bhutan Youth Development Fund, held an interactive session with young people and young MPs titled "Tapping Potential: Youth and Young Parliamentarians". Read more.

Brazil
Atila Lins, Brazilian MP and member of the Executive Committee, recorded a video message for the IPU's 130th anniversary.

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Cuba

The Cuban National Assembly issued a statement for the anniversary. Read the statement (in Spanish). Yolanda Ferrer, Cuban MP and member of the IPU's Executive Committee, recorded a video message for the IPU's 130th birthday. 

Cyprus

On the annual celebration of the International Day of Democracy at the the House of Representatives of Cyprus, the Speaker, Demetris Syllouris, also commemorated the 130th Anniversary of the IPU.

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Djibouti

The Speaker of Djibouti’s National Assembly, Mohamed Ali Houmed, opened an extraordinary session of the Parliament with a speech to mark the IPU’s 130th anniversary. The Prime Minister, Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, was in the audience. The Parliament also helped raise awareness of the IPU and the anniversary by sending out the link to the video produced for the anniversary to all the MPs. Read more.

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France and the United Kingdom

Gathered in Paris, at the Senate and the National Assembly, to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the first meeting of the IPU on 29 and 30 June 1889 in Paris, the French and British Groups of the IPU reaffirm in the following statement their commitment to the values that guided the founding of the IPU and which continue to inspire our inter-parliamentary engagement and activities today. Read the statement.

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Hungary

The Hungarian Parliament was the first IPU member to celebrate the IPU’s 130th anniversary at a special event in the National Assembly in Budapest on 4 June 2019. As one of the nine founding members of the IPU in 1889, Hungary has been active since, hosting three IPU Assemblies, in 1896, 1936 and 1989. 

At the event, the Hungarian Post Office released two commemoration stamps designed by artist Eszter Domé, showing the Hungarian National Assembly and the IPU’s headquarters in Geneva. Read more.

At the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York in July, Hungary had an exhibition, "130 years of Hungary in IPU", which included the stamps.  

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India

The Indian Parliament marked the International Day of Democracy and the 130th anniversary of the IPU by broadcasting three programmes on its Lok Sabha Television:

  • the documentary For Democracy, For Everyone (in English and Hindi);
  • a discussion on the programme Public Forum on the importance of IPU@130; and
  • a discussion on the programme Bharat ki Awaaz (the Voice of India) on "Youth and Their Role in Democracy" that brought together experts and the general public.

Indonesia

The Indonesian Parliament posted the video of the IPU President's message for the 130th anniversary on its website

The Parliament also held a workshop on "The Role of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia in the IPU: Towards Democracy and Global Prosperity". The event was attended by Indonesian MPs, students from six universities and international parliamentary organizations based in Jakarta. 

Ireland

The Irish Parliament, the Houses of the Oireachtas, issued a press release congratulating the IPU on its 130th anniversary. Read more

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Latvia

To mark the International Day of Democracy, the Latvian Parliament held a conference to celebrate the life of Jānis Čakste, the first Speaker and the first President of the Republic of Latvia. Read more.

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New Zealand

The Parliament of New Zealand published a video about the 140th IPU Assembly in Doha on their website. Watch the video

North Macedonia

The Youth Caucus of the Assembly of North Macedonia held an event on 16 September to mark the International Day of Democracy. Prominent young activists spoke on environmental protection, the inclusion of persons with disabilities, and the SpeakOut mobile app for victims of violence. Youth Caucus members, MPs Ivana Tufegdzik and Slagjana Mitovska, representing the majority and opposition, spoke about youth political participation and the upcoming adoption, for the first time, of a Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies. A large number of young people from local high schools also took the opportunity to post messages on notice boards to MPs.

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Paraguay

The Paraguayan Upper Chamber observed the occasion with a speech by Blas Llano, Senator and member of the IPU's Committee on United Nations Affairs. Read more. Watch Mr. Llano's speech

The Congress of Paraguay also translated into Spanish the IPU's exhibition for the 130th anniversary. The exhibition was set up during the Sixth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, which took place in Asunción from 9 to 10 September.

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Qatar

On 14 December 2019, the Shura Council organized a reception at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the IPU. The Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Almahmoud and IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron spoke at the reception. It was also attended by IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. Over 300 MPs from over 60 parliaments were present at the reception, and several videos on the history and the role of the IPU were shown.

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Romania

The Romanian Parliament issued a statement to mark the 130th IPU anniversary highlighting the origins, historical evolution and strategic objectives of the IPU, as well as Romania’s contribution to the Organization  over the years. The statement was circulated widely by the national news agency, AGERPRES.    

Russian Federation

The Russian Parliament has issued a commemorative stamp for the International Day of Parliamentarism and the IPU’s 130th anniversary on 30 June. A Russian version of the IPU video 130 years in 130 seconds was shown at a plenary session of the Council of the Federation on 10 July. Read more.

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Serbia

The National Assembly of Serbia is displaying the IPU’s 130th anniversary exhibition: "1889-2019: Celebration of 130 Years of the IPU". Read more

Seychelles

The National Assembly of Seychelles marked the 130th anniversary of the IPU by holding a workshop on SDG implementation on the International Day of Parliamentarism. The anniversary was also referred to during the session of the Assembly at which the Belgrade Declaration was adopted. Watch the video. 

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Tunisia

The Tunisian Assembly of People's Representatives used the anniversary to express its pride in being part of the IPU. It praised the Organization's work in defending democracy and finding common solutions to global challenges. The Assembly called on parliaments worldwide to support the IPU's initiatives to establish strong national institutions that enshrine democracy and human rights. Read the article.

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United Kingdom

On 25 June, as part of the IPU's 130th anniversary celebrations, the Chair and Executive Committee of the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU) invited members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to attend a diplomatic reception in Speaker’s House. Members of the Diplomatic Corps, key stakeholders in the UK Parliament and a visiting delegation from the Italian Parliament were also invited (Italy was one of the nine original member countries of the IPU, along with the co-founders United Kingdom and France). The guests were addressed by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Chair of the BGIPU, John Whittingdale. Read more

United Kingdom and France

Gathered in Paris, at the Senate and the National Assembly, to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the first meeting of the IPU on 29 and 30 June 1889 in Paris, the French and British Groups of the IPU reaffirm in the following statement their commitment to the values that guided the founding of the IPU and which continue to inspire our inter-parliamentary engagement and activities today. Read the statement.

Uruguay
Ivonne Pasada, Uruguayan MP and member of the IPU's High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, recorded a video message for the IPU's 130th anniversary.

The General Assembly of Uruguay also produced a stamp for the International Day of Democracy, commemorating the disappeared Senator Martha Montaner who had stood up for democracy.

Uzbekistan

The Uzbek Supreme Assembly celebrated the International Day of Parliamentarism in several ways. The Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis held a roundtable with the UN Office in Uzbekistan at which Uzbek MPs stressed the importance of the day for improving parliamentary diplomacy, supporting joint cooperation and inter-parliamentary relations in the world. Uzbek parliamentarians also published articles and interviews for the day. And finally, in honour of the IPU's 130th anniversary, the IPU publications, Human Rights: Handbook for Parliamentarians and Parliaments and the Sustainable Development Goals: A self-assessment toolkit were translated and published in Uzbek.

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Venezuela
Venezuelan MP Delsa Solorzano, Vice-President of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, recorded a video message for the IPU's 130th anniversary.

Viet Nam

The IPU Group of Viet Nam celebrated the IPU's 130th anniversary with a birthday cake for the IPU, with the IPU logo on it.