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IPU Committee on MPs’ Human Rights has unusually a high number of new cases at its January session

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is holding its 155th session in Geneva.

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which is holding its 155th session in Geneva from 25 to 28 January 2018, has 66 new cases before it, 64 % of which come from Asia. This is an unusually high number for the first session of the year.

The Committee examines cases of violations of the human rights of MPs, which can include harassment, arbitrary detention, torture or assassination. It is the only international mechanism with such a remit and has a solid track record of providing concrete help to MPs who suffer abuses. The Committee meets three times a year to examine cases. Members of the committee undertake missions to investigate violations, hold hearings, observe trials and work with authorities to seek redress.

The current caseload of the Committee concerns a total of 556 MPs (20 % are women; 76 % belong to the opposition) in 44 countries from the following regions:  Americas (209 MPs in 8 countries), Asia (141 MPs in 12 countries), Africa (86 MPs in 11 countries), Europe (61 MPs in 3 countries), Middle East and North Africa (56 MPs in 7 countries) and Southern Pacific (3 MPs in 1 country).

A large number of women MPs globally suffer human rights violations. This is illustrated by the fact that the percentage of cases of women MPs before the Committee (20 %) is almost the same as the proportion of women in parliaments worldwide (23.5 %).

The Committee began this session by electing Ali A. Alaradi (Bahrain) as the new President.