- ImpactWe help parliaments to become greener and to implement the Paris agreement.We support democracy by strengthening parliamentsWe work to increase women’s representation in parliament and empower women MPs.We defend the human rights of parliamentarians and help them uphold the rights of all.We help parliaments fight terrorism, cyber warfare and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.We encourage youth participation in parliaments and empower young MPs.We support parliaments in implementing the SDGs with a particular focus on health and climate change.
- Parliaments
Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 190 national parliaments in the world, 78 are bicameral (156 chambers) and 112 are unicameral, making a total of 268 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 180 national parliamentsFind a national parliament
The Swiss National Council © The Swiss Parliament
We help strengthen parliaments to make them more representative and effective. - Knowledge
Discover the IPU's resources
Our library of essential resources for parliamentsGlobal data for and about national parliamentsLatest data and reports about women in parliamentResolutions, declarations and outcomes adopted by IPU MembersRecent innovations in the way parliaments workThe latest climate change legislation from the London School of Economics' database
IPU urges rejection of Afghan law protecting abusers of women
Mon, 10/02/2014 - 16:41
Under the new law, prosecutors could never come to court with cases like that of Sahar Gul, 15, tortured for months by her in-laws when she
refused to work as a prostitute for them. ©REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressnote201402101.htm
Related news and stories
Press releases
14/08/2013
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease20130814.htm
News in brief
28/06/2023
In 1979, the United Nations adopted a global treaty to make gender inequality a thing of the past. 189 countries have since ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). A Handbook first
Press releases
22/06/2023
Twenty years after the first edition, the IPU and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have published a new version of a handbook for parliamentarians on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
Statements
16/01/2023
It is with great sadness that the IPU learnt of the murder of former Afghan parliamentarian Ms. Mursal Nabizada. According to news reports, Ms. Nabizada and her bodyguard were shot dead at her home in Kabul on 15 January. Ms
Press releases
08/12/2022
On the eve of Human Rights Day, the IPU has released its annual global snapshot of the situation of threatened parliamentarians. A record number of 739 parliamentarians from 44 countries all over the world suffered violations of their fundamental rights
Press releases
11/02/2022
The 2022-2026 IPU strategy was unanimously approved by Member Parliaments at the 143rd IPU Assembly in November 2021, in Madrid, Spain. The new Strategy lays out the IPU’s roadmap for the next five years with a renewed mandate to continue