- 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
Immediate action called for Anwar Ibrahim and Malaysian opposition MPs
Thu, 02/07/2015 - 17:41
Formal opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. ©Reuters/Zainal Abd Halim
Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressnote201507021.htm
Related news and stories
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
18/10/2018
At the 139 th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, the global parliamentary community expressed serious concerns about MP human rights violations worldwide including cases in Cambodia, Venezuela, Turkey, and Uganda. However, there was also good news from Malaysia and the Maldives.At the Assembly, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the only international body with an exclusive remit to support persecuted MPs, met for its 157 th session. The committee meets three times a year to hear both complainants and the parliamentary authorities. Based on these hearings and other information, the committee takes position and its decisions are adopted by the IPU’s Governing Council. At this sitting, the committee took position on human rights violations of 295 MPs in 13 countries.
News in brief
16/05/2018
The IPU welcomes the news of the release and full pardon of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. Mr. Anwar was released from prison today after being granted a full royal pardon. The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which has been defending Mr. Anwar’s case since the 1990s, has consistently maintained that Mr. Anwar was the victim of an unfair trial and has lobbied intensively over the years for his release.
Press releases
08/12/2017
Human rights abuses against parliamentarians reached a new high in 2017, according to Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) statistics. Parliamentarians from Cambodia, Maldives, Turkey and Venezuela alone, where the political situation has been worsening in recent times, account for 35% of the cases. Cases of abuses against women MPs have also reached a record number this year, having tripled since 2014. El Salvador, Turkey and Venezuela account for this year’s huge increase.
Press releases
08/02/2017
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has again expressed concern about continued human rights violations against MPs worldwide and the lack of respect for their parliamentary immunity. During its January 2017 session, IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians adopted decisions on the cases of 227 MPs from 16 countries. Over 100 MPs are from just three countries, Malaysia, Nicaragua and Turkey.
Press releases
09/12/2016
The year 2016 has seen a sharp increase in the number of parliamentarians who have suffered violations of their fundamental rights or who have alleged such violations, according to IPU statistics that underscore once more the dangers MPs face across the world in exercising their mandate and their right to freedom of expression. Marking Human Rights Day 2016 (10 December), IPU released Human Rights Abuses of MPs—2016. This comprehensive overview of the cases being examined by IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians shows an overall increase in violations of MPs human rights for the third year in a row.