Latin America has a wealth of vital natural resources, but it also struggles with deforestation, rapid biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change. In an era of escalating environmental challenges, this puts it on the front line of the battle for our planet’s future. The conflict between public and private interest is a major part of the challenge. Narrow interests have profited indirectly from ecosystem degradation and the plundering of natural resources. But everybody pays the price. The Escazú Agreement is widely seen as part of the solution. The Agreement was the first ever environmental treaty involving a group of Latin

The IPU Committee on Middle East Questions held an extraordinary virtual meeting on 5 February 2024, against the backdrop of the protracted conflict in Gaza. The meeting, chaired by the President of the Committee, Mr. Hubert Julien-Laferrière of France, brought together parliamentarians from the Middle East and around the world, including representatives from the Israeli Knesset and the Palestinian National Council. IPU President, Tulia Ackson, and IPU Secretary General, Martin Chungong, also attended. The Committee reiterated the IPU’s appeal for immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. It appealed to IPU Member Parliaments to work with their governments

New York, USA, 2 February 2024 Putting an end to conflicts: Prescriptions for a peaceful future , will be the theme of the 2024 Annual Parliamentary Hearing, a joint initiative between the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). IPU President Tulia Ackson and UNGA President Dennis Francis will host some 300 participants, including parliamentarians, Speakers of Parliament, advisers and experts, from more than 70 countries at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, on 8 and 9 February 2024. The theme of this joint IPU-UN hearing will align with the IPU’s primary

By John Oldfield The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948, envisions “a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want”. It is the vision of a world living in “freedom from fear” and “freedom from want” that inspires and informs my work on water security with parliaments across the globe. It is heartbreaking to contrast that 1948 vision with the fact that hundreds of millions of people across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even the United States live day-to-day with want

According to the latest data compiled by the IPU on its data platform, Parline, 72 elections or renewals of parliamentary chambers will take place this year, compared to 65 last year. Among those, 55 parliamentary chambers will be directly elected while the others will be indirectly elected or appointed. Roughly half the world’s population is expected to go to the polls in 2024, with some of the world’s most populous countries holding elections. The IPU will be closely following all the parliamentary elections, paying particular attention to gender equality and the average age of the legislators. With 120 million eligible