Inter-Parliamentary Union


The Inter-Parliamentary Union is a global inter-parliamentary institution established in 1889 by Frédéric Passy and William Randal Cremer. It was the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, the organization was for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed into an international organization of the parliaments of sovereign states. The national parliaments of 178 countries are members of the IPU, and 12 regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members. The IPU has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.

History

Eight leading personalities of the IPU have received Nobel Peace Prizes:
The organisation's initial objective was the arbitration of conflicts. The IPU played an important part in setting up the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Over time, its mission has evolved towards the promotion of democracy and inter-parliamentary dialogue. The IPU has worked for establishment of institutions at the inter-governmental level, including the United Nations, an organization with which it cooperates and with which it has permanent observer status.
Numerous bodies have expressed interest in the possibility of transforming the IPU into a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, among them the Committee for a Democratic UN, the German Bundestag and the Socialist International. The Liberal International also considers this as an option.
The headquarters of the union have been moved several times since its inception.
Locations:

Members

It is the duty of the Members of the IPU to submit the resolutions of the IPU within their respective Parliament, in the most appropriate form; to communicate them to the Government; to stimulate their implementation and to inform the IPU Secretariat, as often and fully as possible, particularly in its annual reports, as to the steps taken and the results obtained.
;Associate Members
The participating parliamentary assemblies other than national parliaments are the following:
NameRelated organization
Andean ParliamentCAN
Central American ParliamentSICA
East African Legislative AssemblyEAC
European ParliamentEU
Inter-parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent StatesCIS
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxynone
Inter-Parliamentary Committee of the West African Economic and Monetary UnionUEMOA
Latin American Parliamentnone
Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic CooperationBSEC
Parliament of the Economic Community of West African StatesECOWAS
Parliament of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central AfricaCEMAC
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeCoE
Transitional Arab ParliamentAL

Organs

The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are:
The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments is a consultative body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Elected to posts

The IPU Assembly is the principal statutory body that expresses the views of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on political issues.
#Host CityHost CountryYear
141stBelgrade2019
140thDoha2019
139thGeneva2018
138thGeneva2018
137thSt. Petersburg2017
136thDhaka2017
135thGeneva2016
134thLusaka2016
133rdGeneva2015
132ndHanoi2015
131stGeneva2014
130thGeneva2014
129thGeneva2013
128thQuito2013
127thQuebec City2012
126thKampala2012
125thBern2011
124thPanama city2011
123rdGeneva2010
122ndBangkok2010
121stGeneva2009
120thAddis Ababa2009
119thGeneva2008
118thCape Town2008
117thGeneva2007
116thNusa Dua, Bali2007
115thGeneva2006
114thNairobi2006
113thGeneva2005
112thManila2005
111thGeneva2004
110thMexico2004
109thGeneva2003
108thSantiago2003
107thMarrakesh2002
106thOuagadougou2001
105thHavana2001
104thJakarta2000
103rdAmman2000
102ndBerlin1999
101stBrussels1999
100thMoscow1998
99thWindhoek1998
98thCairo1997
97thSeoul1997
96thBeijing1996
95thIstanbul1996
94thBucharest1995
93rdMadrid1995
92ndCopenhagen1994
91stParis1994
90thCanberra1993
89thNew Delhi1993
88thStockholm1992
87thYaoundé1992
86thSantiago1991
85thPyongyang1991
84thPunta del Este1990
83rdNicosia1990
82ndLondon1989
81stBudapest1989
80thSofia1988
79thGuatemala City1988
78thBangkok1987
77thManagua1987
76thBuenos Aires1986
75thMexico City1986
74thOttawa1985
73rdLomé1985
72ndGeneva1984
71stGeneva1984
70thSeoul1983
69thRome1982
68thHavana1981
67thBerlin1980
66thCaracas1979
65thBonn1978
64thSofia1977
63rdMadrid1976
62ndLondon1975
61stTokyo1974
60thRome1972
59thParis1971
58thHague1970
57thNew Delhi1969
56thLima1968
55thTehran1966
54thOttawa1965
53rdCopenhagen1964
52ndBelgrade1963
51stBrasilia1962
50thBrussels1961
49thTokyo1960
48thWarsaw1959
47thRio de Janeiro1958
46thLondon1957
45thBangkok1956
44thHelsinki1955
43rdVienna1954
42ndWashington, D.C.1953
41stBern1952
40thIstanbul1951
39thDublin1950
38thStockholm1949
37thRome1948
36thCairo1947
35thOslo1939
34thHague1938
33rdParis1937
32ndBudapest1936
31stBrussels1935
30thIstanbul1934
29thMadrid1933
28thGeneva1932
27thBucharest1931
26thLondon1930
25thBerlin1928
24thParis1927
23rdWashington, D.C.1925
23rdOttawa1925
22ndBern1924
21stCopenhagen1923
20thVienna1922
19thStockholm1921
18thHague1913
17thGeneva1912
16thBrussels1910
15thBerlin1908
14thLondon1906
13thBrussels1905
12thSt. Louis1904
11thVienna1903
10thParis1900
9thChristiania1899
8thBrussels1897
7thBudapest1896
6thBrussels1895
5thThe Hague1894
4thBern1892
3rdRome1891
2ndLondon1890
1stParis1889

Presidents

PresidentYearsCountry
Gabriela Cuevas Barron2017–present
Saber Hossain Chowdhury2014–2017
Abdelwahad Radi2011–2014
Theo-Ben Gurirab2008–2011
Pier Ferdinando Casini2005–2008
Sergio Paes Verdugo2002–2005
Najma Heptulla1999–2002
Miguel Angel Martinez1997–1999
Ahmed Fathi Sorour1994–1997
Michael Marshall1991–1994
Dauda Sow1988–1991
Hans Stercken1985–1988
John Page1985
Izz El Din El Sayed1983–1985
Emile Cuvelier1983
Johannes Virolainen1982–1983
Rafael Caldera1979–1982
Thomas Williams1976–1979
Gurdial Singh Dhillon1973–1976
André Chandernagor1968–1973
Abderrahman Abdennebi1967-1968
Ranieri Mazzilli1962–1967
Giuseppe Codacci-Pisanelli1957–1962
William Wedgwood Benn1947–1957
Henri Carton de Wiart1934–1947
Fernand Bouisson1928–1934
Theodor Adelsward1922–1928
Philip Stanhope1912–1922
August Beernaert1909–1912

Amendments to the Statutes

Any proposal to amend the Statutes shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least three months before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such proposals to the Members of the Union. The consideration of such proposed amendments shall be automatically placed on the agenda of the Assembly.
Any sub-amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least six weeks before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such sub-amendments to the Members of the Union.
After hearing the opinion of the Governing Council, expressed through a simple majority vote, the Assembly shall decide on such proposals by a two-thirds majority vote.

The IPU and the United Nations

The IPU marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, in 1995, by holding a special session in the General Assembly Hall before the start of the session, where they planned for closer cooperation with the United Nations. The General Assembly Resolution passed during that session requested the Secretary-General to put this into action. An agreement was signed between the IPU and the Secretary-General on 24 July 1996 and subsequently ratified by a General Assembly Resolution, where the United Nations recognizes IPU as the world organization of parliaments. Pursuant to this resolution, the Secretary-General submitted a report which was noted with appreciation by the General Assembly, who requested further strengthening of cooperation and another report. This report detailed the measures that had been taken, including opening a liaison office in New York, and cooperation on issues such land-mines and the promotion of representative democracy. Following an entire morning of debate the General Assembly passed a resolution which simply stated that it "looks forward to continued close cooperation".
The following year the Secretary-General reported on an increased number of areas of cooperation, the issue was debated for an entire afternoon, and passed a resolution requesting the IPU be allowed to address the Millennium General Assembly directly.
Following another report, and another half-day debate, the General Assembly welcomed the IPU declaration entitled "The Parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium" and called for the Secretary-General to explore new and further ways in which the relationship could be strengthened.
On 19 November 2002 the IPU was granted observer status to the General Assembly.
In the Resolution 59/19, Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the UN General Assembly takes note of the recommendations in regard to engaging parliamentarians more systematically in the work of
the United Nations.
The final declaration of the Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, hosted at United Nations headquarters, took place in September 2005, was entitled Bridging the democracy gap in international relations: A stronger role for parliament.
In the Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, 61/6, Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, on 27 November 2006, it calls for the further development of the annual parliamentary hearing at the United Nations and other specialized parliamentary meetings in the context of major United Nations meetings as joint United Nations-Inter-Parliamentary Union events.
Every year during the fall session of the General Assembly the IPU organises a Parliamentary Hearing. A resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU allowed for circulation of official IPU documents in the General Assembly.
UN and the IPU cooperate closely in various fields, in particular peace and security, economic and social development, international law, human rights, and democracy and gender issues, but IPU has not obtained the status of UN General Assembly subsidiary organ.

Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament

The fourth world conference on UN 70th anniversary marked by Ban Ki-Moon as "UN70" was organised in September 2015 where Speakers of all IPU member parliaments and of non-member parliaments were invited from across the world. The theme was on peace, democracy, and development.

United Nations reports, resolutions, and agreements