Inter-Parliamentary Union Archives

Young, Female and Diverse: Legislatures Begin to Change to Save Democracy

January 15, 2019 by Barbara Crossette

As many political analysts see democracy weakened by introverted, xenophobic parties and autocratic leaders, a glimmer of hope is offered by a new generation of candidates and voters. This year will test that optimism in a series of important elections around the world. Changes in the composition of national legislatures were already being recorded before … Read more

TOPIC: WOMEN

Feminists Made the Difference: How Women Won National Leadership Roles

May 11, 2017April 23, 2017 by Torild Skard

Hillary Clinton did not make it to the top, but Theresa May, the British prime minister, and Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, did. Since Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world’s first female prime minister, in Sri Lanka in 1960, one-hundred women have been heads of state or government around the world. How did they get to … Read more

An African Elected Head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

November 19, 2014March 21, 2014 by Barbara Crossette

The Inter-Parliamentary Union has elected Martin Chungong of Cameroon as its secretary-general, the first African and the first non-European to lead the organization in its 125-year history. Chungong, a former member of the Cameroonian parliament, has been the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s deputy secretary-general under Anders Johnsson, of Sweden, who officially retires on June 30. Chungong has also been director of programs … Read more

Parliamentary Group Warns of Political Perils as 2014 Elections Loom

February 6, 2014January 23, 2014 by Barbara Crossette

A committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union met in mid-January, as a busy year of elections globally was beginning, to confront the human-rights violations and sometimes lethal abuse suffered by 262 members of national legislatures in countries that often call themselves democracies. From Jan. 13 to 17, the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s committee on the human rights … Read more

Giving Parliaments a Bigger Role in Good Governance

December 7, 2014February 25, 2013 by Barbara Crossette

Ireland's representatives at IPU Main Assembly meeting 2012

Armed with a five-year strategy to strengthen the influence of national legislatures around the world, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is supporting international gatherings of legislators to discuss their role in fostering democracy, good government and effective development policies beyond the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals. The next meeting, with parliamentarians from Asia, Africa … Read more

National Lawmakers Want More Contact With the General Assembly

December 10, 2011December 4, 2011 by Barbara Crossette

They would seem, logically, to be natural partners: delegates in the United Nations General Assembly and members of parliaments in capitals around the world who have the power to monitor and follow up on the assembly’s decisions. But when scores of national legislators from dozens of countries met in New York on Nov. 28 and … Read more