Inter-Parliamentary Union

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; French: Union Interparlementaire (UIP)) is a global inter-parliamentary institution established in 1889 by Frédéric Passy (France) and William Randal Cremer (United Kingdom). 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 163 countries are members of the IPU, and 10 regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members.^[1] The IPU has permanent observer status at the United Nations and general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

History

Eight leading personalities of the IPU have received Nobel Peace Prizes:

• 1901: Frédéric Passy (France)
• 1902: Charles Albert Gobat (Switzerland)
• 1903: Randal Cremer (United Kingdom)
• 1908: Fredrik Bajer (Denmark)
• 1909: Auguste Marie François Beernaert (Belgium)
• 1913: Henri La Fontaine (Belgium)
• 1921: Christian Lange (Norway)
• 1927: Ferdinand Buisson (France)

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.

Map of IPU member states

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:

• 1892–1911: Bern (Switzerland)
• 1911–1914: Brussels (Belgium)
• 1914–1920: Oslo (Norway)
• 1921 – permanent in Geneva (Switzerland)

Members and organization

Members

• International parliamentary assemblies may be admitted by the Governing Council as Associate Members
• Every Parliament constituted in conformity with the laws of a sovereign State whose population it represents and on whose territory it functions may request affiliation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The decision to admit or readmit a Parliament shall be taken by the Governing Council.

It is the duty of the Members of the Union to submit the resolutions of the Union within their respective Parliament, in the most appropriate form; to communicate them to the Government; to stimulate their implementation and to inform the Secretariat of the Union, 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:^[1]

Organs

Headquarters of the IPU in Geneva (2010)

The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are:

• the Assembly, meets twice a year. The Assembly shall be composed of parliamentarians designated as delegates by the Members of the Union. The Assembly is assisted in its work by Standing Committees, whose number and terms of reference are determined by the Governing Council; Standing Committees shall normally prepare reports and draft resolutions for the Assembly. No one delegate may record more than ten votes.
• the Governing Council. The Governing Council shall normally hold two sessions a year. The Governing Council shall be composed of three representatives from each Member of the Union. The term of office of a member of the Governing Council shall last from one Assembly to the next and all the members of the Governing Council must be sitting members of Parliament. The Governing Council shall elect the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for a period of three years. It elects the members of the Executive Committee and appoints the Secretary General of the Union.
• the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, fifteen members belonging to different Parliaments (elected by the Governing Council; not less than twelve shall be elected from among the members of the Governing Council) and the President of the Coordinating Committee of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians. The fifteen elected seats will be assigned to the geopolitical groups. Only parliamentarians from States where women have both the right to vote and the right to stand for election are eligible to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be the administrative organ of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
• and the Secretariat. The Secretariat of the Union comprises the totality of the staff of the organisation under the direction of the Secretary General of the Union.

The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments shall be a consultative body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Elected to posts

• The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury (Bangladesh), elected to this post for a three-year mandate on 16 October 2014 at the 195th session of the Governing Council of the IPU in Geneva.^[2]
• As of March 2014, the Secretary General of IPU is Mr. Martin Chungong (Cameroon).^[3] He is the first African to hold the post in the IPU's 125-year history. He took over from Mr. Anders B. Johnsson (Sweden), who had been in the post since 1998 until his retirement in June 2014.^[4]
• Standing Committee on democracy and human rights. President: Mr. O. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (Ghana), African Group.
• Committee on human rights of parliamentarians. President: Mr. K. Tapo (Mali).
• On April 17, 2008, Senator Pia Cayetano (Philippines) was elected for a two-year term, president of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during its 118th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa. As the first Filipino and Asian to head it, she ran unopposed and takes over from Uruguay's Monica Xavier.^[5]

Conferences

The IPU Assembly (formerly known as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference) is the principal statutory body that expresses the views of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on political issues.^[6]

#	Country	Year
135th	Geneva,   Switzerland	22–26 October 2016
134th	Lusaka,  Zambia	19–23 March 2016
133rd	Geneva,   Switzerland	17–21 October 2015
132nd	Hanoi,  Vietnam	29 March–1 April 2015
131st	Geneva,   Switzerland [7]	12–16 October 2014
130th	Geneva,   Switzerland	16–20 March 2014
129th	Geneva,   Switzerland	7–9 October 2013
128th	Quito,  Ecuador	22–27 March 2013
127th	Quebec,  Canada	21–26 October 2012
126th	Kampala,  Uganda	2012
125th	Bern,   Switzerland	2011
124th	Panama city,  Panama	2011
123rd	Geneva,   Switzerland	2010
122nd	Bangkok,  Thailand	2010
121st	Geneva,   Switzerland	2009
120th	Addis Ababa,  Ethiopia	2009
119th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2008
118th	Cape Town,  South Africa	2008
117th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2007
116th	Nusa Dua, Bali,  Indonesia	2007
115th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2006
114th	Nairobi,  Kenya	2006
113th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2005
112th	Manila,  Philippines	2005
111th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2004
110th	Mexico,  Mexico	2004
109th	Geneva,   Switzerland	2003
108th	Santiago,  Chile	2003
107th	Marrakesh,  Morocco	2002
106th	Ouagadougou,  Burkina Faso	2001
105th	Havana,  Cuba	2001
104th	Jakarta,  Indonesia	2000
103rd	Amman,  Jordan	2000
102nd	Berlin,  Germany	1999
101st	Brussels,  Belgium	1999
100th	Moscow,  Russia	1998
99th	Windhoek,  Namibia	1998
98th	Cairo,  Egypt	1997
97th	Seoul,  South Korea	1997
96th	Beijing,  China	1996
95th	Istanbul,  Turkey	1996
94th	Bucharest,  Romania	1995
93rd	Madrid,  Spain	1995
92nd	Copenhagen,  Denmark	1994
91st	Paris,  France	1994
90th	Canberra,  Australia	1993
89th	New Delhi,  India	1993
88th	Stockholm,  Sweden	1992
87th	Yaoundé,  Cameroon	1992
86th	Santiago,  Chile	1991
85th	Pyongyang,  North Korea	1991
84th	Punta del Este,  Uruguay	1990
83rd	Nicosia,  Cyprus	1990
82nd	London,  United Kingdom	1989
81st	Budapest,  Hungary	1989
80th	Sofia,  Bulgaria	1988
79th	Guatemala City,  Guatemala	1988
78th	Bangkok,  Thailand	1987
77th	Managua,  Nicaragua	1987
76th	Buenos Aires,  Argentina	1986
75th	Mexico city,  Mexico	1986
74th	Ottawa,  Canada	1985
73rd	Lomé,  Togo	1985
72nd	Geneva,   Switzerland	1984
71st	Geneva,   Switzerland	1984
70th	Seoul,  South Korea	1983
69th	Rome,  Italy	1982
68th	Havana,  Cuba	1981
67th	Berlin,  East Germany	1980
66th	Caracas,  Venezuela	1979
65th	Bonn,  Germany	1978
64th	Sofia,  Bulgaria	1977
63rd	Madrid,  Spain	1976
62nd	London,  United Kingdom	1975
61st	Tokyo,  Japan	1974
60th	Rome,  Italy	1972
59th	Paris,  France	1971
58th	The Hague,  Netherlands	1970
57th	New Delhi,  India	1969
56th	Lima,  Peru	1968
55th	Tehran,  Iran	1966
54th	Ottawa,  Canada	1965
53rd	Copenhagen,  Denmark	1964
52nd	Belgrade,  Yugoslavia	1963
51st	Brasilia,  Brazil	1962
50th	Brussels,  Belgium	1961
49th	Tokyo,  Japan	1960
48th	Warsaw,  Poland	1959
47th	Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil	1958
46th	London,  United Kingdom	1957
45th	Bangkok,  Thailand	1956
44th	Helsinki,  Finland	1955
43rd	Vienna,  Austria	1954
42nd	Washington, D.C.,  United States	1953
41st	Bern,   Switzerland	1952
40th	Istanbul,  Turkey	1951
39th	Dublin,  Ireland	1950
38th	Stockholm,  Sweden	1949
37th	Rome,  Italy	1948
36th	Cairo,  Egypt	1947
35th	Oslo,  Norway	1939
34th	The Hague,  Netherlands	1938
33rd	Paris,  France	1937
32nd	Budapest,  Hungary	1936
31st	Brussels,  Belgium	1935
30th	Istanbul,  Turkey	1934
29th	Madrid,  Spain	1933
28th	Geneva,   Switzerland	1932
27th	Bucharest,  Romania	1931
26th	London,  United Kingdom	1930
25th	Berlin,  Germany	1928
24th	Paris,  France	1927
23rd	Washington, D.C.,  United States Ottawa,  Canada	1925
22nd	Bern,   Switzerland	1924
21st	Copenhagen,  Denmark	1923
20th	Vienna,  Austria	1922
19th	Stockholm,  Sweden	1921
18th	The Hague,  Netherlands	1913
17th	Geneva,   Switzerland	1912
16th	Brussels,  Belgium	1910
15th	Berlin,  Germany	1908
14th	London,  United Kingdom	1906
13th	Brussels,  Belgium	1905
12th	St. Louis,  United States	1904
11th	Vienna,  Austria	1903
10th	Paris,  France	1900
9th	Christiania,  Norway	1899
8th	Brussels,  Belgium	1897
7th	Budapest,  Hungary	1896
6th	Brussels,  Belgium	1895
5th	The Hague,  Netherlands	1894
4th	Bern,   Switzerland	1892
3rd	Rome,  Italy	1891
2nd	London,  United Kingdom	1890
1st	Paris,  France	1889

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,^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10][11] Pursuant to this resolution, the Secretary-General submitted a report ^[12] which was noted with appreciation by the General Assembly, who requested further strengthening of cooperation and another report.^[13] 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.^[14] Following an entire morning of debate^[15] the General Assembly passed a resolution which simply stated that it "looks forward to continued close cooperation".^[16]

The following year (1999) the Secretary-General reported on an increased number of areas of cooperation,^[17] the issue was debated for an entire afternoon^[18] (interrupted by a minute of silence held for tribute to Vazgen Sargsyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia who had just at that time been killed by gunmen),^[19] and passed a resolution requesting the IPU be allowed to address the Millennium General Assembly directly.^[20]

Following another report,^[21] and another half-day debate,^[22] 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.^[23]

On 19 November 2002 the IPU was granted observer status to the General Assembly.^[24]

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.^[25]

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.^[26]

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.^[27]

Every year during the fall session of the General Assembly the IPU organises a Parliamentary Hearing.^[28] 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(Inter-Parliamentary Union) member parliaments and of non-member parliaments were invited from across the world. The theme was on peace, democracy, and development.^[29]

United Nations reports, resolutions, and agreements

• Resolution of the United Nations: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 27 November 2006.^[27]
• Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations, 16 August 2006.^[30]
• Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 8 November 2004.^[25]
• Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (see Part 5 of the Annex), 1 September 2004.^[31]
• Resolution adopted by the General Assembly: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 21 November 2002.^[32]
• Resolution adopted by the General Assembly: Observer status for the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the General Assembly, 19 November 2002 .^[33]
• Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 3 September 2002.^[34]
• Cooperation Agreement between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union of 1996 ^[35]

See also

• Inter-parliamentary institution
• e-democracy
• e-parliament
• Global democracy
• Third World Conference of Speakers of Parliament
• International Day of Democracy
• Millennium Development Goals
• Supranational union
• Sustainable Development Goals
• United Nations Democracy Fund
• United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)

Notes

References

External links

• Official website home page
• Cooperation with the United Nations at official website