The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.
The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, IPU membership was reserved for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed to include the legislatures of sovereign states. As of 2025, the national parliaments of 183 countries are members of the IPU, while 15 are associated members, most of whom are regional parliaments. Some of the organization's member states are not democratic by indexes.
The IPU facilitates the development of international law and institutions, strengthening the foundations and enhancing the vision for peace and the common good, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. It also sponsors and takes part in international conferences and forums, and has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. Consequently, eight individuals associated with the organization are Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
History
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.
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–present: Geneva (Switzerland)
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)
Members and organization
Members
At its founding on 30 June 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference had eight members: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Liberia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United States also attended but did not formally adopt the treaty of arbitration.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union currently has 183 members.
Regional 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 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.
Almost all countries have a parliament member of IPU, with the notable exception of the United States, although the 12th (1904), the 23rd (1925) and the 42nd (1953) conferences were hosted in the US.
Associate Members The participating parliamentary assemblies other than national parliaments are the following: NameRelated organizationAndean ParliamentCANArab Parliament Central American Parliament (PARLCEN)SICAEast African Legislative AssemblyEACEuropean ParliamentEU CIS Interparliamentary AssemblyCISInter-Parliamentary Committee of the West African Economic and Monetary UnionUEMOALatin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO)PARLATINOPan-African Parliament AUParliament of the Economic Community of West African StatesECOWASParliament of the Central African Economic and Monetary CommunityCEMACParliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF)OIFParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)CoEParliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic CooperationBSEC
Organs
The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are:
Assembly. Meeting biannually, the Assembly is composed of parliamentarians designated as delegates by the Members. 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. Governing Council. The Governing Council normally holds two sessions a year. The Governing Council is composed of three representatives from each Member. The term of office of a member of the Governing Council lasts from one Assembly to the next and all the members of the Governing Council must be sitting members of Parliament. The Governing Council elects the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for a period of three years. It also elects the members of the executive committee and appoints the Secretary General of the Union. Executive Committee. The executive committee is composed of the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 15 members belonging to different Parliaments (elected by the Governing Council; not less than 12 are 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 are 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 is the administrative organ of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The current President is Dr. Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania and the second woman to hold the position, who was elected in October 2023. Secretariat. The Secretariat constitutes the totality of the staff of the organisation under the direction of the Secretary General, currently Martin Chungong of Cameroon.
The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments is a consultative body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Assemblies
The Assembly is the IPU's main political body through which the IPU's Member Parliaments adopt parliamentary resolutions on global issues. It plays a pivotal role in addressing the issues which threaten peace, democracy and sustainable development, including through its four thematic standing committees. IPU Assemblies are held twice a year either in Geneva or hosted by Member Parliaments. # Host cityHost country Year150thTashkent2025149thGeneva2024148thGeneva2024147thLuanda2023146thManama2023145thKigali2022144thNusa Dua2022143rdMadrid2021142ndVirtualVirtual2021 141stBelgrade 2019 140thDoha 2019 139thGeneva 2018 138thGeneva 2018 137thSaint Petersburg 2017 136thDhaka 2017 135thGeneva 2016 134thLusaka 2016 133rdGeneva 2015 132ndHanoi 2015 131stGeneva 2014 130thGeneva 2014 129thGeneva 2013 128thQuito 2013 127thQuebec City 2012 126thKampala2012 125thBern2011 124thPanama City2011 123rdGeneva2010 122ndBangkok2010 121stGeneva2009 120thAddis Ababa2009 119thGeneva2008 118thCape Town2008 117thGeneva2007 116thNusa Dua, Bali2007 115thGeneva2006 114thNairobi2006 113thGeneva2005 112thManila2005 111thGeneva2004 110thMexico City2004 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 58thThe Hague1970 57thNew Delhi1969 56thLima1968 55thTehran1966 54thOttawa1965 53rdCopenhagen1964 52ndBelgrade1963 51stBrasília1962 50thBrussels1961 49thTokyo1960 48thWarsaw1959 47thRio de Janeiro1958 46thLondon1957 45thBangkok1956 44thHelsinki1955 43rdVienna1954 42ndWashington, D.C.1953 41stBern1952 40thIstanbul1951 39thDublin1950 38thStockholm1949 37thRome1948 36thCairo1947 35thOslo1939 34thThe Hague1938 33rdParis1937 32ndBudapest1936 31stBrussels1935 30thIstanbul1934 29thMadrid1933 28thGeneva1932 27thBucharest1931 26thLondon1930 25thBerlin1928 24thParis192723rdWashington, D.C. 1925Ottawa 22ndBern1924 21stCopenhagen1923 20thVienna1922 19thStockholm1921 18thThe Hague1913 17thGeneva1912 16thBrussels1910 15thBerlin1908 14thLondon1906 13thBrussels1905 12thSt. Louis1904 11thVienna1903 10thParis1900 9thChristiania1899 8thBrussels1897 7thBudapest1896 6thBrussels1895 5thThe Hague1894 4thBern1892 3rdRome1891 2ndLondon1890 1stParis1889
Presidents
President Years CountryAugust Beernaert1909–1912Philip Stanhope1912–1922Theodor Adelsward1922–1928Fernand Bouisson1928–1934Henri Carton de Wiart1934–1947William Wedgwood Benn1947–1957Giuseppe Codacci-Pisanelli1957–1962Ranieri Mazzilli1962–1967Abderrahman Abdennebi1967–1968André Chandernagor1968–1973Gurdial Singh Dhillon1973–1976Thomas Williams1976–1979Rafael Caldera1979–1982Johannes Virolainen1982–1983Emile Cuvelier1983 Izz El Din El Sayed 1983–1985John Page1985 Hans Stercken1985–1988 Dauda Sow1988–1991Michael Marshall1991–1994Ahmed Fathi Sorour1994–1997Miguel Angel Martinez 1997–1999 Najma Heptulla 1999–2002Sergio Paes Verdugo 2002–2005 Pier Ferdinando Casini 2005–2008Theo-Ben Gurirab2008–2011 Abdelwahad Radi2011–2014 Saber Hossain Chowdhury2014–2017 Gabriela Cuevas Barron2017–2020Duarte Pacheco2020–2023Tulia Ackson2023–
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